U.S. History Chapter 13
Notes
Changes on the Western
Frontier
.
The culture of the Plains Indians declines as
white settlers transform the Great Plains.
Meanwhile, farmers form the Populist
movement to address their economic
concerns
Section 1
Cultures Clash
on the Prairie
The cattle industry booms in the late
1800s,
as the culture of the Plains Indians
declines
Geography of the West
Area between the
Mississippi Valley and the
Pacific Mountains
► Areas where settlers and
Indians lived
► By 1900 Indians had been
forced off their lands
- Transcontinental
Railroad opened up the
west for settlement a.
carried materials and
people
►
Miners in the West
►
►
1859 - Gold found in the
Rocky Mountains (Clear
Creek near Pikes Peak)
- 1st found by George
Jackson
1859 - Gold found in
Nevada
- Lode produced 100s of
millions of dollars worth of
gold and silver
- Lode - a deposit of a
valuable mineral buried
between layers of rock
Mining Life
► Boom
towns sprang
up
- They were rough
towns
► Women worked in the
mining towns
- Cooked
- Laundry
- Dance halls
- Boarding towns
The Business of Mining
► Few
prospectors
became rich
► Lack of technology
prevented most people
from becoming rich
- Most were placer
mining - where
people wash the sand
and gravel from a
stream
The Business of Mining
►
►
►
More efficient methods
developed in the 1870' s
- Water cannons were used to
strip the dirt off the hillside
- Exposed gold
- Very harmful to the
environment
Only companies had the money
to use water cannons
Working conditions were brutal
- 100 degrees Fahrenheit in
some caves
- Workers wore thick boots to
protect against hot water
- Accidents such as cave-ins
and dynamite explosions were
common
Mining Boom Ends
► Most
of the mining
towns became ghost
towns
► Gold rush changed the
geography of the
United States
Mining Boom Ends
►
The population grew so
much in some areas that
they were able to become
states
- 1864 - Nevada
- 1876 - Colorado
- 1889 - North Dakota,
South Dakota, and
Montana
-1890 - Idaho
Lumber Industry
► Logging
became a big
business in the west
► Pacific Northwest had
an abundance of trees
-Redwoods
- Douglas fur
► Settlers needed lumber
for homes and mine
timbers
Alaska
►
►
►
►
1867 - William Seward
arranged for the purchase of
Alaska from Russia
U.S. Senators didn't want to buy
it
- Called it "Seward's Folly"
Gamble paid off
- Russia lost foothold in North
America
Alaska was rich in natural
resources
- Gold
- Copper
- Oil
-Timber
Government policy
►
►
Early 1800's Plains Indians lived and hunted between the
Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains
- 1840' s - Whites begin to settle the west coast
- U.S. Gov. ask Indians to let settlers pass safely
- Asked the Indians to limit their hunting to certain are
- Indians had to move with buffalo
Mid 1800's - U.S. Gov changes policy
- Established reservations - special areas used by a
specific group
- Indians agreed to live on reservations based on the
promise that the land would be theirs forever (signed
Treaties with the U.S. Gov.)
- They were also promised food, money and other help
Clash of culture
► Indians
and settlers looked at the world
differently
► Settlers felt that the resources were theirs
to be used
- Large scale hunting, mining, and farming
► Plains Indians used only the resources they
needed for their actual needs
- They saw the white settlers as being
greedy and destructive
Fighting begins
►
►
►
►
By 1860's - Treaties were being
broken by both sides
Settlers continued to pass
through areas where they were
not allowed
Groups of Indians raided white
settlements and wagon trains
1864 - Sand Creek Massacre
- Colorado militia attacked
Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand
Creek
- Indians thought they were
under the protection of a nearby
government outpost
- Over 100 Indians were
slaughtered (including women
and children)
Fighting begins
► 1866
- Chief Red Cloud
(Sioux:) defeated
Captain W.J.
Fetterman and 80 U.S.
army soldiers
 Led them into a trap
and killed them
Fighting begins
►
►
►
Little Bighorn (most famous
battle of the Indian wars)
The Black Hills of South Dakota
had been set aside for the Sioux
and Northern Cheyenne
1874 - U.S. Army exploring
party found gold
- Settlers went looking for gold
- Gov. tried to buy the Black
Hills (Sioux considered land
sacred)
- 1875 and 1876 - Sioux warrior
left their reservations and united
under the leadership of two
Sioux chiefs (Sitting Bull and
Crazy Horse)
Fighting begins
June 25, 1876 - George
Armstrong Custer and several
hundred army soldiers found a
Sioux camp near the Little Bighorn
River
- Custer gained fame fighting in
Civil War
- Admirers considered him a daring
brilliant officer
- Critics considered him a
dangerous showoff
► Custer had orders to attack any
Indians he came into contact with
► When he attacked he was actually
stepping into a trap
► Custer and all of his men were
killed
- Became known as "Custer's
Last Stand"
►
Fighting begins
►
►
►
People in the East were shocked by the news of the Battle
of Little Bighorn
- U.S. Gov. sent 1000's of troops to fight the Indians
The Battle of Little Bighorn was the last Indian Victory in
the Indian Wars
- 1876 - U.S. Army defeated the Sioux
- Sitting Bull and his followers escaped to Canada
Crazy Horse was arrested
- He was fatally stabbed as he was being arrested
- Not sure if guard or another Indian stabbed him
Chief Joseph
►
►
►
►
►
Led the Nez Perce people
Nez Perce lived in northwest
(Oregon and Idaho)
- Fished for salmon, gathered
food, and hunted
Chief Joseph refused to sell
land to government
1877 - Gov. ordered the Nez
Perce people to move to a
reservation
- They fled and tried to evade
the army
Captured about 40 miles south
of Canada
- Chief Joseph made speech
- Said that he would fight no
more
Southwest Indians
Navajo were forced to move to
reservations in the east
- March called "The Long
Walk"
► Reservation was a failure
- Navajo allowed to return home
► Mid 1870's - Apache were
forced to move away from their
traditional territory
- Geronimo - led his people off
the reservation
- Evaded the army many times
due to their knowledge of
southern Arizona
- 1886 - Geronimo captured and
forced to live far away from his
people
►
Indians way of life destroyed
►
►
►
►
►
Whites killed buffalo
Indians depended on buffalo
Indians were unable to survive
without the buffalo
Many Indians turned to the Ghost
Dance Religion
- It taught that the spirits of the
dead Indians would return to help
the Indians reclaim their land
Many whites were fearful of this
movement
- Asked the army for help
- Cavalry rounded up Sioux men on
the Pine Ridge Reservation
- Place called wounded knee
Indians way of life destroyed
► Wounded
Knee
Massacre
- 300 men, women,
and children Sioux
were killed
- Considered to be
the last battle of the
Indian Wars
Assimilation
► Conditions
grew worse as more Indians
were forced on to reservations
► Reformers began calling for changes
► Many white though that only solution was to
make the Indians become more like the
whites
- Assimilation - to adopt the culture of the
people around you
Assimilation
Dawes Act (1887) - intended to make Indians give up their traditions and
accept White customs
- Reservation lands were divided up in farm plots for families and individuals
(40 to 160 acres)
- Any remaining land was sold to white settlers
- Profits used to pay for Indian schools
- Indians who accepted the plots of land could become citizens for the 1st
time
► Dawes Act failed
- Many western Indians didn't want to settle down as farmers
- Lacked tools and training
- Many sold their plots to white settlers cheap
► End 1800's - situation of the American Indians was tragic
- Lost land, people, and culture
- 20th century U.S. government finally realizes importance of Indian way of
life
►
Cowboys
► 1/6
were Mexican
American
► Some were black
- Nat Love - born in a
slave cabin
- Moved west when he
was a teenager
- Became famous
performing in rodeos
Birth of the Cattle Industry
►
►
►
►
Cowboys' roots were in Texas
Small herds - (only sold cattle
locally)
Joseph McCoy organized 1st
cattle drive
- Drove cattle to Abilene Kansas
(Railroad)
- Cattle sold for $40 per head in
the east ($3 per head in Texas)
Dodge City also becomes a
cattle town
Long drives
Cowboys herded cattle
over the open plains to
cattle towns
► 12 cowboys 3000 head
► Made sure that cattle had
plenty of grass to eat
along the way
► Drives were tough
- Had to keep cattle
together
- Watch for thieves
►
Wild West
►
►
►
Cowboys ended drives in cattle
towns
- Were dirty and nasty
- Weren't always law abiding
- Had money to spend
Large spaces with little
settlement made it hard to
catch outlaws
- Frank and Jesse James
became legendary bank robbers
- Belle Starr became famous
cattle thief
Westerners formed vigilante
groups
- Groups that took the law into
their own hands
The End of the Open Range
Late 1800's -long drives
end
► Overgrazing, bad weather
from 1883 to 1887
destroyed whole herds
► Ranchers began keeping
smaller herds that yielded
more meat per animal
► Tick fever caused land
owners to cutoff land from
the long drives
► Fence land with barbed
wire & turn open range
into separate ranches
►
Section 2
Settling on
the Great Plains
Settlers on the Great Plains transform
the land despite great hardships.
Farming the Plain
► Gov.
encouraged
western settlement
► (1862) Homestead
Act - Gov. offered 160
acres to head of family
over age 21 in return
for living on the land 5
years and improving it
- 1862 to 1900 –
6000,000 families
settled in the west
Farming the Plain
►
►
Exodusters - Southern
African-American settlers
in Kansas
Gov. created Department
of agriculture
 Introduced new crops
(Russian wheat) that could
survive harsh winters
 Morrill Act of 1862, 1890
financed agricultural colleges
Life on the farming frontier
►
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Lumber was scarce
Many settlers dug homes into
sides of ravines or hills
Made soddy or sod home by
stacking blocks of turf
- Snakes & bugs sometimes
crawled into cracks
- Burned cow chips for fuel
Grew cash crops (wheat and
com)
Had to fight year around battle
against weather (blizzards and
extreme heat)
Life on the farming frontier
►
►
Homesteaders were
virtually alone (Had to be
self-sufficient)
Women did men’s work
(plowing, harvesting,
shearing sheep)
- Also did traditional work
(carding wool, making
soap, canning vegetables)
- Some worked for
communities (sponsor
schools, churches)
Farmers in Debt
► Railroads,
investors created bonanza farms
(huge, single-crop spreads)
► 1885 to1890 - droughts bankrupted singlecrop operations
► Rising cost of shipping grain pushed farmers
into debt
Closing the Frontier
►
►
►
►
1872, Yellowstone National
Park created to protect some
wilderness
1890s - No frontier left
- miners, ranchers, and farmers
had swelled the population
April 22, 1889 - Government
gave signal for settlers to settle
the Oklahoma territory
- It was laid out within the day
- 60,000 people lived there by
the end of the year
Sooners - some people snuck
into Oklahoma before the Gov.
gave the signal
Section 3
Farmers and the
Populist Movement
Farmers unite to address their economic
problems, giving rise to the Populist
movement.
Unrest in Rural America
► The
growth of urban America made possible
because farmers were so productive
► Farmers felt poor compared to city people
► Farm life seemed boring compared to the
exciting opportunities of the city
Hard Times for Farmers
1867 - Oliver H. Kelley started the
Patrons of Husbandry (Grange)
- Hoped to fight the loneliness of
farm life and farming methods
- Open to both men and women
► Meetings were held at local schools
- Both social and educational
► Late 1800's - most farmers weren't
self sufficient
- Grew cash crops
► Most were in debt
- Western farmers owed banks
money for their land and equipment
- Southern farmers had taken on
debt to rebuild farms destroyed in
the Civil War
►
Low Prices and High Cost
►
►
►
►
Farmer's lives were hard
- droughts, floods, insects, and animal diseases
1870's - faced another problem
- Low prices for their crops
- Sank farther into debt
Caused by overproduction
- More people became farmers
- Farming methods improved
Became more expensive to operate a farm
- Tariffs on imported farm equipment
- Railroads raised prices
The Granger Movement
Turned their attention to economic and political issues
► Economic goal - avoid using middlemen
- People who made a living storing, transporting and selling product
- Cut into farmers’ profits and added to cost for buyer
► Grangers created cooperatives
- An organization owned and operated by those who use its services
- They shared crops in some places
- Allowed them to set their prices
► Politically - they elected legislatures that put limits on railroad and
storage prices
- Called Granger laws
►
The Populist Party
► 1880's
- Several political parties combined
► Populism - movement of the people
► Populist Party wants reforms
► Economic: increase money supply, graduated
income tax, & federal loans
► Political: Senate elected by popular vote, secret
ballot & 8-hour day
► 1892 - Populist candidates elected at different
levels of government
► Democratic Party eventually adopted platform
Debate Over Money Policy
►
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Pitted debtors against creditors
Debtors wanted more money to be put into circulation
Wanted the government to coin more silver (bimetallism)
Bimetallism - system using both silver and gold to back currency
Silverites - would create more money, stimulate economy
Creditors wanted to limit the amount of money
- Favored gold standard
Gold standard - backing currency with gold only
Paper money considered worthless if cannot be exchanged for metal
Gold bugs - gold only would create more stable if expensive currency
Election of 1892
1892 - Populist nominate
James B. Weaver for
president
► He had the following proposals
- Wanted Gov. to control and
operate railroads, telegraph and
telephone systems
- Wanted secret ballot in
elections
- Wanted graduated income tax
- Wanted U.S. senators to be
elected directly by the people
rather than state legislatures
- Demanded shorter working
hours for labor
► Grover Cleveland won 1892
election
►
The Panic of 1893
Railroads expanded faster
than markets
- Some went bankrupt
► Government’s gold supply
became depleted
- Led to rush on banks
- Businesses, banks
collapse
►
- Panic became depression
Election of 1896
Money was the central
issue
► Republicans nominated
William McKinley
- Supported big business
(gold standard)
► Democrats nominated
William Jennings Bryan
- Supported silver
► Populists endorsed Bryan
& chose own VP to
maintain party identity
►
Election of 1896
Candidates ran different campaigns
- McKinley didn't go out and campaign
- Considered undignified
- Accepted visitors at his home Bryan launched something
like a modem campaign
- Traveled by train made speeches
► Bryan carried the south and west (except California)
► McKinley carried northeast and California
- Won more electoral votes
► Urban America defeated rural America
►
The End of Populism
► 1896
- McKinley
elected president
► Populism collapsed
► Left legacy:
- Showed the
powerless could
organize & have
political impact
- Agenda of reforms
enacted in 20th century