THE GREAT WEST AND THE
AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
CHAPTER 26
1865-1896
I. THE CLASH OF CULTURES ON THE PLAINS
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After Civil War frontier in America steadily
marched westward
On Great Plains relatively few white settlers
right after Civil War, habitat of Indian,
buffalo
1860 most Native Americans confined to
this region
Migration and conflict not foreign to tribes,
many had been pushed westward by white
settlement and clashed with other tribes
White soldiers and settlers in the decades
before the Civil War accelerated a fateful
cycle of disease, environmental destruction
and settlement that undermined
foundations of Native American culture
Inevitable clash between acquisitive,
industrial civilization and Native American
culture
By 1890 entire region populated by
American settlers
I. CLASH OF CULTURES ON THE PLAINS
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American policy since the 1830’s had been
resettlement and confinement of Native
Americans
1850’s beginning of reservation system,
established boundaries for Indian and white
settlement
Whites misunderstood basic structure of
Indian culture in these agreements
1860’s intensification of policy of confinement,
herded Indians into smaller reservations
Indians received promises from federal
government for food, clothing and supplies,
run by Indian agents that were often corrupt
Decade after Civil War saw increase of warfare
on Plains
Army troops met formidable resistance by
Native Americans
20% of U.S. soldiers were African American
(buffalo soldiers)
II. RECEDING NATIVE POPULATION
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1864- Sand Creek, CO U.S troops
attack Indian camp, kill 400
1866- Sioux ambush US Calvary
in MT, killing all; one of the few
Indian victories (whites abandon
region temporarily)
1868- Ft. Laramie Agreement
guarantees new reservation to
Sioux
1874- gold discovered in Black
Hills of North Dakota, white
settlers swarm to region that was
part of Sioux land and Indians
took to the warpath
1876- Gen. George Custer attacks
Indian force on Little Bighorn
River (MT), superior Indian force
wipes out all of Custer’s troops
II. RECEDING NATIVE POPULATION
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1877- US authorities try to heard Nez
Perce of Idaho onto reservations, pursue
then for 3 months and send to reservation
in KS
1880’s Apache of Arizona one of the last
tribes to be subdued by US troops
Indian policy shattered spirit, ghettoized
Indians on reservations, placed them on
marginal lands
Became wards of the government, easier
to feed than fight
RR’s instrumental in defeat; brought
people (soldiers, farmers, settlers), white
disease and alcohol contributed
Destruction of buffalo that had provided
sustenance to Plains culture was also a
factor
III. THE END OF THE TRAIL
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1880’s national conscience turned to plight
of NA’s
Helen Hunt Jackson A Century of Dishonor
(1881) recorded ruthless government dealing
with Indians
Some Americans sympathized with Indians,
some wanted policy of forced containment,
neither side showed much respect for Indian
culture and wanted Indians to assimilate
into American culture (boarding schools,
Carlisle Indian School)
Ghost Dance cult of 1890 (centered on Sioux
reservation in the Dakota Territory)
Religious revival to banish white settlers
and bring back the buffalo (Ghost Dance)
Grew in popularity, U.S. government
became concerned
Wounded Knee Indian Reservation, soldiers
fired into a group protesting death of Sitting
Bull, 100 men, women, children killed
End of Native American resistance
III. END OF THE TRAIL
1887 Dawes Severalty Act
dissolved tribes as legal entities,
wiped out tribal ownership of land,
provided families 160 acres of land,
citizenship in 25 years
 Reservation land not allotted was
sold to settlers, proceeds used for
education of tribes
 Tried to make farmers out of
Indians, ignored tradition of
tribally held lands
 Forced assimilation was Indian
policy for 50 years
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IV. MINING BOOM :FROM DISHPAN TO ORE BREAKER
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After Civil War millions of acres of land
permanently altered by humans
Ming first great boom (three phases)
A. Discovery
B. People pour into area
C. Communities grew, others saw opportunity supply
miners
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Gold and silver discoveries across West (CA, CO,
ID, MT, NV) brought miners, settlers
Boomtowns sprang up where lynch law and
vigilante justice reigned
Once surface gold was mined, big industry moved
in
Big business entered mining 1870’s
Capital used to buy equipment, hire crews of
immigrant labor
Mining companies caused extensive
environmental damage
Federal government supported large mining
operations- provided inexpensive land, approved
patents, provided RR land to move out ore
Mining boom helped fuel nations industrial
growth, injected silver issue into American
politics, caused conflict with Native Americans
V. BEEF BONANZAS AND THE LONG DRIVE
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Texas plains great for raising of beef, no
way to profitably get them to market
Issue solved by building of RR’s, cattle could
be shipped to stockyards of KC and Chicago
“Beef barons”, Swift, Armor; and a highly
industrialized meatpacking industry
developed
Products could be processed and shipped on
refrigerated car to eastern urban centers
1866-1888 ‘Long Drive”, “cow towns” sprang
up
Age of the cowboy
End of “open range” ranching mid 1880’s
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Invention of barbed wire
Supply of beef exceeded demand
Extreme winters, droughts (1886-1887)
Ranchers used hay to feed cattle
Farmers began to settle on open range,
brought by railroads
VI. THE FARMERS’ FRONTIER
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Homestead Act 1862 allowed settlers to acquire
160 ac. of land by living on it for 5 years, paying
nominal fee
Land divided along section, township lines set out in
Northwest Ordinance
Public land given away to fill it up, not for revenue,
provide stimulus to family farm
Many purchased land from RR, states and land
companies
Land speculators took advantage of system to grab
up best land
RR’s induced immigrants with cheap land
Higher wheat prices, iron plows made marginal land
more attractive
160 acres inadequate on arid Great Plains
Innovations in farming, new types of grain made
region profitable for agriculture
Drought persistent problem, farming techniques led
to “Dust Bowl” of the 1930’s
Federal government financed huge irrigation
projects to allow for agriculture in region; had more
to do with shaping of west than settlers, miners,
cowboys
VII. FAR WEST COMES OF AGE AND THE FADING FRONTIER
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Far West growth in population from 1870-1890
Republican Congress gathered more Republican votes during
period with admission of states
1889 Oklahoma open to white settlers, no longer “permanent”
Indian reservation
1890 superintendant of the census declared frontier “closed”
1893 Fredrick Jackson Turner’s “The Significance of the
Frontier on American History” published
Americans disturbed to find free land gone
1872-1890- Government began to set aside land for national
parks (Sequoia, Yellowstone, Yosemite)
VIII. THE FADING FRONTIER
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Frontier seen as symbol of opportunity, could always
start over
Land was many settlers most profitable crop
Frontier acted as a safety valve for displaced; you
could always move west
Did not really happen, too expensive to get into
farming, possibility of moving west kept industrial
wages higher (maybe)
Settling Trans-Mississippi West distinct chapter in
American history
Collision of Anglo, Indian, Mexican cultures where
Anglo’s established dominance
Scale and severity of environment had unique
challenges that were met by massive government
action (RR’s, irrigation, Homestead Act) that played a
role in economic and social development
IX. THE FARM BECOMES A FACTORY
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Situation of American farmers changing
High process for specialized cash crops provided profits to buy
manufactured goods
Large scale farmers became business people, part of the new
industrial order
Tied into RR’s, banks, manufacturing
Costly equipment, lack of business sense by many farmers led
to banks, RR’s and global marketplace becoming scapegoats
Mechanization and expense took many farmers off lands
American agriculture became butcher, breadbasket of the
world
X. DEFLATION DOOMS THE DEBTOR
One crop economy good as long as prices high
 Prices were determined on world market (which
also experienced mechanization)
 Low process, deflated currency, static money
supply (not enough dollars to go around) chief
concerns of farmers
 Many operated year after year at a loss
 Vicious cycle: machines increased output, supply
lowered price, had more debt
 High rates of interest from banks ruined many
farmers
 By 1880 ¼ of all farms operated by tenants,
industrial feudalism
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Declining Farm Prices 1865-1910
XI. UNHAPPY FARMERS
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Nature conspired against farmersgrasshoppers, floods, drought
In the South the boll weevil wreaked
havoc on the cotton crop in the 1890’s
Government over assessed their land for
taxes
Protective tariffs keep prices high on the
international market, also had to buy
high priced (tariff protected) goods at
home
Corporations that supplied farm
equipment, seed, fertilizer controlled
prices
Grain storage operators and RR’s
charged high fees
1890- ½ of population farmers but they
had nobody to organize them (by nature
individualistic and independent)
XII. THE FARMERS TAKE THEIR STAND
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1867- The National Grange of the
Patrons of Husbandry (Grange)
founded
Enhance isolated lives of farmers,
provide social, fraternal, educational
activities
1875- 800,000 members mostly in
Midwest and South
Began to concern themselves with
collective plight of farmers
Established cooperatively owned
stores, grain elevators and
warehouses
Entered politics to control grain,
freight prices, had biggest success in
Upper Midwest
Many “Granger” laws were struck
down by the Supreme Court (Wabash
vs. Illinois) and their influence faded
XIII. PRELUDE TO POPULISM
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Late 1870’s Farmers’ Alliances established in Texas
Grassroots movement
By 1890 over 1 million members
Organized to break control of RR’s through cooperative buying and
selling
Ignored plight of tenant farmers, excluded blacks
Racial division kept farmers from working together
Blacks formed Colored Farmers’ National Alliance
By 1890’s Farmers Alliances prelude to Populist Party
Farmers organized to attack money trust of Wall Street
Wanted nationalization of banks, RR’s, telephone, telegraph and
called for graduated income tax
Biggest issue was coinage of silver, to create money flow and make
debt easier to pay
Party wanted to relive farmers problems, unite farmers and urban
workers
1892 election won several congressional seats
Racial division kept them apart in the South, more popular in the
West
XIV. COXEY’S ARMY AND THE PULLMAN STRIKE
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Panic 1893 strengthened Populist position’
Armies of unemployed began marching to protest plight
1894- most famous Jacob Coxey and followers, marched on Washington to
demand federal works program to ease unemployment
Violent strikes, labor protest
Pullman Strike in Chicago
Eugene V. Debs, labor leader, organized strike to protest wage cuts and no
living cuts in company town
Paralyzed rail traffic across nation
Cleveland sends out federal troops (justification to keep mail moving),
crushed strike and sent Debs to prison
Debs sent to prison because he ignored court injunction to stop strike, first
time this tactic used
Seen by labor as proof of government, business, court alliance
Populist Party Cartoon 1892
XV. GOLDEN MCKINLEY AND SILVER BRYAN
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1896 farmers and labor wanted
relief, conservatives feared upheaval
Monetary policy major issue of
election of 1896
William McKinley backed by Mark
Hanna was nominee of Republican
Party
Republican platform favored big
business, hard money policies,
protective tariff and the gold
standard
Democrats were divided at
convention until Nebraskan William
Jennings Bryan gave his “Cross of
Gold” speech that brought him the
nomination
Platform demanded unlimited
coinage of silver at 32:1 creating
XVI. CLASS CONFLICT: PLOW HOLDERS VS. BONDHOLDERS
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Populists endorsed Bryan, Democratic party took over agrarian
politics
Bryan traveled around country preaching free silver
Caused panic for Republican “gold bugs”, Hanna used slush fund
to push McKinley
Republican business people used fear of unemployment and
economic hard times to win support
Huge voter turnout, McKinley won election
New era in American politics, ascendancy of urban, middle class
voter, Republican grip on White House until FDR, diminishing
voter turnout, rise of new political issues- industrial regulation
and welfare of labor
Why Did Populism Decline?
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The economy experienced
rapid change.
The era of small
producers and
farmers was fading away.
Race divided the Populist
Party,
especially in the South.
The Populists were not
able to break
existing party loyalties.
Most of their agenda was
co-opted by
the Democratic Party.
XVII. Republican Stand-pattisim Enthroned
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McKinley as president – business
given free reign, trusts allowed to
develop, tariffs high (46.5%)
Prosperity returned, farm prices
rose, all credit given to Republicans
Money issue faded away- new gold
deposits found around the world,
new technology allowed for
extraction of gold
Caused more gold on market,
increased supply and inflated value
of currency redeemed in gold
Gold Standard Act of 1900
allowed paper currency to be
redeemed freely in gold, victory for
conservatives