The geography of
America
Geographical Regions: America has very different geographical regions:
 When we speak of the American West, we really mean the area of North
America. North America can be divided into several geographical regions, all of
which are quite different from each other.
The West and its climate: The Great Plains lie in the centre of North America:
 Central North America is dominated by the Great Plains.
 The Plains are large areas of grassland which are very dry and can look like the
desert.
The weather on the Plains is extreme and scary:
 The weather can vary vastly which makes farming on the Plains very difficult.
 With the Plains being far from the sea, this can mean that the temperatures can
vary vastly between winter and the summer.
The Rocky Mountains form a barrier across America:
 The slopes on either side of the Rockies are heavily wooded.
 Meanwhile the area in the centre of the Rockies is very flat and contains areas
of desert.
The clash of cultures
Lifestyles of the Native Americans: The Plains Indians had many different Tribes:
 Native Americans are commonly known as Indians.
The Natives were mostly hunter-gatherers:
 They were nomadic - this means that they moved around a lot.
 They relied heavily on the Buffalo which they used for food, clothing, tepees
and bone tools.
 The arrival of the horse means that hunting became easier.
 Diseases from Europe, such as Smallpox and Cholera, meant that some of the
Indian population were affected by illnesses and high deaths.
 Most Indians travelled from place to place to follow wild animals. This meant
that they didn't regard land as something that anyone owned.
 Many of the settlers, who came to the west, saw the land as an opportunity to
settle.
Most Indian men were also warriors:
 Native Americans travelled in small groups and Tribal gatherings would come
together to make important decisions.
 Tribal warfare was an important part of an Indians life. Many Indians were
expected to be hunters and warriors. Raiding for animals and captives was a part
of Indian life.
 Symbolic acts of bravery reduced the need to kill or to be killed.
Religion and Traditions: The Great Spirit was at the centre of Indians' religion:
 Wahkon-tah is the sum of all things; the collective totality that always was without beginning, without end.
 Humans are a part of nature and not masters over it.
 The Great Spirit cannot be given human characteristics.
Circles and animals spirits are important:
 Native American believes that all things have spirit. This includes objects such
as rocks and mining these could be seen as upsetting the spirits.
Oral history means no books:
 Indians did not write books. The terrible epidemics killed many of the old people
and many stories were lost with them.
Religion and tradition of the whites:
There's no getting away from the fact that the arrival of the White men and their
culture was bad news for the Native Americans. Some terrible things were done.
The Whites tried to convert the Indians to Christianity:
 Christianity is a faith where it tries to convert people. This meant that other
cultures were regarded as inferior.
 Most of the whites saw the Indians as savage and superstitious.
They also tried to impose their culture on the Indians:
 Many whites had a stereotypical view of how a society should act and behave.
This meant that they saw other cultures who did not achieve this as weaker.
 Teaching Indians to speak English was seen as a great kindness.
 The growth of the populations across Europe at this time meant that new space
and resources were needed and this could be found in the American West.
The Whites rarely stuck to their Treaties:
 American treaties with the Indians were almost always broken. This was because
the discoveries in the American West, such as gold, meant that Whites were not
always able to keep their promises made before the discoveries...
Manifest Destiny and Women's Roles: Many Christian Whites believed in 'Manifest
Destiny':
 Many white Americans believed it was their rights to occupy and govern all of
North America. They thought it was their Manifest Destiny.
Women had very mixed fortunes in the American West:
 Indian and White settler cultures were very macho dominated.
 However in small Indian groups and in the homesteader families - hard work by
all was needed for survival.
 Women in the tribal groups made most of the finished goods. This meant that
they owned all things that they made. Subsequently, it needed a brave man to
divorce his wife.
 Women in the settler communities helped the man get the farms off the ground
and took part in the decision making.
 Women were largely responsible for housework and education of their children.
 Life for the homestead family varied between the ideal and starving to death.
The Early Settlers
The Whites first settled on the east coast of America, but they didn't stay here for
long...
A few trails crossed the mountain - but they weren't easy…The trails had been
pioneered by explorers and trappers:
 Explorers and trappers had some knowledge of the route which helped other
settlers to get across the mountains more easily.
Wagons Roll: The Plains were known as the Great American Desert:
 The extreme weather on the Plains meant that it was unsuitable for agriculture.
This is why it was called the Great American Desert.
People went west for many reasons:
 Many factors influenced people to risk the journey across America. And there
needed to be as - as many as 10% would die on the journey. The factors can be
divided into those pushing them out of the East and those pulling them into the
west:
Pushing:
 Poverty
 Disease
 Religious or social persecution
 Taxation
 Eastern overpopulation
Pulling:
 A new start
 Fertile cheap land
 Government encouragement
 Tall tales and newspapers
 Gold and silver
There's Gold in them thar hills:
 Miners also went west; this was especially true of the Californian Gold Rush of
1849.
 Gold was discovered in 1848 and the news was leaked out and soon there was
tens of thousands of fortune seekers coming to west.
 Some came to run service industries: store keepers, saloon owners, prostitutes all looking for huge prices for their wares.
 The first gold was discovered by panning the stream beds and most people only
came prepared for this method, however the streams soon became exhausted
and underground mining soon took over!
 Prices of everything were very expensive and this destroyed many miners
dreams of a new and rich life in the west.
 Criminals were also attracted to the Gold Rush. There were plenty of con-men,
violent thieves and claim jumpers and with little formal law enforcement, they
were allowed to get away with it! However those that were caught faced harsh
sentences such as being executed and there was no right to appeal.
The Mormons: The Mormons also travelled west:
 Farmers and miners were not the only settlers; a third group travelled west The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints or Mormons. Faith was
started by Joseph Smith who claimed to have had a vision of someone telling him
to go to the hills to find some golden plates.
Mormons beliefs and practices:
 Polygamy - a man could have more than one wife.
 Proselytisation - Mormons could try to convert others to their faith.
 Politics - church leaders should seek and be given political power over Mormons
and others.
 Property - The church held property. There were no right to individual
ownership.
 People of god - Obedience would make Mormons God's chosen people in Heaven
and on earth.
The Mormons were persecuted for their religion:
 Polygamy was seen as scandalous and many thought it was as bad as slavery.
 Their efforts to convert people raised fears of rapid expansion Mormons raised
an army and a police that was brutal against dissenters.
 Claims that the Mormons were the chosen ones were seen as arrogant.
They were driven out of place after place:
 The Mormons were unpopular where ever they went! For example, Joseph Smith
was tarred and feathered in 1923.
 They were a group that attracted a lot of negative press!
The Mormons settled in Salt Lake Valley:
 Mormons were forced to keep moving because of violence against them! They
settled on Salt Lake City in 1847 that was compared to being geographically
similar to Israel despite the harsh conditions.
With much hard work they built Salt Lake City:
 Irrigation work was needed to make things grow.
 Large numbers of Mormons were needed to help build the area into a successful
city.
 1848, Salt Lake Valley was handed over by Mexico and this became Utah, where
Brigham Young (leader of the Mormons after Smith) became governor.
 Mormons ignored US laws.
 Utah was not allowed to be a state of America whilst it still allowed polygamy
however this practiced was abandoned in 1890 and Utah was made a state in
1896.
Politics and Law and
Order
Maps and Dates: The US government was a key factor in many episodes of the
American West's history.
 1851: 1st Fort Laramie Treaty
 1861: Fort Wise Treaty
 1868: 2nd Fort Laramie Treaty
 1871: Indian Appropriation Bill. Government stops making treaties and new
agreements were less permanent.
 1887: Allotment Act - reservations carved up into individual family plots - many
sold cheap to whites.
 1890: 'Closure' of frontier
Government for the people: America is a democracy. For too long the majority of
White Americans either didn't care about the Native Americans or actually supported
genocide policies. Greed drove them to steal land.
The United States has a federal Government of States:
A territory with 60,000 could become a state:
 As the west developed, it was carved up into territories.
Different courts and lawmen had different jurisdictions:
 Many town marshals only controlled law enforcement in a small area around their
town.
 Federal marshals could enforce laws throughout America.
Gold, beef and oil fed growth of America:
 Only a few people who struggled to the west for the gold rushes and beef
bonanzas actually succeeded in making huge fortunes.
 Gold revenues helped to pay for the railways and the development of western
cities.
 Trading in gold with countries from around the world made America a major
world trading nation.
Treaties with the Indians: Greed and changing west made treaties fail:
 Before the 1840s, the west was an area that no-one would venture to.
 1843 saw the beginning of mass migration to the west which led to disruptions to
the herds but did mean new opportunities to trade with the Indians.
 1848, gold was discovered, after this point - previously unwanted land by the
whites now became the most sought after!
 Realisation of the Great Plains, meant that the population increased during the
1850s and the settlement of the Homesteaders impossible to stop!
 The clash of cultures made peaceful co-existence an impossible dream. Conflict
was inevitable.
A 'Western Civil War of Incorporation' or just lawlessness?
 The violence that erupted in the west was partly down to changes in society.
Land was being taking by the big companies, such as the cattle barons and the
railroads, from the homesteaders, small ranchers and prospective miners.
 Many outlaws were seen as heroes by some because they were prepared to stand
up for the small man against the big groups!
The Wild West: This was a major problem in the west as many people took the law into
their own hands!
Lack of law enforcement led to vigilante groups:
 Vigilante groups came about because there was no formal law enforcement group
to keep law and order.
 Vigilante groups were used as a tool by the big businesses and were used when
the 'legal' methods of keeping law failed.
The Johnson Country War - a vigilante raid in 1892:
 Small land owners in the Johnson County felt that the cattle barons were
stealing their land. Ranchers thought that the homesteaders were rustling their
cattle.
 1892 saw a group, hired by the 'big companies', to attack different people in
Johnson County where they were called the 'Regulators'.
 The Regulators killed two alleged rustlers but a large group of locals came out to
stand up to the Regulators and laid siege to them in their ranch.
 As the crowds grew in the siege to the Regulators, the government intervened
by sending the army in to restore order and saw the Regulators with no blood
being shed!
Wyatt Earp became a lawman despite a dodgy past:
 Born in 1848 and arrested in 1871 for rustling however he escaped and became a
lawman.
 Was a good recruit for the big businesses because he was an effective gunman.
 Involved in a conflict where he killed two local ranchers/outlaws which led to a
bloody feud where Wyatt Earp was successful.
The railway and cattle
trails
Homesteaders and the Railways:
 The US government did a lot to encourage homesteaders and the building of the
railways.
Homesteaders set up homes (homesteads) on the Plains:
 During the 1850s, there were some homesteaders on the Low Plains.
 Conditions were very hard and the land was not good for farming on with the
lack of water that was available! Grasshopper plagues often destroyed crops as
well.
 People did make do, there houses were made of clods of earth (sod houses).
Dried buffalo dung was used as fuel.
 Much of the land used by the homesteaders was promised to the Indians, this
was because the treaty planners had not foreseen the potential of the Great
Plains and the demand for land once this potential was realised.
 Gradually, the Indians found themselves with less and less land to support
themselves with.
The Railway companies encouraged homesteading:
 Politicians and the railway companies were keen to encourage homesteading.
 1862 saw companies being granted large areas of land to help fund the railways.
This was then sold cheaply to homesteaders. They wanted customers for trains.
 Politicians and companies exaggerated claims about the good life on the Plains.
 The government supplied loans to fund the changes, labour shortages were
solved by employing Chinese workers and Indians attacked railway gangs.
 The introduction of the Railways made migration from the west very easier and
improved communication with the East as well.
A government Act and new technology helped too:
 The Homestead Act of 1862 gave each settler 160 acres of free land.
 New crops were tried along with developments in farming machinery which
speeded up the process of farming. For example, wind pumps increased water
supply.
 The Timber Culture Act (1873) and the Desert Land Act (1877) gave more land
for free or at a low cost.
 Many of the new settlers were from all over Europe; many African Americans
began moving to the west after being freed from slavery during the American
Civil War.
The Beef Bonanza and Cattle Trails: The Beef Bonanza led to the great Cattle
Trails.
 Open ranching began in 1836; however when Texas joined the USA in 1840, many
Mexicans who had previously lived there were driven out leaving their cattle to
the Anglo-American ranchers.
 Increased popularity of the cattle during the 1850s made it worthwhile to drive
cattle to the east markets. But the real Beef Bonanza happened with the
American Civil War and the development of the railways.
 Whilst soldiers found themselves fighting in the Civil War, their cattle
continued to breed.
 As the railways grew, men like Joseph McCoy saw money to be made in moving
beef cattle by rail to the eastern cities and Indian reservations. This led to
cattle towns being built up and ranchers like Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight
blazed trials to the railway cattle towns and made fortunes.
Cattlemen and Homesteaders often clashed:
 Lack of wood for fences meant that early farmsteads were cordoned off by a
singled ploughed furrow however this was not cattle proof and many crops were
destroyed by passing herds.
 1874 saw the invention of barbed wire which made fencing cheap and this
allowed the homesteaders to fence their land reducing the cattleman's access
to water and making the long cattle drives much harder.
Changing tastes and hard winters ended the bonanza:
 Some ranches were set up on the Great Plains to reduce the distances that
cattle had to be driven. This increased conflict with the homesteaders.
 The eastern market began to demand a higher quality of meat than was provided
by the ranchers which led to cattlemen like John Iliff experimenting with new
types of cattle breeds.
 The herds became too big for the grazing area and hard winters sped up the
decline by killing large numbers of cattle. Many cowboys also died.
The real cowboys: The cowboys were a very mixed bunch:



Large numbers of cowboys were from Mexico or African Americans and some
were ex-soldiers from the Civil War, some were even outlaws.
Most cowboys were young and single and had little time for family life.
A tiny number of women took to ranching in their own right.
The cowboy's job was very tough and badly paid:
 Boredom and discomfort was part of the job.
 Great stamina, vigilance and skill were needed, especially during the long drives.
Rounding the cattle up and sorting the cattle out was a demanding skill. Days
were spent watching the cattle and nights were spent on watch.
 Indians charged a levy for crossing their land and sometimes even stole their
cattle. Diplomacy or guns could be needed.
 Cowboys were highly disciplined and had to work with each other in order to
survive and there were no chances to misbehave.
 Pay was low and tended to come at the end of the trial. Meanwhile the cattle
towns at the end of the journey led many cowboys to part with their money on
vices and temptations.
What








were the tools of the trade?
Pistol - used to shoot wolves, rustlers and in drunken brawls.
Horse - Travelled all day and manoeuvred well.
Boots - High-heeled boots helped the feet stay in the stirrups.
Hat - Gave protection in all weathers.
Bandana - Gave protection to nose and mouth from dust.
Saddle - Large and with a high pommel for support.
Chaps - Leather over trousers that protect the legs from thorns and cattle.
Lariat or lasso - used to rope cows, especially during roundups for branding.
Myths and Legends
Pulp Fiction and Wild West shows: Early 'Travel writers' and painters blazed the
way:
 In the 1830s, painters like George Catlin travelled to the west and painted from
real life.
Dime novels fictionalised events before the smoke cleared:
 Dime novels became popular at the right time to glamourise the west.
 Some writers followed their 'real life' heroes about the country, exaggerating
their feats and often making up news one when the real events ran out.
 People event started to write about their own 'real life' adventures.
Wild West shows mixed fact and fantasy:
 The image presented of the American West in the shows was glitzy however the
real life was very different!
Hollywood and TV: Cinema and television keep the fantasy alive:
 The 'goodies and badies' characters of the dime novels with their action and
simple plots made the 'western' a hit for the film industry.
The western fantasy has lots of stereotypes:
 The vast majority of western heroes were presented as White Anglo-Saxon
males.
 Other immigrant groups tended to be cast in 'colourful' bit parts.
 The Native Americans are represented as drunken savages or noble savages.