Chapter 16 Notes
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The Far West was uncharted territory that the Americans knew little about. The area was flat
and the people who had been there were only the Native Americans
The Spanish and Pueblo Indians had a complex Caste System where the Spanish/Mexicans were
on top because they owned the largest piece of lands and controlled the trading centers at
Santa Fe
The Pueblos were beneath them, other Indians who were enslaved and those who voluntarily
left their tribes (genizaros) were at the bottom
The widespread Indian groups were called Plain Indians, some of who formed alliances with
each other
The tasks were divided by genderWomen’s roles were domestic and artistic, the men worked
hunters and traders
Buffalos provided an economic basis for the Plain Indians, provided source of food, clothing,
shoes, etc;
Though there were differences, Indians came together to work effectively though they could not
overcome the diseases from the west like small pox
Taos Indian Rebellion resulted when the US tried to establish a government in the acquired land
of New Mexico, without including the Mexican Ruling class. The Hispanics and Indians were
afraid that their land would be taken away and their societies would be; they rebelled but lost to
the American army
Mexican Americans in the region were resistant to the challenge of control in their
societiesEnglish speaking proprietors of the new enterprises made Mexicans work the lowest
paying jobs in the region
In 1830, the New Mexican government reduced the power of the Church which collapsed the
mission society
-A Mexican aristocracy emerged in its place which controlled a chain of real estates and land in
the west
The Anglo-American migration created new opportunities for wealth, however it had destroyed
the Mexican American authority in the region
Chinese immigrants were seen as worthy people in the society until they became so successful
that the whites saw them as rivals
As the mining field declined the jobs in the rail road industry grew
The Chinese workers were mainly responsible for the construction of the railroad in the west,
they worked hard, and made few demands and worked with low pay
After the Transcontinental Railroad was completed thousands of Chinese were left unemployed
 Chinese immigrants went to the cities, and some formed Chinatowns led by prominent
merchants known as the Six Companies
Most Chinese females who came to America were sold into prostitution, some believed that
once the sex ratio was balanced out, men would be looking to settle down more
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Anti-Coolie clubs emerged in the 1860s and 70s who wanted to ban the employment of Chinese
immigrants, they also tried to boycott the products made by the Chinese
Congress pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which banned Chinese Immigration into the US
for ten years and stopped the Chinese already in the US from becoming citizensthey got
support from representatives all over, and made the law permanent in 1902
The Federal Government also passed land policies like the Homestead Act of 1862 to encourage
settlements----Settlers were permitted to buy plots of 160 acres for a small fee if they occupied
the land for 5 years and improved it
Government also helped the westerners when they asked for it by passiong the Timber Culture
Act (homesteaders receive grants of 160 additional acres if they planted trees on 40 of those
acres) and the Desert Land Act ( buy 640 acres at 1.25 an acre)