Chapter 19
Transforming the West, 1865-1890
Chapter Summary
Chapter 19 explores the transformation of the American West from a pioneer society to a modern society
impacted by technology, industrialization, and urbanization. Topics examined in this chapter include Native
American culture and the development of the Western economy with emphasis on the mining, cattle, and
agriculture sectors.
Subjugating Native Americans
As white people pressed westward, the initial obstacle to exploiting the West was the people who already
lived there. The native peoples used the land in their own way, had different concepts of progress and
civilization, and had developed a variety of economies and cultures. From the 1850s to the 1880s, warfare
engulfed the advancing frontier; railroad expansion, the destruction of the buffalo, and technological
development undercut the ability of the Native Americans to resist. The conquest gradually forced Indians
onto reservations, but efforts to “Americanize” the Indian way of life were less successful.
Exploiting the Mountains: The Mining Bonanza
The first stage of the economic development of the West centered on mining as swarms of eager
prospectors were attracted into the mountains and deserts in search of gold and silver. The male-dominated
saloon society of the mining camps generated violence and social conflicts. Mining was transformed from
an individual effort into a corporate one; as minerals became more difficult to uncover, mining became
technologically complex and expensive. Corporate mining permanently changed the landscape of the West
through its environmental impact.
Exploiting the Grass: The Cattle Kingdom
The development of the range cattle industry opened a second stage in the exploitation of the West. It
reflected the needs of the Eastern urban society for food and the ability of the expanding rail network to
deliver it. The cattle kingdom spread from Texas into the Great Plains; after the era of the long drives,
cattle ranching became an increasingly corporate endeavor. While the romantic image of the cowboy is one
of a rugged individualist freed of societal constraints, the actual work was hard, dirty, seasonal, dangerous,
and poorly paid.
Exploiting the Earth: Homesteaders and Agricultural Expansion
Even more than ranching and mining, agricultural growth boosted the West’s economy and bound it to
national and world markets. Government played a significant role in the expansion of farming, as did
railroads, science and technology, Eastern capital, and hard work. The Homestead Act, along with land,
railroad, and steamship companies, encouraged Western migration. Settlers encountered many difficulties:
a radically new environment, the need for new farming techniques, weather conditions, loneliness, and
isolation. These were combined with farmers being part of a global economic system; farmers reached the
conclusion that something was terribly wrong with the system, and that bankers, grain elevator operators,
and the railroads were to blame.
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Chapter Outline
I.
Subjugating Native Americans
A.
Tribes and Culture
1.
Regional diversity
2.
The cultural incompatibility between Native Americans and whites
B.
Federal Indian Policy
C.
Warfare and Dispossession
1.
The Sand Creek Massacre
2.
The challenge of the Sioux Indians
3.
The defeat of the Nez Perce
4.
The defeat of the Navajos, Comanches, and Cheyennes
D.
Life on the Reservation: Omesicanigation
II.
Exploiting the Mountains: The Mining Bonanza
A.
Rushes and Mining Camps
1.
The major rushes of the late nineteenth century
2.
Characteristics of life in mining camps
3.
Gender imbalance in the mining camps
B.
Labor and Capital
1.
Technological advances in mining
2.
Corporate control of mining
III.
Exploiting the Grass: The Cattle Kingdom
A.
Cattle Drives and Cow Towns
1.
The Western cattle industry
2.
The cow town
B.
Rise and Fall of Open Range Ranching
C.
Cowhands and Capitalists
IV.
Exploiting the Earth: Homesteaders and Agricultural Expansion
A.
Settling the Land
1.
The Homestead Act of 1862
2.
Anglo seizure of Hispanic village communities
B.
Home on the Range
C.
Farming the Land
1.
Challenges faced by Western farmers
2.
The integration of Western agriculture into the national economy
3.
Adversity faced by Western farmers
V.
Conclusion
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Chapter 19
Transforming the West, 1865–1890
Multiple Choice
Section 1: Subjugating the Native Americans
1.
The Central Pacific Railroad company relied heavily on the low-paid, hard work done by
Page Ref.: 499
2.
Which statement best describes the cultures of the tribes that lived throughout the West?
Page Ref.: 499-500
3.
Pueblo society was noted for its
Page Ref.: 500
4.
All of the following tribes lived on the Great Plains EXCEPT the
Page Ref.: 500
5.
A common element among all tribes of the West was their
Page Ref.: 500
6.
What event in 1848 started a huge influx of whites into Indian territory?
Page Ref.: 501
11.
Simultaneous to white settlers pressing on the eastern edge of the Great Plains, what else was happening?
Page Ref.: 501
12.
All of the following factors resulted in many Indian deaths on the Great Plains EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 501
13.
What statement best describes General Philip Sheridan’s views on Indian resistance?
Page Ref.: 501
14.
Which statement about the Sand Creek Massacre is NOT true?
Page Ref.: 502
15.
The leader of the Sand Creek Massacre, John Chivington, was
Page Ref.: 502
16.
At the Battle of One Hundred Slain,
Page Ref.: 502
17.
Whites destroyed the buffalo herds for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 502
18.
The Sioux were finally defeated
Page Ref.: 503
19.
It took 5,000 U.S. troops to capture 36 Apaches led by
Page Ref.: 503
20.
Protestant religious groups persuaded the Bureau of Indian Affairs to frame a criminal code
Page Ref.: 503
21.
What happened at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1890?
Page Ref.: 503
22.
Effects of the Dawes Act included
Page Ref.: 506
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Section 2: Exploiting the Mountains: The Mining Bonanza
23.
An important gold rush in 1859 occurred in
Page Ref.: 506
24.
All of the following statements are true about typical mining towns EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 506
25.
Which statement about prostitutes in mining towns is NOT true?
Page Ref.: 508
26.
In Roughing It, Mark Twain wrote that men became influential in mining towns by selling
Page Ref.: 508
27.
What was significant about the town of Bodie, California, between 1877 and 1883?
Page Ref.: 508
28.
Which group suffered from the most prejudice in mining towns?
Page Ref.: 508
29.
Mining eventually became a corporate operation because
Page Ref.: 509
30.
To protect their interests while corporations were taking over, miners
Page Ref.: 509
31.
The development of mining technology resulted in
Page Ref.: 509
32.
Poor conditions for miners resulted in
Page Ref.: 509
33.
Violence and conflict often erupted between miners and mine owners due to
Page Ref.: 510
Section 3: Exploiting The Grass: The Cattle Kingdom
34.
The cattle industry and “cattle drives” originated in
Page Ref.: 510
35.
All of the following statements about the Cattle Kingdom are true EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 510
36.
Joseph McCoy made an important decision when he
Page Ref.: 510
37.
The Chisholm Trail was used to
Page Ref.: 510
38.
Which of the following was NOT a cow town?
Page Ref.: 510
39.
What country introduced cattle to the Southwest in the eighteenth century?
Page Ref.: 510
40.
The corporate cattle boom collapsed because
Page Ref.: 511
41.
Ecological disasters that plagued the Cattle Kingdom included all of the following EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 511
202
42.
Which group was NOT a major part of the people known as “cowboys”?
Page Ref.: 512
43.
All of the following statements are true about cowboys EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 512
Section 4: Exploiting The Earth: Homesteaders and Agricultural Expansion
44.
The Homestead Act
Page Ref.: 513
45.
Farming in the West
Page Ref.: 513-514
46.
Railway companies encouraged settlers to come to the West
Page Ref.: 514
47.
The Santa Fe Ring
Page Ref.: 514
48.
Which statement would have most likely been said by a member of Las Gorras Blancas?
Page Ref.: 515
49.
White pioneers on the Great Plains faced all of the following problems EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 515
50.
A lack of timber caused a shortage of fencing that was finally solved by
Page Ref.: 516
51.
Many farmers of the Great Plains turned to growing wheat because
Page Ref.: 516
52.
As western farming was incorporated into national life, it relied on all of the following EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 516
53.
The westward expansion had all of the following effects EXCEPT
Page Ref.: 515-516
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Chronology
54.
What is the correct order of events?
a. Sand Creek Massacre, Battle of Little Big Horn, gold found in Colorado
b. Gold found in Colorado, Sand Creek Massacre, Battle of Little Big Horn
c. Sand Creek Massacre, gold found in Colorado, Battle of Little Big Horn
d. Battle of Little Big Horn, gold found in Colorado, Sand Creek Massacre
55.
Which headline would have appeared in 1890?
a. “Invention of Barbed Wire Will Revolutionize Farming on the Great Plains”
b. “Civil-War General Custer Killed by Sioux Attack”
c. “Rail Line Stretches to Pacific Coast!”
d. “Ghost Dance Ended as Militia Executes Sioux”
56.
Which event happened during the Civil War?
a. Transcontinental railroad completed
b. Passage of the Dawes Act
c. Gold discovered in the Black Hills
d. The Sand Creek Massacre
57.
Which event happened last?
a. Gold discovered in Idaho
b. The Battle of Little Big Horn
c. The massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
d. Transcontinental railroad completed
Short Essays
58.
What technological advances changed farming and mining in the West?
59.
What unique challenges faced white settlers on the Great Plains?
60.
In what ways did the Dawes Act aid and/or harm Indians?
61.
What combination of factors boosted the fortunes of agriculture in the West?
62.
How was the nature of the Cattle Kingdom changed by labor and environmental conditions?
Extended Essays
63.
What were the major cultural differences that led to conflicts between whites and Indians on the Great Plains?
Describe specific examples of these conflicts. Do you feel that these conflicts could have been avoided? Why
or why not?
64.
What role did the mining industry play in migration to the West? What social trends and conflicts emerged as
the result of this expansion of mining into the West?
65.
Compare and contrast the lives of women in the working class of the industrial Northeast with the lives of
pioneer women of the Great Plains? If you had to choose, which life would you have preferred?
66.
How did railroads shape the settlement and development of the West? Give examples of the positive and
negative effects of the rail lines spreading from coast to coast.
67.
Analyze the cultural confrontations and class conflicts that developed as the railroad industry, Cattle Kingdom,
and mining industry grew.
68.
Evaluate Sitting Bull’s contention that the Plains Indians and whites “cannot live together.” What evidence
supports his claim? Can you think of policies or decisions, if they had been used, that would have made it
possible for the two peoples to peacefully coexist? If no, why not?
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