Chapter 18: Conquest and Survival: The
Trans-Mississippi West
AP United States History
West Blocton High School
Mr. Logan Greene
Chapter Objectives
• What was the Federal government’s policy toward
Indians in the late nineteenth century?
• How did Western railroads shape the West and
effect the East?
• What brought the flood of migrants to the West in
the late nineteenth century?
• How was the environment transformed by Western
expansion?
Railroads
• Railroads were the driving force behind virtually
every aspect of the West
• After the Civil War railroads expanded at an
amazing rate and in 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah
the first transcontinental railroad was completed
• This opened up the previous “frontier” areas of the
West and led to conflict with natives, more areas for
mining, and additional land opened up for farming
Tribes and Cultures
• The environment governed how Native cultures
developed
• The abundance of the Northwest forest for game
and fishing led to stable native societies
• The Desert tribes of the Southwest had to learn
farming and hunting techniques and were generally
much smaller
• The most prolific of the natives lived on the Great
Plains and based their entire lives around the
Buffalo
Federal Indian Policy
• The United States had followed a policy of
separating white and Indian society since the 1830’s
(Andrew Jackson i.e. Trail of Tears & reservations)
• However, this began to fall apart as whites
expanded west into land that had been set aside for
Indians
• The migration saw the destruction of forests by
livestock, new diseases, and the beginning of the
devastation of the buffalo
Warfare
• From the 1850’s to the 1880’s white-Indian relations
were defined by conflict
• The Sand Creek Massacre occurred in 1864 when a
group of Cheyenne were annihilated by Colorado
troops with incredible violence
• Battles occurred all over the West, with the Natives
fighting valiantly but against incredible odds
• In 1868 the US admitted defeat against the Sioux
and “guaranteed” the Sioux rights to hunt and live
in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana
Warfare
• The Second Treaty of Fort Laramie kept the peace
for a few years; however, by 1874 the US was
needing to build railroads through Sioux territory
• Railroad expansion further disrupted the buffalo
and the discovery of gold in the West led to an
influx of settlers
• In this year the final provocation came as General
George Custer attacked a group of Sioux at the
Battle of Little Bighorn
• Even though Custer began the incident after his
men were wiped out it was deemed a “massacre”
Warfare
• Sadly the “massacre” at Little Bighorn led the
United States to concentrate on the Sioux
• The entire tribe had to capitulate and surrender by
1876-1877
• Virtually all other tribes were quickly subdued such
as the Nez Perce, Kiowas, Utes, Navajos, and
Comanche
• The defeated natives were sent to reservations
Reservation and Americanization
• Once the Indians were “defeated” the next step was
to Americanize them or culturally defeat them as
best as possible
• Reformers came to the reservations and the
natives, now reliant on government rations, had
little choice but to listen
• The government even resorted to violence to
destroy the native culture as the case of Wounded
Knee South Dakota when natives participating in
the Ghost Dance were gunned down
Reservation and Americanization
• Many white settlers believed the issue with truly
“converting” natives was the idea that natives did
not believe in private ownership
• The Dawes Act in 1887 terminated tribal ownership
of reservation land and required individual
ownership of land by individual natives
Mining
• The West was filled with natural resources and
many of the white settlers began exploiting these
natural riches
• Bonanza’s (A sudden source of luck in mining)
began to define the west
• The first of these bonanzas in the Rocky’s occurred
in 1859 and over 100,000 prospectors founded the
mining town of Denver
• Mining camps were generally isolated shanty towns
with little law and order
Mining Camps
• Populations are heavily male
• Largest source of paid employment for women was
prostitution
• Saloons and drinking dominated the town economy
• This also led to a rise in crime
• Chinese immigrants populated these towns as they
moved from California
• They faced constant racism and attacks
Labor and Capital
• Technology quickly changed the face of mining
• What began as a single endeavor hoping for riches
became big business
• Placer mining was the cheaper individual mining
often using a pan in a river
• Quartz mining became the more profitable mining
involving dynamite and deep digging but required
massive amounts of capital
• As well, this form of capital mining destroyed the
land
Labor and Capital
• Miners who struck out on their own quickly worked
for the new capital mines
• Mining was already extremely dangerous so the
workers quickly formed unions to protect
themselves and their interests
• Mining companies and their workers conflicts
consistently led to violence
Cattle
• As the East grew in population and industry it
needed steady supplies of food and especially meat
• The western cattle industry originated in Texas with
the usage of the Texas longhorn which was well
suited for the arid conditions
• The cattle drive became the standard method of
moving the cattle from the west to railroad markets
to take them to the east
• The Chisholm Trail from Texas to Kansas was by far
the most famous
Cattle Ranching
• Removal of the Indians and the expansion of
railroads allowed for major ranching
• Originally ranchers favored open range ranching or
ranching without fences and distinguishing cattle by
brands
• Eventually with the growth of big business ranching
and economic collapses ranchers needed more
control and began using barbed wire to control
their herds
Cowhands and Capitalists
• Cowboys lived a difficult life in the west
• In the early days of ranching cowboys were simply
seasonal employees who helped with the round up
• However, as ranching became big business cowboys
worked year around and became highly skilled
professionals
• Many African-Americans found work as cowboys
Homestead and Agricultural Expansion
• Agriculture truly expanded the West’s economy
• The Homestead Act of 1862 set aside 80 million
acres to prospectors to encourage settlement
• As well the ever growing railroads opened more
land to settlers
• Migrants poured into the West with the hope of
beginning the “family farm”
• Although predominantly white some Africans also
migrated West
Home on the range
• Farming on the range in the west was difficult
• The only fuel most frontier farmers had in
abundance was dried dung
• Water was difficult to find and sometimes had be
transported great distances
• Without a doubt the biggest danger to these new
farmers was extended drought
Farming
• Farming in the west was VASTLY different than
farming in the east
• The lack of water led to the necessity of “dry
farming” of planting seeds much deeper in the
ground to maintain moisture
• Special plows and windmills were necessary to
maximize the arid land
• When conditions were favorable the farming was
profitable but all to often the farms failed under
daunting challenges
Chapter Objectives
• What was the Federal government’s policy toward
Indians in the late nineteenth century?
• How did Western railroads shape the West and
effect the East?
• What brought the flood of migrants to the West in
the late nineteenth century?
• How was the environment transformed by Western
expansion?