369 AP US HISTORY
AMERICA: PAST AND PRESENT
EIGHTH EDITION
CHAPTER 17: THE WEST: EXPLOITING AN EMPIRE
LEARNING TARGETS
1. Describe the geographic and climatic conditions of the four major regions of settlement between
Missouri and the Pacific.
2. Distinguish the basic cultural features of the Pueblo, Plains, California, and Northwestern tribes.
3. Analyze the various factors that ended tribal life for the Native Americans.
4. Explain the United States' policies toward Native Americans and the results of those policies.
5. Discuss the motives that stimulated migration to the West.
6. Describe the journey along the Overland Trail for men and women.
7. List and explain the land laws passed by the federal government in the latter nineteenth century.
8. Locate the mineral strikes of the West and describe the life that developed in the mining camps.
9. Trace the boom and bust development of the open range cattle industry.
10. Describe the problems faced by early farmers of the Great Plains and the new methods with which they
addressed their problems.
11. Describe and assess the varying interpretations of the importance of the West in American history.
AP TOPIC OUTLINE
Development of the West in the Late Nineteenth Century
Expansion and development of western railroads
Competitors for the West: miners, ranchers, homesteaders, and American Indians
Government policy toward American Indians
Gender, race, and ethnicity in the far West
Environmental impacts of western settlement
TERMS TO KNOW
Great American Desert (1825-1860)
Indian Intercourse Act (1834)
Concentration (1851)
Chivington Massacre (1864)
Sioux War of 1865-67/Fetterman Massacre
Custer’s Last Stand (1876)
Ghost Dance/Wounded Knee (1890)
Dawes Severalty Act (1887)
Buffalo soldier (1867-90)
Homestead Act (1862)
Timber Culture Act (1873)
Desert Land Act (1877)
Timber and Stone Act (1878)
Comstock Lode (1859)
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
Exoduster (1879)
Hatch Act (1887)
Frederick Jackson Turner (1893)
CHAPTER 17 ID’s
1825 – 1860
Great American Desert
Pgs. 482-483
The area of land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains was called the Great
American Desert between 1825 and 1860. Explorers who crossed the “desert” saw nothing but miles
and miles of unending grass. There were no trees and very few rivers. Most emigrants stopped at the
Plains and stayed there. The farming implements of the day were no good on the soil, and the climate
was harsh in both summer and winter. The Great American Desert remained in the ownership of the
Indians until 1860.
1834
Indian Intercourse Act
Pgs. 485
Before the 1850’s, Americans lived peacefully side by side with the Indians. The Indians held
almost all of the land west of the Mississippi and were basically independent of the federal government.
In 1834, the government even passed the Indian Intercourse Act saying that no white person could enter
Indian Territory without a license.
1851
Concentration
Pg. 485
During the 1850’s the American attitude towards Indians changed. The government abandoned
its policy of letting the Indians have all the land west of the Mississippi. In 1851 they started the policy
of containment. The government assigned boundaries to the land of each tribe. The policy didn’t last
very long because the Indians wouldn’t stay within the boundaries and white people wouldn’t stay out of
the boundaries.
1864
Chivington (Sand Creek) Massacre
Pg. 486
At the end of concentration, gold miners moved into the area around Pikes Peak that was
inhabited by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. The two tribes got into a war with the settlers. In
1864, the tribes had had enough and asked for peace. Thinking that the war was over, Chief Black
Kettle led his troops to camp on Sand Creek in Colorado. A group of Colorado militiamen led by John
Chivington massacred the Indians, even after they had raised investigated and condemned the massacre.
They still took the land away from the Indians.
1865-1867
Sioux War of 1865-1867/Fetterman Massacre
Pg. 486
In 1865, gold miners invaded Sioux territory and set off another Indian war. The war was fueled
when the government planned to build the Bozeman Trail connecting mining towns in the middle of the
Sioux hunting grounds in Montana. The Sioux chief, Red Cloud led an army column under Captain
William J. Fetterman into an ambush and wiped out the entire column. The federal government created
a Peace Commission to end the Sioux War and all other Indian wars.
1876
Custer’s Last Stand
Pg. 487
Again in 1875, gold miners invaded Sioux hunting grounds in South Dakota. The Sioux
gathered together to stop the miners and were led by Rain-in-the-face, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull.
The army sent several columns against the Indians, but Colonel George A. Custer charged ahead to
claim what he thought would be a major victory. He divided his column and went with 265 men to what
looked like a small village. It turned out to be the main Sioux camp and Custer and his men were
annihilated.
1890
Ghost Dance/Wounded Knee
Pgs. 487, 490
After the end of the Sioux War, sporadic Indian violence continued for several years. One of the
things the Indians turned to for hope was the Ghost Dance. The dance was based on a vision a Paiute
messiah named Wovoka had had. Wovoka said that the dance would bring back Indian land, made the
whites disappear, and bring back the buffalo. The military stepped in to end the Ghost Dance. Ghost
Dancers gathered together under chief Big Foot. He agreed to come to the army camp on Wounded
Knee Creek, South Dakota after the army caught up to him. At Wounded Knee, someone fired a shot
and army machine guns mowed down the Indians in their tepees.
1887
Dawes Severalty Act
Pg. 490
After military conflict with the Indians was basically over, the government tried a policy of assimilating
them into normal American culture. The Dawes Severalty Act was supposed to give every Indian a
farm. The act gave 160 acres to heads of families, 80 acres to single adults, and 40 acres to children.
The land was held in trust for 25 years so speculators couldn’t steal it. When the Indians moved onto
their land and became civilized they were granted citizenship. The act was a failure because speculators
leased the land from the Indians who didn’t know how to farm.
1862
Homestead Act
Pg. 494
The Homestead Act of 1862 was the first piece of land legislation since the Land Ordinances of
the 1780’s. The act was intended to bring people west to settle and start farms. The act gave 160 acres
to anyone willing to pay a $10 registration fee and pledge to live on and cultivate the land for 5 years.
Many took advantage of the Homestead Act, but it didn’t work as well as expected because the
conditions of the Midwest didn’t suit 160 acre farms.
1873
Timber Culture Act
Pg. 474
The Timber Culture Act was intended to bring more people west. It allowed people under the
Homestead Act to claim another 160 acres of land if they planted trees on a quarter of it in 4 years. It
was very successful.
1877
Desert Land Act
Pg. 494
The Desert Land Act was a result of lobbying by cattle ranchers. The act gave people 640 acres
for $1.25 an acre if they agreed to irrigate part of it in 3 years. Much of the land gained by the act was
gained illegally because people irrigated land by dumping a bucket of water on it. Also, ranchers would
use their cattle hands to build up huge ranges.
1878
Timber and Stone Act
Pg. 494
The Timber and Stone Act applied to land that was good for lumbering or mining. It gave
people in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington to buy 160 acres for $2.50 an acre. Like the
ranchers, lumber companies used their employees to buy up huge forests.
1859
Comstock Lode
Pg. 497
As gold was discovered in California and Colorado, people streamed west across the mountains.
The gold in Colorado quickly wore out. In the Sierra Nevadas, John W. Mackay and two others started
a company to dig deep into the mountains. They found the richest lode in the history of mining. Henry
T. P. Comstock talked his way into partnership in the claim and it became known as the Comstock Lode.
It made John Mackay the richest man in the world.
1862
Chinese Exclusion Act
Pg. 498
During the gold rush of the 1800’s, many of the miners were Chinese. They would move in and
carefully work claims that others had abandoned finding more gold. The American miners dislike them
and there were many riots against Chinese miners. Eventually, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion
Act in 1882 suspending the immigration of Chinese laborers into the country for 10 years.
1879
Exoduster
Pg. 502
1887
Hatch Act
Pg. 504
During the late 1800’s there was a technological revolution in farming. Many new inventions
made farming on the prairie much easier. In 1887, Congress passed the Hatch Act that set up
agricultural experiment stations to spread the new discoveries among the farmers.
1893
Frederick Jackson Turner
Pgs. 506-507
Frederick Jackson Turner was a history instructor at the University of Wisconsin. He wrote a
paper in 1893 entitled “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”. In the paper he wrote
that American development depended on the frontier and on the expansion of the country into free land.