CHANGES ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER

Culture Clash on the Prairie

The Culture of the Plains Indians

Way of life changed when horses and guns were introduced

Tribes began to roam the plains and hunt buffalo

Buffalo provided meat, hides for clothing, shoes, and blankets.▪ It was central to life on the plains

Family Life of Native Americans on the Plains Usually live in small family groups with ties to

other bands that spoke the same language

Young men trained to become hunters and warriors.

Women helped butcher the game and prepared hides.▪ Sometimes they chose their own husbands

Settlers Push Forward

Settlers disagree with Indians on the use of the land.

Settlers wanted to own the land.

Gold was discovered in Colorado in 1858. Many settlers traveled West.

Mining Camps

Mining camps ruined the look of the land.

Immigrants of every kind came to the camps in hope of striking it rich.

Women owned businesses, - laundries, hardware stores, freight hauling.

Cities that evolved from mining camps: Virginia City, NV, Helena, MT.

Govt. Restrictions on Native Americans

Influences on policy Westward movement of settlers Arrival of railroads

1850’s the govt. created treaties that defined specific boundaries for each tribe.

Most tribes ignored the treaties and continued to hunt on their lands, clashing with miners and settlers.

Massacre at Sand Creek

1864 – Cheyenne returned to Colorado’s Sand Creek reserve for the winter.- they thought they were under the protection of the government.

Army commander S.R. Curtis sent a telegram to colonel John Chivington stating “I want no peace till the Indians suffer more.”

Chivington attacked the Arapaho and Cheyenne.

200 warriors, 500 women and children 150 were killed, mostly women and

children

Death on the Bozeman Trail

The trail ran through the Sioux hunting grounds in the Bighorn Mountains.

Red Cloud, the Sioux chief, had appealed to the government to end white settlement on the trail. They would not agree.

Bozeman Trail

December 1866 Crazy Horse ambushed Captain William

J. Fetterman and his company at Lodge Trail Ridge.

80+ soldiers were killed Natives called this the Battle of the

Hundred Slain, but whites called it the Fetterman Massacre.

Crazy Horse

Skirmishes continued until the government agreed to close the trail.

Treaty of Fort Laramie – the Sioux agreed to live on a reservation along the Missouri River. 1868

Sitting Bull – leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux had never signed the treaty.

Red River War – 1874-1875- result of Kiowa and Comanche raiding for 6 years.- US responded by putting members of friendly tribes on reservations and opened fire on the rest of the tribes.

Gave orders “ to destroy their villages and ponies, to kill and hang all warriors, and to bring back all women and children.”

This crushed the resistance on the southern plains.

Gold Rush

Miners began searching for gold in the Black Hills.

Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho protested to no avail.

Custer’s Last Stand

When Colonel Custer and his troops reached the Little Bighorn River, the Native Americans were ready for them.

The attack was led by Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Gall.

Custer and all his men were dead within an hour.

1876

By 1876 the Sioux were beaten.

Sitting Bull and few followers took refuge in Canada, where they remained until 1881.

He was forced to surrender to keep his people from starving.

Native Americans Resist

Personal Voice Gall, Hunkpapa Sioux“We have been taught to hunt and live on

the game. You tell us that we must learn to farm, live in one house, and take on your ways. Suppose the people living beyond the great sea should come and tell you that you must stop farming, and kill your cattle, and take your houses and lands, what would you do? Would you not fight them?"

The Government Supports Assimilation

assimilation – the plan in which Native Americans would give up their beliefs and way of life and become part of the white culture.

The Dawes Act

1887 – broke up the reservations and gave some of the reservation land to individual Native Americans.

160 acres to each head of household 80 acres to each unmarried adult The govt. would sell the remainder of

the land to settlers. The income would be used to help

Native Americans buy farm implements.

Native Americans received no money from the sale of these lands.

The Destruction of the Buffalo

The most significant blow to tribal life on the plains was the destruction of the buffalo.

Tourists and fur traders shot them for sport

1800 – 65 millions buffalo roamed the plains.

1890 – fewer than 1000 remained.

1900 – only a single wild herd remained.

Sioux continued to suffer poverty and disease.

They were told by a Paiute prophet that if they performed a ritual called the Ghost Dance, their lands and way of life would be restored.

Ghost Dance

The movement spread quickly among the 25,000 Sioux on the Dakota reservation.

Military officials were scared and ordered the arrest of Sitting Bull.

40 Native American police were sent to arrest Sitting Bull.

One of them was shot by Catch-the-Bear.

Sitting Bull was killed.

Chief Big Foot led the tribe away.

Battle of Wounded Knee

12/28/1890 7th cavalry

rounded up about 350 starving Sioux and took them to a camp at Wounded Knee in S. Dakota.

They demanded that the Natives give up all their weapons.

A shot was fired and the soldiers opened fire with a deadly cannon.

300 unarmed Natives were killed and their bodies were left to freeze on the ground.

This brought the Indian wars to an end.

Cattle Become Big Business

Vaqueros and Cowboys

As buffalo decreased on the plains, the number of horses and cattle increased.

Ranching from Texas to Kansas became a profitable investment.

Settlers learned from their Mexican neighbors how to manage large herds on the open range.

The animals themselves were called…

Longhorns!

They were sturdy, and were accustomed to the dry grasslands of southern Spain.

They were used for food and horses were used for work and transportation.

Vaqueros

The first to wear spurs. Wore chaparreras, or leather overalls,

later known as chaps. Ate jerky Their wild horse or the “bronco

caballo”, became known as a bronc. The Mexican rancho became the

American ranch. Completely influenced the cowboy way

of life.

Cowboys

Were not in great demand until the railroads reached the Great Plains.

Prior to this time, ranchers stayed on their ranches with their cattle.

Growing Demand for Beef

After the Civil War, the demand increased for beef.

Early transportation and cattle drives had their problems.

The Cow Town

Joseph McCoy asked several towns to make plans for a shipping yard where the trails and the rail lines came together.

He built cattle pens, a 3 story hotel, and helped survey the Chisholm Trail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06P-ERCA17M&feature=fvsr

Chisholm Trail

The major cattle route from San Antonio, TX, through OK to Kansas.

35,000 cattle were shipped out of the yard in Abilene during its first year in operation.

The next year business doubled to 75,000 head.

A Day in the Life of a Cowboy

Hours – 10-14 hrs/day

Age – 15-30’s

Roundup – spring round-up began the season

They herded all the longhorns they could find on the open range into a large corral.

Branded cattle and prepared for the drive.

The long drive

Lasted about 3 months

1 cowboy:250-300 cattle

A cook also went along and drove the chuck wagon.

Wrangler cared for the horses. Trail boss earned $100.00/month.

Legends of the West

JAMES BUTLER “WILD BILL HICKOCK”

Served as a scout and spy during the Civil War.

Was a marshal in Abilene, Kansas.

Violent man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Mld6QbfR4

MARTHA JANE BURKECALAMITY JANE

Expert sharpshooter

Dressed like a man

May have been a scout for Custer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytwkHN94vkE

The End of the Open Range

Causes:

Overgrazing the land

Extended bad weather

Invention of barbed wire (Joseph Glidden)

Settling on the Great Plains

Settlers Move Westward to Farm

Railroads Open the West 1850-1871 – the govt. gave railroads

170 million acres. The Central Pacific railroad and the

Union Pacific Railroad were in a race to lay track

CP – from Sacramento moving eastward UP – westward from Omaha

Laborers?Grueling labor was done by :

Civil War veterans

Chinese immigrants

Irish immigrants

African Americans

Mexican Americans

Both companies reached Utah by spring of 1869, linking the east and west coast.

“The two sets of railroad tracks were joined and the continent united with elaborate ceremony at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869. The impact was immediate and dramatic. Travel time between America's east and west coasts was reduced from months to less than a week. “

The Golden Spike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDeu1uuruhg&feature=related

“The ceremony at Promontory culminated with Governor Stanford of California (representing the Central Pacific Railroad) and Thomas Durant (president of the Union Pacific Railroad) taking turns pounding a Golden Spike into the final tie that united the railroad's east and west sections. As the spike was struck, telegraph signals simultaneously alerted San Francisco and New York City, igniting a celebratory cacophony of tolling bells and cannon fire in each city.”

Alexander Toponce witnessed the event:

Government Support for Settlement

Homestead Act

Offered 160 acres of land free to any citizen who was head of the household.

From 1862-1900 – 600,000 settlers took

advantage of the government’s offer.

Many were exodusters –

African Americans who moved from the post-Reconstruction South

to Kansas.

Problems

Speculators used the land for their own gain.

Cattlemen would sometimes fence open lands.

Miners and wood-cutters would claim national resources.

1869 a massive land give away in what is now Oklahoma attracted thousands of people.

The Closing of the Frontier

Henry D. Washburn and Nathaniel P. Langford asked Congress to help protect the wilderness from settlement.

1872 Yellowstone National Park was created.

1879 – railroads were forced to give up landholdings.

1890 the Census Bureau declared that there was no longer a Frontier.

Settlers Face New Challenges on the Plains

Dugouts and Soddies Homes were dug

into the sides of hills if no timber was available.

Some homes were made of prairie turf.

Women’s Work

Worked beside men in the fields. Plowing, planting, and harvesting wheat.

Hauled water

Made soap and candies

Canned fruits and vegetables.

Skilled in doctoring

Sponsored schools and churches in an effort to build strong communities.

Technical Support for Farmers 1837 John Deere invented a steel plow

1847 Cyrus McCormick began to produce a reaping machine.

By 1890 there were more than 900 manufacturers of farm equipment.

These inventions made more grain available for a wider market.

Ag Education

The govt. financed Ag education.

The Morrill Act of 1862 and 1890 gave federal land to the states to help finance agricultural colleges.

Hatch Act – 1887- established ag experimental stations to inform farmers of new developments.

Ag researchers helped prairie farmers develop grains for arid soil and dry farming.

The eastern plains became the “breadbasket of the nation.”

Farmers in Debt

Farmers had to borrow money for machinery

When wheat prices were high they could pay it back quickly.

When prices fell it was hard for them to make ends meet.

Bonanza Farms

New type of farming in 1870’s

Created by railroad companies and investors.

Single crop spreads of 15,000-50,000 acres.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLg8tZkW71k&feature=related

Farmers borrowed more money Farms grew larger A drought caused most of the

bonanza farms to go bankrupt.

Western farmers were charged steep prices for shipping grain.

Farmers and the Populist Movement

Farmers Unite to Address Common Problems

1800s crop prices were falling

Good farming land was scarce

Banks were foreclosing on farmers

Railroads were taking advantage of them by charging excessive prices for shipping and storage.

Economic Distress

Paper money was called greenbacks

Greenbacks could not be traded for silver or gold and were not worth as much.

After the war greenbacks were taken out of circulation. Results – increased the value of $ in

circulation

Problem? Farmers had to pay back loans with

money that was worth more than what they were loaned.

1867-1887 – the price of a bushel of wheat fell from $2.00 to .68.

The farmers wanted the government to issue more money into circulation.

Allison Act of 1878

Required the govt. to buy and coin at least $2 - 4 million worth of silver each month. It wasn’t enough for the farmers.

Problems with Railroads

Railroads could set high prices for crop transportation and grain storage.

Why?

Farmers were forced to purchase items on credit and were often charged more for doing so.

The Farmer’s Alliances

1867- Oliver Hudson Kelley – started the Patrons of Husbandry Organization for farmers Later known as the Grange Purpose – to provide a social outlet and

educational forum for farmers.

The members of the Grange spent more time fighting railroads.

It was supposed to teach members how to organize, set up farmers co-ops, and how to sponsor state legislation to regulate railroads.

Farmer’s Alliance

Sent lecturers from town to town to educate people.

The Rise and Fall of Populism

Populism – the movement of the people▪ -Populist or People’s Party▪ Founded in 1892▪ July 2, 1892 a Populist convention was held in

Omaha , Nebraska ▪ People wanted:

reforms to lift the burden of debt from the farmers to give people a greater voice in their government

The Populist Party Platform

Wanted increase in money supply A graduated income tax A federal loan program The election of US senators by

popular vote Single terms for president and VP A secret ballot to end voting fraud 8 hour work day Restrictions on immigration

The Populists’ programs eventually became the platform of the Democratic Party.

They believe the government is responsible for reforming social injustices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHWAXuVZrys

Panic of 1893

1893

Farmers were over extended with debts

Railroads expanded faster than markets Some of them went bankrupt

Govt. gold supply had worn thin

Results of the Panic

People panicked and traded paper money for gold

It also spread to Wall Street where the prices of stocks fell rapidly.

The price of silver plunged and silver mines closed.

Investments declined

Consumer purchases, wages, and prices also fell.

3 million people lost their jobs.

Many farmers suffered hunger and unemployment.

Silver or Gold

Republicans – located in Northeast

Democrats – farmers, laborers of the South and West.

Central issue of the political campaign was which metal was to become the basis of the monetary system.

Silverites favoredBimetallism – gold or silver could

be exchanged for paper money.

President Cleveland and the “gold bugs” were on the other side calling for the gold standard. Gold standard – backing of US Dollars

solely with gold.

Election of 1896

Republicans nominated William McKinley

Democrats wanted combined gold and silver

w/unlimited amount of silver

William Jennings Bryan spoke a the Democratic Convention

William Jennings Bryan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeTkT5-w5RA&feature=related

He won the Democratic nomination

People did not like the

Democratic VP candidate –

Arthur Sewall.

Click icon to add picture

The End of Populism

Bryan faced problems: Gold bug democrats nominated their

own candidate. Weakened support in cities where people

did not want higher prices. Not enough campaign funds.

McKinley was elected and Populism collapsed.

2 Legacies of Populism

1. a message that the downtrodden could organize and have a political impact.

2. an agenda of reforms