Chapter 18: Conquest and Survival – The Trans-Mississippi West 1860-1900

Chapter 18: Conquest and Survival – The

Trans-Mississippi West1860-1900

American Communities:Oklahoma Land Rush

18.1: Indian People Under Siege

A. Growth of the West1. Gold rush 1848

2. Homestead Act 1862

3. Alaska Terr. 1867

4. TRR 1869

5. Trouble w/Natives

A. Growth of the West6. Indian Removal Act – 1830

a.Removal of Natives by force if needed/Pres. AJ

b.Trail of Tears after Cherokee Nation v. Ga. 1831

7.“No Mans Land”

8.Leads to “Land Rush” and “Sooners”

“Land Rush” & “Sooners”

Dugouts

Soddies

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

C. Assimilation of the Native American

1. Farming

2. Christianity

3. English

4. Education

“Friends of the Indians”

Importance of the Buffalo

D. Settlers and the Buffalo

1. Killed a. by hunters for heads,

hides, bones, and fur

b. for sport

c. by RR co.

2. Helped gov’t push Natives onto reservations

E. Massacre at Sand Creek, Co 1864 1. Natives told to make camp at

Sand Creek to make peace deal.

2. Col. Chivingtona. >100 Cheyenne killed while

sleeping; bodies mutilatedb. Body parts kept as souvenirs

3. Later discredited by Congress

F. Treaty of Laramie (1868)

1. Ended Great Sioux War of 1865-1867

2. Lands in the Black Hills, SD, Wy, and Mt.

3. Deposits of gold discovered, which leads to …

G. Battle at Little Bighorn, Mt.(aka Greasy Grass ) (1876)

1. 7th Calvary sent to take lands of Black Hills – found gold

2. Custer and men overtaken and killed by Crazy Horse

3. Public outcry = forcing more onto reservations

4. Same situation with the Nez Perce in the NW Pacific

“Custer’s Last Stand”

18.7: Transformation of Indian Society

A. Helen Hunt Jackson (1881)

1. Exposes injustices of the NA by the USgov’t

2. Supporter of assimilationa. Indian Rights Assoc

b. Women’s nat’l Indian Assoc

B. Dawes Severalty Act (1887)

1. To “Americanize” NA by teaching them that owning land and farming was “right”

2. Reservation lands distributed to head of household; 160 acres; individuality not communal

3. Lands left over sold to settlers

4. NA lost >2/3rd of their lands

C. Ghost Dance: prohibited by government1. Return of the buffalo

2. Restorations of their lands

3. Make the white man disappear

D. Battle of Wounded Knee @ Pine Ridge Reservation (1890)

1. Started with the arrest and killing of Sitting Bull

2. A few days later, 7th Calvary rounded up ghost dancers and took them to Wounded Knee Camp

3. >200 unarmed NA killed and left to freeze

4. Payback for Battle of Little Bighorn

5. Brought Indian wars to an end

18.2: Internal Empire

Mining, Mormons, and Mexicans

A. Miners “Striking it Rich!”Mining for Gold and Silver

1. Pros and Cons of Mining

a. Pros

i.Railroads increased

ii.Statehood increased

iii.Cities developed and “Boomed”- economy grew rapidly

b. Cons

i. Increased crime

ii. Destruction of land

iii. “ghost towns”

2. Real Winners?a. Mine owners - able to invest capital in industries that supported the miners

i. Equip and technology

ii. RR

iii. Timber

iv. hydroelectricity

http://cprr.org/Museum/Hydraulic_Mining/

Hazards of Mining

The Western Federation of Miners on parade, passing the Southern Hotel in Rhyolite, February 17, 1907.

(Nevada Historical Society)

Miners & Workers

From Boom Towns to Ghost Towns

•

http://cprr.org/Museum/Hydraulic_Mining/

Realities of “Helldorados”

B. Mormons Joseph Smith

Brigham Young

C. Mexican-Americans

1. Economically and socially tied to land and country

2. Very few prospered

3. Formed political party

4. Poor political conditions in Mex = migration

18.3: The Open Range

Cowboys & Cattle

Long Drives

A. Life as a Cowboy

1. Hard: Saloons, violence, guns, and prostitutes

2. Range wars = fences; problematic for grazing

B. Collapse of Cattle Industry

barb wire overgrazing

overstocking

extreme weather

18.4: Farming Communities on the Plains

A. The Great Plains

1. Why move to the Great Plains?

(future home of the Dust Bowl!)

a. Homestead Act

b. Advertising

c. RR/towns

d. Farming technology

B. Homestead Act of 1862

1. 160 acres2. 5 yrs cultivation (grow crops)3. Land for farming was bad4. Option of purchasing it at $1.25 acre after 6 months

(residency requirement)

5. Only 10% of farmers received their lands from the act. Why so little?

- Better lands closer to transportation and town/mkts

18.5: The World’s Breadbasket

A. Farming and Technology

McCormick’s reaper

A. Farming and Technology

1. Efficiency = increase trade

2. Dependent on:

a. Technology

b. Nature

c. Shipping and RR

d. Global markets