Post Civil War Expansion
Journal: Why move west?
• Following the Civil War, thousands of
people left their homes and moved west.
What might be some reasons why people
headed west? List as many as you can.
Westward Movement
a.
b.
After the Civil War, there was
another migration to the west.
The Homestead Act was
passed by Congress to
encourage people to move
west.
i.
ii.
iii.
Settlers were offered 160 acres of
free land.
They had to live on and farm the
land for 5 years.
From 1862 to 1900, between 400
and 600 thousand families took the
government up on their offer.
Westward Expansion
ii. Many people looked
to strike it rich
mining for silver
and gold.
iii. African-Americans,
known as
exodusters, left the
South.
Changes to the Territory
a. Political: As people moved west, territories
were formed that eventually became
states.
b. Physical: Settlers moved west and
changed the physical characteristics of the
territory by mining, farming and ranching,
and building railroads
c. Economic: Land previously unused now
had economic value from the above
improvements.
Clashing Cultures
a. The greatest changes
were the cultural
changes.
b. As settlers moved west,
they encountered the
Native Americans of the
Great Plains.
c. White settlers viewed the
Native Americans as
uncivilized savages.
d. Their culture revolved
around the horse and
the buffalo.
e. Most tribes had
abandoned farming
villages and roamed the
plains.
Clashing Cultures
Topic
Native
American View
Settler View
Land
Share
Individuals Own
Religion
Spirits/Nature
Christianity
Buffalo
Sacred/Way of
life
Shoot for sport
Government Policy
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
The land issue was probably the biggest concern. Because of the
differing cultural view on land ownership, problems were bound to
occur.
Originally, the government had set aside the entire Great Plains as
a reservation; however, this policy was changed as the government
encouraged westward settlement.
Because the government encouraged westward expansion, they
were forced to deal with the Native American issue, and the
government began to place many restrictions on them.
There were often clashes between settlers and Native Americans,
because the tribes continued to hunt on their traditional lands,
while settlers believed they owned these lands.
Closely related to the land issues was the near extinction of the
buffalo.
The government also officially supported the policy of assimilation
by putting the Dawes Act into law in an effort to Americanize the
natives.
Battles on the Plains
i.
The Sand Creek Massacre occurred, because
General S.R. Curtis wanted “no peace till the
Indians suffer more.”
ii. In Texas, the Red River War was fought,
because the tribes would not agree to living on
a reservation.
iii. Custer’s Last Stand at Little Bighorn was a
major defeat of the U.S. Army by the Sioux.
i.
ii.
iv.
The Sioux continued to resist. The leaders wanted
to return to their tribal ways, and the ritual of the
Ghost Dance was supposed to bring back their old
culture and lifestyle. The ritual was outlawed.
Eventually the army rounded up 350 cold and
hungry Sioux and massacred them at the Battle of
the Wounded Knee, after one man resisted an
order to give up his weapon.