Western Expanison
War in the West
Eyewitness to History
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Cochise, Apache
leader, mourned the
lost of the land.
Cochise tribe
resisted. In the
1850's Cochise
tribe had permitted
settlers traveling to
California to pass
through Apache
lands in Arizona.
Eyewitness to History
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In 1861 a rancher accused the Apache tribe
of stealing a child and cattle from his ranch.
U.S. Army officials attempted to hold
Cochise and his relatives hostage until the
child and cattle were returned. This led to
years of deadly warfare between the tribe
and the United States.
Indian Country
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In 1850: 360,000 west of the Mississippi River
1851: Treaty of Fort Laramie: guaranteed
American Indian land rights on the Great Plains.
Non Indians move west in search of farm land and
gold, government officials sought to acquire
additional American Indian lands.
They negotiated new treaties in which American
Indians agreed to move to reservations.
In return Indians received some money and
guarantees that the reservation lands would be
their's forever and promised yearly supplies for 30
years.
Indian Country
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Wanted to keep Indians on reservations and force
them to be farmers.
Forced the Indians to abandon their traditional
ways of life.
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): was the
government agency responsible for managing
American Indian issues.
BIA chief Luke Lea supported the reservation
system. Believed that American Indians should “be
placed in positions where they can be controlled,
and finally compelled by stern necessity to resort
to agricultural labor or starve.”
Indian Country
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Thomas Fitzpatrick was an Indian agent who helped to
negotiate several treaties.
1853 Fitzpatrick condemned the notion of a reservation
system as “expensive, vicious, and inhumane.”
U.S. Government failed to honor it's treaties: Reduced the
size of reservations, promised supplies never arrived.
These disagreements led to violence.
Government agencies refused to give food supplies to
starving Sioux Indians: The Sioux rebelled and attacked.
The U.S. Army ended the uproar killing 30 Sioux Indians.
Tribe is relocated.
Reading Check #1
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Why did the U.S. Government create the
American Indian Reservation system?
Years of Struggle
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Many Indians refused to live on
reservations.
(Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, and
Sioux)
The importance of the buffalo was the
reason.
20,000 veterans were assigned to confine
the tribes to reservations.
This would lead to violence.
Sand Creek Massacre
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Colorado Territory
John Evans was eager to open more land
up in the West. He pressured the Cheyenne
and Arapaho to sell their hunting grounds
and move to reservations.
1861: some Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders
agreed to move their groups to a
reservation south of the Arkansas River.
Others refused to leave.
Sand Creek Massacre
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Cheyenne and Arapaho forces clashed with the local militia
throughout the summer of 1864.
Cheyenne chief Black Kettle was tired of fighting. On his
way to Fort Lyon to surrender his tribe camped along Sand
Creek.
Cheyenne men went off to hunt, Colonel John Chivington
and some 700 Colorado volunteers arrived at the camp.
They opened fire on the Cheyenne.
200 of Black Kettle's group, most of them women and
children died.
Chivington said, “It is right and honorable to use any
means under God's heaven to kill Indians.”
Slaughtered horrified most Americans
Congress met and wants to reform Indian Policy
Sand Creek Massacre
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News swept across the Plains
Raids begin by the Arapaho and Cheyenne
Sioux stepped up their attacks
U.S. Government created a peace commission to
negotiate new treaties.
In 1867, Senator John B. Henderson told them that the
Buffalo would soon be gone.
Tribe leaders sign the Treaty of Medicine Lodge.
Southern Plains Indians agreed to give up much of their
lands in exchange for reservations in Indian Territory.
The following year, a second Treaty of Fort Laramie, the
Sioux agreed to move to a reservation in the Black Hills of
South Dakota.
Government vs. Sioux
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1874: Government violates the terms of the
1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie by sending the
army into the Black Hills in search of Gold.
Gold was discovered by General George A.
Custer.
Government wants to negotiate another
agreement.
Sioux refused.
War is on the way.
Sioux Indians
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Tatanka Iyotake: Sitting Bull, chief of the
Sioux Indians.
Nicknamed Slow as a child.
At age 14 fought his first battle with a Crow
indian. As a result he earned the right to
wear an eagle feather, symbol for bravery,
and was given the name Sitting Bull.
Courage, wisdom, generosity, and ability to
endure pain without complaint.
Spiritual leader and medicine man.
Sitting Bull
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Strongly opposed the intrusion of non-Indians
onto Sioux land.
Mocked American Indians who moved
“You fools; to make yourselves slaves to a piece
of fat bacon, some hard-tack biscuits, and a little
sugar and coffee.”
1876: Sitting Bull had a vision where he saw
soldiers attacking an American Indian village.
Inspired by his vision several hundred American
Indians rode off to fight U.S. Troops.
Sitting Bull
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Battle of the Rosebud: 1876 Indians battle
an army twice their size. Indians did not
win but it boosted their confidence.
After the battle, the Indians proceeded
west to camp near Little Bighorn River.
June 25, 1876 General George A. Custer
and 600 members of the U.S. Army 7th
Cavalry reached the American Indian
camp.
Custer orders immediate attack.
Custer and Sitting Bull
Custer vs. Sitting Bull
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Custer divided his men in 3 different sides.
After final attack which lasted less than 1 hour Custer
and every U.S. Soldier lay dead.
Battle of the Little Bighorn was the last victory for the
Sioux.
Custer's defeat prompted an increase to move
Indians on reservations.
Over next several months the American Indian forces
broke into smaller groups to evade army troops.
Group by group the tribes surrendered.
Sitting Bull fled to Canada.
The Ghost Dance
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Wovoka: gave the message of the Ghost Dance.
Began a religious movement known as the Ghost Dance.
Claimed the Ghost Dance could cause white settlers to
vanish, dead Indian ancestors to return to life, the buffalo
to return and traditional Indian ways of life to revive.
Brought hope to discouraged Indians
Some government officials feared the religious movement
would inspire rebellion.
When it got to Standing Rock Reservation the military
ordered the arrest of Sitting Bull.
Police arrived and surrounded Sitting Bull's cabin, a
skirmish broke out and 14 Indians including Sitting Bull
were killed.
Wounded Knee
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Sioux joined the Ghost Dancers farther west.
Some traveled with Big Foot, a Sioux leader who had initially
supported the Ghost Dance but had gradually turned away
from it.
Government wanted to arrest Big Foot but was afraid he would
cause trouble.
Big Foot leads his troops to Pine Ridge (350 members)
Set up camp at Wounded Knee Creek
Sioux was ordered to give up all guns
They only gave up a few guns forcing the soldiers to search
their tepees.
Tensions were high and nerves snapped and people began
shooting
300 Sioux and 30 US soldiers had been killed.
This marked the end of the bloody conflict between the Indians
and soldiers.
Reading Check #2
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What were the sources of conflict between
the Plains Indians and the U.S.
government?
The End of Resistance
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Chief Joseph: leader of the Nez Perce
He surrendered to the U.S. Army just 30 miles from the
Canadian border.
Was sent to Washington State to live.
1881: Apache leader Geronimo fled the reservation with
75 followers. Raided settlements through Arizona and
Mexico.
1884: The women and children captured. Geronimo
surrendered and briefly accepted reservation life.
1885: Geronimo and 134 followers escaped reservation
1886: Geronimo's final surrender: went to Florida as a
POW
His final surrender marked the end of Resistance
Voices of Protest
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Indian Rights Association
Women's National Indian Association
These groups urged the federal government to
craft a more humane Indian policy
Helen Hunt Jackson of Massachusetts supported
this cause.
1881: she wrote an influential book, “A Century of
Dishonor,” that criticized the government for its
years of broken promises and mistreatment of
American Indians.
Thoc-me-tony
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A Paiute reformer also known as Sarah
Winnemucca, called attention to the
problems of American Indians. Told of false
promises to the Indians.
1880: she asked President Hayes to allow
the Paiute to return to their home lands.
Hayes agreed but the BIA did not carry out
his order.
Reading Check #3
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How did Chief Joseph, Geronimo and
Sarah Winnemucca respond to white
treatment of American Indians?
Assimilating American Indians
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Indians had to convert to “white America”
to survive.
US government established a system of
American Indian schools.
Students were forced to leave their families
to attend boarding schools.
At school students were forced to speak
English, wear proper clothes, change their
names to “American” names
Assimilating American Indians
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1887: Congress passed the Dawes General
Allotment Act, which required that Indian lands
be surveyed and that American Indian families
receive an allotment of 160 acres of reservation
land for farming. Any left over land would be sold.
In less than 50 years the Indians lost 2/3 of their
land.
Some land sold to settlers and developers
Indians were cheated out of their allotment.
Many American Indians rejected farming
Section 2
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Western Farmers
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Economic Development of the West
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Land Acts
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3 government land acts increased non-Indian
settlement of the Great Plains.
Homestead Act: permitted “any citizen or
intended citizen to select any surveyed land up
to 160 acres and to gain title to it after five
years residence, if the person cultivated the
land.
400,000 families took advantage of the
Homestead Act.
The Pacific Railway Act
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Gave lands to railroad companies to
develop a railroad line linking the East and
West.
Morrill Act
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Granted more than 17 million acres of
federal land to the states. Ordered the
sale of this land to finance the construction
of agricultural and engineering colleges.
Founded more than 70 state universities.
Land
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Competition for land was fierce
Land opens up in Oklahoma
President Harrison had announced that he
land would be available to the first takers
beginning at noon on April 22.
50,000 people had gathered to race one
another for the land.
Indians lost 12 million acres in Oklahoma
to non-Indians
The Railroads
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Lured people to the west
After the Pacific Railway Act 125 million acres
was given to the railroad companies.
Railroad grants limited the amount of land for
settlers in the Homestead Act.
Railroad companies sold any surplus land to the
homesteaders in hopes of paying for the high
cost of laying the tracks.
Railroad companies wanted to advertise land to
Europeans
Sell land on credit, give free trips to newspaper
reporters.
Reading Check #1
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How did the U.S. Government promote the
economic development of the West?
Moving West
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3 main groups travel west:
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White Americans from the East
African Americans from the South
(Exodusters)
Immigrants
Moving West
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Middle class farmers and business men
could afford to move west others couldn't
afford it.
West offered a new start
Kansas Fever Exodus of 1879: Many
African Americans rushed to settle Kansas.
20,000 – 40,000 African Americans fled to
the South to escape violence. Known as
Exodusters these African American settlers
trekked west.
“American Fever”
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Immigrants flood the West
Irish, Germans, Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes
Russian Mennonites, Protestant Sect, migrated to the
Great Plains. American railroad companies encouraged
them to come to America. They knew how to farm wheat,
which thrived in the Plains.
Russians brought with them Russian thistle which
became known as tumbleweed.
Chinese immigrants came during the Gold Rush but
turned to farming.
California alone had 3, 200 chinese farmers.
Some chinese owned large farms: $9,500.00
Reading Check # 3
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Why did various groups of people migrate
to the West?
Western Environments and
Farming
Scarce Resources
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Water in short supply
Effective irrigation systems were used such
as canals, dams, and sloping fields to
control water flow.
Windmills to draw water from their wells
Trees are scarce
They burned buffalo manure for fire, built sod
houses: buildings made from chunks cut from the
heavy topsoil that were stacked like bricks. A
layer of soil covered the roof.
USDA
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U.S. Department of Agriculture (1862):
helped farmers adapt to their new
environment. Made new wheat crops,
taught farmers dry farming---new farming
techniques
New Farming Equipment
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James Oliver: had a plow factory in Indiana
that produced 1,000s of plows with sharp
durable blades that could slice through the
tough sod.
“self-binding”: harvesters cut wheat and
tied it into bundles.
Small farmers went in debt (expensive)
New farm machinery, abundant land,
enabled some companies to create a new
kind of large scale operation known
As Bonanza Farms.
Bonanza Farms
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Owned by large companies and operated
like factories.
500-1,000 workers
Soon faded away
Weather conditions played a factor
Bonanza owners bought seed and
equipment in bulk: get special deals
By 1890's most bonanza farms had been
broken up.
Reading Check #3
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How did the environment influence farming
practices and daily life in the west?