CHAPTER
13
Changes on the Western Frontier
Overview
Time Lines
SECTION
1 Native American Cultures in Crisis
SECTION
2 The Growth of the Cattle Industry
SECTION
3 Settling on the Great Plains
SECTION
4 Farmers and the Populist Movement
Chapter Assessment
Transparencies
CHAPTER
13
Changes on the Western Frontier
“My people have always been the friends of white
men. Why are you in such a hurry?”
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce to U.S. Army general O.O. Howard, 1877
THEMES IN CHAPTER 13
The American Dream
Cultural Diversity
Economic Opportunity
Women in America
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CHAPTER
13
Changes on the Western Frontier
Frontier: a region just beyond the edge of a settled area
The American Heritage Dictionary
What do you know?
• What does the word frontier mean to you?
Read the definition above and answer the
following:
• What images come to mind when you think of
the Western frontier?
• Where did the frontier begin? Where did it
end?
• Are there any frontiers left in this country
today? If so, what are they? If not, why not?
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CHAPTER
13
Time Line
The United States
1870 Red Cloud, chief of the Oglala Sioux, states
his people’s case in Washington, D.C.
1876 George A. Custer and his troops are
killed at Little Bighorn.
1879 Thomas A. Edison invents the light bulb.
1887 The worst blizzard in American history
causes a great “die-up” of cattle on the
plains.
1890 Native Americans follow the Paiute prophet
Wovoka in performing the Ghost Dance, in
hope of reclaiming their lands.
1893 Collapse of railroads triggers Panic of 1893.
1896 William Jennings Bryan runs for
president in support of free silver.
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CHAPTER
13
Time Line
The World
1870 Impressionism becomes an influential art
form in France.
1872 Secret ballot is adopted in Great Britain.
1881 French occupy Tunisia.
1885 Karl Benz builds the first automobile
powered by internal-combustion engine.
Berlin Conference divides Africa among
European nations.
1894 Sino-Japanese War is fought.
1899 Boer War in South Africa begins.
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SECTION
1
Native American Cultures in Crisis
Learn About
the Native Americans’ and settlers’ ways of life.
To Understand
the conflicts that occurred during settlement of the
Western frontier.
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SECTION
1
Native American Cultures in Crisis
Key Idea
Pursuit of economic opportunity leads
settlers to push westward, forcing
confrontation with established Native
American cultures.
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SECTION
1
Native American Cultures in Crisis
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Section 1 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What are important details about the culture of the Plains
Indians?
Culture of the
Plains Indians
BUFFALO AND HORSE:
buffalo–source of food, clothes, shelter
horse–source of transportation
BELIEFS:
world inhabited by spirits
focus on the present, not the future
FAMILY LIFE:
communal property and government
individualism valued
SECTION
1
Native American Cultures in Crisis
Section 1 Assessment
RECOGNIZING EFFECTS
This chapter says that the destruction of the buffalo was
“perhaps the most significant blow to tribal life.” Explain
why you agree or disagree with this statement.
THINK ABOUT
• how Native Americans used the buffalo
• how Native Americans viewed ownership of land
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SECTION
1
Native American Cultures in Crisis
Section 1 Assessment
EVALUATING
Why do you think the assimilation policy of the Dawes Act
failed?
THINK ABOUT
• the experience of Native Americans such as Zitkala-Sa
• the attitudes of many white leaders toward Native
Americans
• the merits of owning property
• the importance of people’s cultural heritage
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SECTION
2
The Growth of the Cattle Industry
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Learn About
the cowboy’s life and work.
To Understand
the difference between the myth and the reality of the
cowboy.
SECTION
2
The Growth of the Cattle Industry
Key Idea
The cattle industry thrives as the culture of
the Great Plains Indians declines, and a new
worker–the cowboy–appears on the scene.
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SECTION
2
The Growth of the Cattle Industry
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Section 2 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What were some of the reasons for the rise and decline of the
cattle frontier?
CATTLE FRONTIER
RISE
DECLINE
Mexican culture
Overgrazing
Railroads
Natural disasters
Growth of Eastern cities
Invention of barbed wire
SECTION
2
The Growth of the Cattle Industry
Section 2 Assessment
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING
How were cowboys in the United States similar to and
different from Mexican vaqueros?
THINK ABOUT
• their reasons for working
• the skills required
• the equipment they used
• their ethnic backgrounds
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SECTION
2
The Growth of the Cattle Industry
Section 2 Assessment
SYNTHESIZING
Create a monologue in which someone in this section, such
as a typical cowboy, discusses life on the cattle frontier.
THINK ABOUT
• how the person knows about the cattle frontier
• the person’s attitude toward the frontier
• how the person expresses his or her attitude
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SECTION
3
Settling on the Great Plains
Learn About
the life of farmers on the Great Plains.
To Understand
how the settlers endured hardships and transformed
the land.
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SECTION
3
Settling on the Great Plains
Key Idea
The promise of cheap, fertile land draws
thousands of settlers westward to seek their
fortunes as farmers.
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SECTION
3
Settling on the Great Plains
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Section 3 Assessment
3
SEQUENCING HISTORY
What were at least four events that shaped the settling of the
Great Plains?
1862
Homestead Act
1874
Development
of barbed wire
1869
Completion of the first
transcontinental railroad
1893
Turner’s essay
on the frontier
1889
Oklahoma land rush
SECTION
3
Settling on the Great Plains
GENERALIZING
Section 3 Assessment
3
Review the changes in technology that influenced the life of
settlers in the Great Plains in the late 1800s. Explain how
you think settlement of the plains would have been different
without these inventions.
THINK ABOUT
• the tasks done by the settlers
• tools and methods previously used
• the inventions that became widely used in the late 1800s
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SECTION
3
Settling on the Great Plains
Section 3 Assessment
EVALUATING
How successful were governmental efforts to promote
settlement of the Great Plains?
THINK ABOUT
• the growth in population on the Great Plains
• the role of railroads in the economy
• the results of the Homestead Act
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SECTION
4
Farmers and the Populist Movement
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Learn About
pressures that made farming increasingly unprofitable.
To Understand
the rise and fall of the Populist movement.
SECTION
4
Farmers and the Populist Movement
Key Idea
Farmers band together to address their
economic problems, giving rise to the Populist
movement.
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SECTION
4
Farmers and the Populist Movement
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Section 4 Assessment
ANALYZING CAUSES AND EFFECTS
What were some of the causes for the rise of the Populist
Party and the effects the party had?
CAUSES
EFFECTS
Falling prices for crops
Inability to repay loans
High railroad rates
New ideas that later become law
Political forum for addressing
special interests
Message of hope to downtrodden
Populist Party
SECTION
4
Farmers and the Populist Movement
Section 4 Assessment
APPLYING
Rank the following four factors in order of the impact you
think they had on bringing an end to the Populist Party.
• support for free silver
• lack of wealthy backers
• advocating a greater voice in government
• third-party status
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SECTION
4
Farmers and the Populist Movement
Section 4 Assessment
FORMING AN OPINION
Who do you think was most to blame for the Panic of 1893:
(1) farmers and businesspeople, (2) railroads and banks, or
(3) government?
THINK ABOUT
• the actions of each group prior to the Panic of 1893
• the causes of the panic
• the business cycle
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Chapter
13
Assessment
1. Identify three significant differences between the
culture of the Native Americans and that of the white
settlers on the Great Plains.
2. How did the conflict over the Bozeman Trail symbolize
the difficulties Native Americans faced?
3. How effective was the Dawes Act in promoting
assimilation of Native Americans into white culture?
4. Why did the cattle industry become a big business in
the late 1800s?
5. How did cowboy culture reflect the ethnic diversity of
the United States?
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Chapter
13
Assessment
6. How did the real life cowboys differ from the myths
about them?
7. What measures did the government take to support
settlement of the frontier?
8. How did settlers overcome the challenges of living on
the Great Plains?
9. What economic problems confronted American farmers
in the 1890s?
10. According to farmers and other supporters of free
silver, how would bimetallism help the economy?
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