Chapter 26
•By 1890 Great West had been transformed into states and
changed rapidly
Clash of Cultures
•Native Americans numbered about 360,000 in 1860-scattered in
West and stood in way of whites
•Migration & conflict became common/culture change was also
common-591.
•When white soldiers edged onto the plains-contributed to
difficulties amongst Natives-cholera, typhoid, smallpox
•Whites also harmed bison population-buffaloes dwindled &
warfare amongst Plains tribes intensified
•Government signed treaties w/groups-1851 Ft. Laramie-marked
beginning of reservation system-treaty makers misunderstood
Native American “tribes” and “chiefs”-small confinements were a
foreign concept
•Gave up lands only when they were promised things from
Receding Native Populations
• Savage clashes in West-Sand Creek, Col-1864(Chivington
massacred 400 Natives)
• Sioux party massacred 81 soldiers in Montana-cylce continued
• Treaty of 1868 of Fort Laramie-government abandoned
Bozeman Trail-”Great Sioux Reservation”-however in 1874
Custer led a mission in Black Hills of S. Dakota & announced
he had discovered gold-gold seekers swarmed in forcing Sioux
to take to violent means-led by Sitting Bull
• Custer and 7th Cavalry, 1/2 immigrants attacked 2,500 warriors
at “Little Big Horn” in Montana-Custer was demolished along
with 264 officers and men-”battle” or “massacre”?
• One band of Nez Perce in N’eastern Oregon pushed into
fighting-1877 Chief Joseph surrendered his band of 700 after a
1,700 mile trek-Joseph hoped to meet up with Sitting Bull in
Canada after Little Big Horn-Thought they would be returned to
ancestral lands in Idaho-taken to Kansas where 40 % died
• Apaches were tough to subdue(led by Geronimo)-pushed down
& had farming success in Oklahoma
• Fighting finally ended w/Reservations
• “Taming” caused by many factors:RR in west, transport troops
& settler, diseases, gunpowder, & extinction of buffalo
Bellowing Herds of Bison
• For the Plains Indians buffalo provided life
• When Civil War ended, 15 million grazed-as RR came
population dropped-by 1885 wasteful killing left fewer than
1,000
End of the Trail
• By the 1880s much uneasiness about the plight of NativeAmericans-Helen Hunt Jackson-A Century of Dishonor- brought
much sympathy
• Debate intensified-some wanted assimilation & others wanted
simply to contain and punish
• Missionaries sometimes punished Native Americans into
adopting Christianity
• 1884 Federal Government outlawed the Sun Dance-Ghost
Dance stamped out with the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890200 Native Americans killed
• Dawes Severalty Act of 1887-dissolved many tribes, wiped our
tribal ownership of land & set up individual family heads w/ 160
free acres-If acted well they would get full citizenship in 25
years-Full Citizenship came in 1924
• Reservation land not allotted to Native Americans under the
Dawes Severalty Act sold to whites and RR w/ proceeds used
by the government to “civilize” the Native Americans
• 1879 the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania took children
from homes-1890s schools were extended and women were
sent in to teach Native American women hygiene and chastity
• Dawes Act struck at tribes & tried to make rugged individualists
• By 1900 50% of 156 million acres held were lost
• Forced assimilation remained the government policy for nearly
1/2 century until Indian New Deal of 1934 reversed
individualistic approach & tried to restore tribal basis
• In 1887 only 243,000 Native Americans yet by 2000-1.5 million
Mining
• Westward push of miners-1858-gold rush in the Rockies
• “59ers” pushed into Nevada-Comstock Lode
• Idaho, Montana, & others experienced gold rushers as well
• “Helldorados”-vigilante justice-ghost towns
• Once loose surface gold was dug, ore breaking machines
brought in-Big Business entered
• Small miner died out yet important-Westward expansionwomen won equality in roughneck frontier-right to vote
• Precious metals helped to finance the Civil War, building of RR,
intensified white-Native American conflict, threw silver into
politics and added to literature
Beef and the Long Drive
• After Civil War-in came the millions of cattle-w/ RR cattle could
be shipped & meatpacking emerged-stockyards of Chicago &
K.C. shipped to East
• “Long Drive”-cowboys drove herds to RR terminal-herds grazed
on government grass-towns grew(Dodge City, Abilene,
Cheyenne)-order maintained by Marshals
• As long as the grass grew-profits came- except for Native
Americans,stampedes, and cattle fever-4 million driven from
1866-1888
• RR ruined the Long Drive-more homesteaders & sheepherders
came and ruined by land ownership as well as 1886-87 freezing
winters and overexpansion
• Cattle raisers fenced in and made meatier animals
• Heyday of the American cowboy-folklore
Farmer’s Frontier
• Grazing land became farmland-Homestead Act of 1862-160
acres for living on land for 5 years and improving it-paid $30
• Given away to fill empty space-family farm was the “backbone
of democracy”-1/2 million tried yet 5 times more bought land
from RR, land companies, and states
• Homestead Act-Cruel Hoax?
• More land ended up in land grabber’s hands-profit from timber,
minerals, or oil-improve land?
• RR made out well-marketing crops
• Many felt plains would not grow crops-once the sod was broken
much success followed
• Wheat prices fell in 1870s, settlers pushed further west beyond
100th meridian to east-well watered and semiarid
• Many lost $ in attempts to grow west of Kansas-No Rain!
• Dry farming used yet attributed to the Dust Bowl
• New crops developed(wheat & sorghum)
• Irrigation projects created a blossoming population
• Columbia, Missouri and Colorado Rivers tapped into-engineers
added more growth than any other actions
Far West Comes of Age
• Western growth-Colorado, Dakotas, Montana, Washington,
Idaho, Wyoming, later Utah-only Oklahoma, NM, & Arizona
remained of contiguous
• Government opened up free land in Oklahoma-”Sooners and
Boomers”
Fading Frontier
• By 1890 Frontier was no longer discernible
• Frederick Jackson Turner-thesis on significance of the
American frontier!
• Frontier was filling-phase ending led to problems-no longer
footloose, safety valve of moving west was not accurate
• Free acreage did attract some immigrant farmers and lure
workers leaving kept wages up-Real safety valve was the
western cities-more urbanized
• US History cannot be understood without westward movementlast and distinct chapter
• 1. Native American struggle 2. Anglo-Hispanic culture 3. Pacific
to Asia 4. Environmental issues 5. Large government role
unparalleled 6. Myths of West
Farm and Factory
• Farms-once subsistence turned to cash crops-used profits to
buy goods
• Large scale farmers in Mississippi Valley were businesspeopletied to the banking, RR, and manufacturing
• Had to buy expensive machines-speed increased w/ combinespushed smaller farmers off the land-Agribusiness
• California was a state of plantations & estates-fruit and veg.
crops flourished w/ cheap foreign labor
Deflation
• One crop system-corn-wheat-price dropped in 1880s-fiercely
competitive business-world market determined prices-if other
world market flourished prices fell
• Borrowed $ and price per bushel limited
• Problems w/static $ supply-low in comparison to growth
• Farmers functioned year after year in a loss-better production
yet less $ w/suplus
• More and more lost farms by 1890
• 8-40% mortgage rates-mostly by eastern agents
• Farm tenancy rather than ownership spread-by 1880 1/4 of
farms operated by tenants-New industry yet old serfdom
Unhappy Farmers
• Problems-grasshoppers, boll weevil, floods, droughts
• Gouged by government-overassessed & paid heavy local taxes
• High protective tariffs helped wealthy easterners
• Had to sell in world market while buying goods in a protected
market
• At the mercy of corporations and processors
• RR had growers in its grip-freight rates were too high
• Farmers made of 1/2 of population in 1890 yet unorganizedindividual and independent by nature-slow to organize yet did
lead a political uprising
Farmers Take a Stand
• Farmers had organized to push greenbacks
• 1867-National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry-enhance
the lives of isolated farmers-gathering, secrecy, & hierarchy
• By 1875 800,000 members-goals ranged from self
improvement to eventually the establishment coop stores,
elevators, warehouses, and attempted to manufacture harvest
machinery
• Went into politics in Midwest-strove for regulation-various
Granger Laws drawn yet eventually failed & so too did
Grangers
• Found vent in Greenback Party-ran James Weaver for
president in 1880-no real success
Prelude to Populism
• Farmer’s Alliance (1870s)-came together to combat
corporation’s grip through coop buying-by 1890-more than 1
million
• Ignored tenant farmers excluded blacks-1/2 of agriculture
population in South-1880 Colored Farmers National Alliance
formed
• People’s Party-1890s-Populists-Goals: Nationalizing RR,
telephone, graduated income, subtreasury, free unlimited
coinage of silver
• Had to be taken seriously-Dem/Repubs had pay attention
• 1892 ushered members into Congress
Coxey’s Army and Pullman Strike
• Panic of 1893 & depression strengthened Populists
• Jacob Coxey led march to Washington demanding government
public works programs-arrested for walking on grass
• Chicago-Pullman Strike of 1894-Eugene V. Debs-labor leader
helped organize American RR Union-150,000 strong
• Pullman Palace Car Company-model town near Chicago-hit
hard-unemployed, salaries cut-wages remained-workers struckAF of L did not support-Gov. Altgeld felt things were OK yet Att.
Gen. Richard Olney sent federal troops-interfering w/US mail
• Crushed Pullman Strikes-Debs put in prison-Socialism?
• Justice?
Gold McKinley/Silver Bryan
• Election of 1896-Employers vs. Workers-Gold vs. Silver
• Republican-McKinley-Ohio-big business & politics(Hanna)supported gold and soft on silver and supported high tariff
• Democrat-William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska-”Cross of Gold”
demanded silver
Class Conflict
• Bryan made silver the issue w/ his vigorous campaign
• Eastern conservatives attacked Bryan/Hanna raised
millions($16 million for Republicans)
• Intimidation tactics-McKinley won big-Areas of strength?
• Factory worker would not vote for inflation
• New era in American politics, East v. West, Prosperity v. PoorVictory to big business, big cities, middle class values, financial
conservatism
• Future politics lay in cities not farms
• Long reign of Republicans-diminishing voters, weakening party
organizations, fading issue of $-”Fourth Party System”?
• Issues of Industrial Regulation & Welfare of Labor dominated
Republicans
• McKinley was a “safe” politician
• Shied away from reform-business unfettered & trusts grew
• Wilson-Gorman Tariff
• Dingley Tariff passed-higher-46.5%
• Prosperity returned & Republicans took credit
• Gold Standard of 1900 established-more discoveries-inflation
came and silver and the money issue faded