Chapter 26
The Great West
and
the Agricultural Revolution
1865 – 1896
Up to our own day American history has been in a
large degree the history of the colonization of the
Great West. The existence of an area of free land, its
continuous recession, and the advance of American
settlement westward, explain American development.
- Frederick Jackson Turner
A. The Clash of
Cultures on the Plains

“Tell your people that since
the Great Father promised
that we should never be
removed we have been
moved five times. . . I think
you had better put the
Indians on wheels and you
can run them about
wherever you wish.” –
Sioux Commission
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Fort Laramie Treaty marked
beginning of reservation system
Indians surrendered lands in return
for sovereignty
White settlers brought disease and
hunted buffalo to near extinction
Federal Indian agents often
corrupt, selling government
supplies and substituting motheaten blankets and spoiled meat.
1. Who were the Buffalo Soldiers?
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At the start of the Civil War, the
government withdrew the western
army to concentrate on ending the
rebellion.
186,000 black soldiers participated
in the Civil War
Many people feared armed Negro
soldiers near their communities.
They were also afraid of the labor
market being flooded with a new
source of labor.
Because of their courage, the
Native Americans called the
black regiments “buffalo”
soldiers.
2. Why a Buffalo Soldier?
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Many African-Americans
joined the military for the
economic benefits
When Congress reorganized
the peacetime army, it
formed two segregated
regiments of black cavalry,
the Ninth and Tenth United
States Cavalry
The troops were sent west to
join the army's fight with the
Indians.
B. Receding Native Population
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1. Sand Creek Massacre,
Colorado, 1864
Col. Chivington’s militia killed
several hundred Cheyenne and
Arapaho people, most of whom
were still sleeping, believing they
were under immunity.
The federal government
condemned the incident, and
attempted to make amends to
those who survived by giving
them money.
“Women
were shot praying for mercy, children
had their brains dashed out, and braves were
tortured, scalped, and unspeakably mutilated.”
1. Cruelty begot cruelty, 1866
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Sioux war party
trying to stop
construction of
Bozeman Trail to
Montana goldfields
Ambushed Capt.
Fetterman’s unit
81 soldiers and
civilians mutilated
Govt. abandoned
Bozeman Trail in
Treaty of Fort
Laramie, 1868
2. Battle of Little Big Horn
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Also known as “Custer’s Last
Stand”
Gold discovered in sacred
Black Hills
Sioux encouraged by Sitting
Bull (Hunkpapa Sioux) to
defend their land
Makes alliance with Crazy
Horse (Oglala Sioux)
Custer and Seventh Cavalry
wiped out trying to suppress
uprising
3.
Nez Perce and Chief Joseph
After government opens Wallowa Valley to mining
and settlement, Chief Joseph leads tribe north to
escape forceful relocation to reservation.

It is cold and we have no
blankets. The little children are
freezing to death. My people,
some of them, have run away to
the hills and have no blankets, no
food. No one knows where they
are--perhaps freezing to death. I
want to have time to look for my
children and see how many I can
find. Maybe I shall find them
among the dead.
Hear me, my chiefs. I am
tired. My heart is sick and
sad. From where the sun now
stands, I will fight no more
forever.
4. Fire-and-Sword Policy
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Railroad brought
unlimited troops, farmers,
cattlemen, miners,
settlers
White people’s diseases
Firewater
Chief of the Apache, last Native
American to surrender to US
government
C. Bellowing Herds of Bison
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Native
Americans
depended on
buffalo for:
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Clothing
Food
Shelter
“We
took away their country and their means of
support, broke up their mode of living, their habits
of life, introduced disease and decay among them,
and it was for this and against this they made war.
Could anyone expect less? - Gen. Phil Sheridan
D. The End of the Trail

Helen Hunt Jackson’s
book, Century of
Dishonor” (1881)
exposed the
government’s record
toward Native
Americans
1. The Ghost Dance
•Begun in 1888 by Paiute holy
man Wovoka.
•His vision inspired the
followers of the movement,
believing the white man would
disappear from the Earth after a
natural catastrophe and that
the Indian dead would return
bringing with them the old way
of life that would then last
forever.
•Indians had to practice the
customs of the Ghost Dance
movement and to renounce
alcohol and farming and end
mourning, since the
resurrection would be coming
soon.
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The Ghost Dance consisted
of slow shuffling
movements following the
course of the sun.
It would be performed for
four or five days and was
accompanied by singing
and chanting, but no
drumming or other
musical instruments. In
addition, both men and
women participated in the
dance.
Word spread quickly and
the Ghost Dance was
accepted by the Utes,
Bannocks and Shoshone
tribes.
2. Unlike other Dances
3. The Ghost Dance Shirt
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Eventually, the Plains tribes also
adopted the Ghost Dance movement
and the peaceful message of hope
was spreading and uplifting many
Indians.
Many tribes added specific customs
and rituals to the Dance that
reflected their tribes individuality.
The Sioux added two specific
elements including the use of
hypnosis to bring about trances and
aid in the communication with the
dead, and a ghost shirt.
Made of buckskin or cloth, the shirt
was said to make the wearer
immune to bullets, a weapon of
death known initially only to the
white man.
4. Sitting Bull
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A famous Sioux warrior,
adopted the Ghost Dance into
his way of life.
Before dawn on December
15th, 1890, the police burst
into Sitting Bull's house,
ordered him to his feet, and
pushed him toward the door.
Outside, Sitting Bull's
followers began to gather,
vowing to keep them from
taking their leader.
Sitting Bull hesitated, unsure
what to do.
One of his supporters shot
one of the policemen.
Sitting Bull was killed.
The soldiers now numbered
around 500; the Indians 350,
all but 120 of these women
and children.
Red Cloud, Sitting Bull,
Geronimo, Chief Joseph
5.
Frightened Indian Agent and the 7th Calvalry
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His followers fled and joined
the band of Kicking Bear.
Responding to the pleas of a
frightened Indian agent,
Washington dispatched
5,000 troops, including the
Seventh Cavalry, Custer's old
command.
Donning their ghost shirts
and with their beliefs firm in
their hearts, the followers of
the Ghost Dance were
rounded up at Wounded
Knee Creek.
6. The Shirts did not stop the Bullets
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The soldiers entered the
camp demanding all Indian
firearms be relinquished.
A scuffle ensued and a
firearm discharged.
At first, the struggle was
fought at close quarters, but
when the Indians ran to take
cover, the Hotchkiss artillery
opened up on them, cutting
them down.
Among those killed were
women and children
wearing their ghost shirts,
which did not stop the
bullets of the Indian
Agencies or the Military.
7. It Lasted Less Than An Hour

Hotchkiss gun used against
Indians at Wounded Knee.
Corporal Weinart received
Medal of Honor for his actions

Over 150 Indians were killed and
50 wounded by the end of this
brutal, unnecessary violence,
which lasted less than an hour.
In comparison, army casualties
were 25 killed and 39 wounded.
Forsyth was later charged with
killing the innocents, but
exonerated.

8. There were dead people all over . . . .
There were dead people all over, mostly women and children, in a
ravine near a stream called Chankpe-opi Wakpala, Wounded Knee
Creek. The people were frozen, lying there in all kinds of
postures, their motion frozen too. The soldiers, who were
stacking up bodies like firewood, did not like us passing by. They
told us to leave there, double-quick or else.
9. Why?

Old Unc said: "We'd
better do what they
say right now, or
we'll lie there too."
So we went on
toward Pine Ridge,
but I had seen. I had
seen the dead
mother with a dead
baby sucking at her
breast. The little
baby had on a tiny
beaded cap with the
design of the
American flag."
10. “Kill the Indian and Save the Man”
Motto, Carlisle Indian School
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Dawes Act gave family
heads 160 acres if they
would behave like “good
white settlers”
US citizenship granted in
1924
Carlisle Indian School
separated children from
their tribes to teach them
“white” values and
customs
11. Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Pioneer?
Turner’s Thesis
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Stresses the importance of the continually advancing
frontier on American culture
He described it as "the meeting point between
savagery and civilization"
This advancing line "begins with the Indian and the
hunter; it goes on with the disintegration of savagery
by the entrance of the trader... the pastoral stage in
ranch life; the exploitation of the soil by the raising of
corn and wheat in sparsely settled farm communities;
the denser farm settlement; and finally the
manufacturing organization with the city and the
factory system."
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/multimedia/interactive.html
E. Mining: From Dishpan to Ore Breaker
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Called “gold-grubbers” or
“Forty-niners”
Comstock Lode – largest
silver deposit ever
discovered
Encouraged westward
movement
Financed:
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Civil War
Building railroads
Silver will become a
campaign issue
F. Beef Bonanzas and
The Long Drive
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Movement to cities creates
demand for cattle
Texas cowboys drove herds
over plains to railheads
Abilene, Dodge City, Ogallala
Transcontinental Railroads
brought homesteaders,
sheepherders and barbed wire
Era of the cowboy began
1. The Era of the Cowboy
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Long Drive ended after packing houses and refrigerator cars
Transcontinental railroad ended long drive
Live cattle shipped to stockyards
“Beef barons” – Swift & Armour in Chicago
G. The Farmers’ Frontier
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Homestead Act of 1862
gave settlers 160 acres
Must remain 5 years and
build house
Required “dry farming” –
shallow cultivation
Russian wheat
Barbed wire – Joseph
Glidden
Irrigation and Windmills
Sod houses, dirt floors,
no running water, no
toilets
H. The Far West Comes of Age
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Oklahoma, given to Indians forever, opened to
settlement in 1889
Federal troops shot horses of “Boomers” who
illegally entered early
Settlers known as “Sooners”
I.
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The Fading Frontier
1890 US announced the frontier was closed
Farming became an industry – cash crops
Farmers compete with locusts, drought, floods,
railroad freight rates, the economy
1. Pilgrims of
the Plains
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Mail order began
under Aaron
Montgomery Ward –
first catalogue
J. The Farm Becomes a Factory
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New post Civil War ‘high’ prices persuaded farmers
to grow “cash” crops and use profits to buy
supplies
Mechanization of agriculture makes America the
‘breadbasket’ and the ‘butcher’ of the world
K. Deflation Dooms the Debtor
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Problems
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Deflated currency
due to static money
supply
Increased
production with
machines reduced
need for farm labor
Increased capital
costs
Just lowered price
of farm products
L. Unhappy Farmers
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We will have water near the house for
washing and watering stock, but for
drinking and cooking I will have to
haul a little over 1/4 of a mile till I get
time to dig a well.
--Uriah to Mattie, April 27, 1873
Fifty miles to water,
A hundred miles to wood,
To hell with this damned
country,
I’m going home for good
M. The Farmers Take Their Stand
or Who were the Grangers?
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National Grange of the
Patrons of Husbandry
Organized in 1867 by Oliver
Kelley, Minnesota farmer
Goal was to enhance the
lives of isolated farmers and
encourage self-improvement
Established cooperative
stores and grain elevators
Lobbied for regulation of
railway rates
N. Prelude to Populism
The People’s Party
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Farmers’ Alliance founded in
1870
Created new political party
– Populists
Platform
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William Peffer, first
Populist US Senator
Nationalizing railroads,
telephones, telegraph
Graduated income tax
Free and unlimited coinage of
silver
Secured several
Congressional seats in
election of 1892
O. Coxey’s Army and the Pullman Strike

Group of unemployed
American workers, led by the
reformer Jacob Coxey
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To protest a four-year
economic depression, the
worst in United States
history to that time.
Expression "Enough food to
feed Coxey's Army"
originates from this march.
1. The Wizard of Oz?

The purpose was to
protest the
unemployment
caused by the Panic of
1893 and to lobby for
the government to
create jobs building
roads and other
public works
improvements.
2. First “poor people’s” march on DC
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The march originated
with 100 men in Ohio
Groups from around the
country joined the march
Coxey and other leaders
were arrested for
walking on the grass of
the US Capitol, and the
rest of the men
scattered.
3. Columbian
Exposition
Chicago, 1893

The US Postal Service produced its
first picture postcards.
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Cracker Jacks were introduced.
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Aunt Jemima Syrup was introduced.
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US Mint offers first commemorative
coins: a quarter, half dollar, and
dollar.
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Cream of Wheat was introduced.
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Shredded Wheat was introduced.
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Pabst Beer was introduced.
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Juicy Fruit gum was introduced.
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Diet carbonated soda was introduced.
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The hamburger was introduced to the
United States.
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The carnival concept was born.
4. World's Columbian Exhibition
Innovations and Legacy
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The first elevated electric railway ever
built.
Gray's Teleautograph-A device that
electrically reproduced handwriting at a
distance.
Thomas Edison's kinetograph was a
precursor to the movie projector.
George Ferris built the first Ferris Wheel.
The United States produced its first
commemorative stamp set.
5.
The White City
http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/devilinthewhitecity

Largest single common
artistic undertaking ever.
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The world's first Ferris
Wheel, invented by
George W. Ferris, was
on the Midway.
The 250-foot high
steel structure had 36
cars carrying 60
persons each.
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6. Dr. H. H. Holmes

"I was born with the
devil in me. I could not
help the fact that I
was a murderer, no
more than the poet
can help the
inspiration to sing."
Dr. H. H. Holmes,
confession, 1896
7. Young women come to the fair
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Through fraud and shady business
dealings, Holmes became successful and
was soon looking for property to expand
his empire.
The opportunity arrived when the
undeveloped land across the street from
the pharmacy went on sale.
Holmes immediately began to plan his
"castle": a strange, ragged building with
strange vaults, secret rooms, and a
wooden chute that descended from the
second floor all the way to the basement.
Not even the workers he hired to build it
understood the full design of the building.
While Burnham and Root busied
themselves with the preparation of their
enchanting White City on the lake,
Holmes was completing the construction
of his castle at 63rd and Wallace.
The upcoming fair presented itself to
Holmes as the perfect opportunity.
His dark castle would become a hotel for
the fair.
8. Chicago Not a Happy Town
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Pullman strike of 1894
Organized by Eugene V. Debs with American Railway
Union
Company cut wages by 1/3, but kept company house
rents the same
Pres. Cleveland ordered federal troops crush the strike
for interfering the transit of US mail
P. Golden McKinley and Silver Bryan
Election of 1896
The Gold Standard, Bimetallism, or 'Free Silver'?
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After the Civil War,
Greenbacks were recalled
until they could be backed
100% with gold.
This is known as the ‘gold
standard.’
This caused inflation which
hurt workers and borrowers
The Silver Candle, political cartoon
1. What’s the Deal with the Silver?

William Jennings Bryan
Of Nebraska
Farmers hoped
that free silver
might cause
inflation and end
depression
2. Divides the Democrats
“
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Democrats nominated
Bryan on platform of
unlimited coinage of
silver
With gold ratio of 16 to
1
3. “Cross of Gold” speech
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Bryan’s speech at Democratic
convention
“We will answer their
demands for a gold standard
by saying to them: You shall
not press down upon the
brow of labor this crown of
thorns, you shall not crucify
mankind upon a cross of
gold.”
US stopped using silver and
sold surplus in 1970
4. Democratic Party Divided
“A great exhibition, but rather trying on the one in the middle”
Chicago Record, July, 1896
5. Election of 1896
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William McKinley of Ohio – Republican
Encouraged by Marcus Hanna, who believed business of
government was aiding business
Democrats divided into
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Silver Democrats
Gold Democrats
Prohibition Party also ran candidate
Q. Class Conflict:
Plowholders Versus Bondholders
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Disappointment at the
Polls
New era of American
politics
Last effort to win White
House with farm voters
Less voter participation
Weakening of party
organizations
Less importance of issues
R. Republican Stand-pattism Enthroned
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McKinley won
High tariff passed to reward
industrialists who had
contributed to campaign
Needed to cover government
deficits
End of Depression of 1893
New gold discoveries in
Klondike kept US on gold
standard
Ended silver demands
1. Assassination of President McKinley
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Iit was poor medical
technique not bullet which
caused McKinley's death.
The wound was closed
without disinfecting
McKinley died September
14, 1901 of gangrene.
Czolgosz was electrocuted
on October 29 and
"someone" then poured
sulphuric acid on his face,
while Czolgosz lay in his
coffin, prior to a hasty
burial.