Chapter 16 The Conquest of the Far West
The Conquest of the Far
West
Chapter 16
The Conquest of the Far West
Native American tribes had felt a land shortage among themselves beginning as early as 1831
Some tribes were sedentary and docile.
Mexican landowners in Mexico had enslaved tribes such as Navajo, or subdued tribes such as the Pueblo (both of these are Southwest tribes)
Warrior tribes rose to the top of a tribal class system after about 1831
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Following the War with Mexico (1846) those tribes were not troublesome to the
USA
Plains tribes strongly resisted further attempts to limit their ancestral hunting access to lands of the plains
These tribes: Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and in some cases Apache, were the most feared by white settlers
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White understanding of Indian nations was limited
All were assumed to be the same
All were assumed to be hostile
In reality, they were hunters rather than warriors; tribes resorted to warfare against whites to protect their livelihood
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Indians were very diverse groups
There are an estimated 6,800 distinct languages spoken in the world today
About half are no longer spoken by children; many more are extinct
Over 2,000 have writing systems
There were at least 300 distinct languages spoken in the Americas in 1491
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Had the tribes united against white take over of their lands, they could not have been defeated.
As with South American indigenous peoples in the 16 th century, all North
American tribes suffered heavy death toll from European diseases such as measles and smallpox
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“Conquering the West” not just a matter of fighting Indians; subduing the land itself was a formidable task.
Travel into the new lands of the USA was difficult
Prairie grass was difficult to plow
The Plains areas thus among the last to be settled
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What the Mexicans called “California” was actually the modern-day states of
Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming,
Arizona, New Mexico, and California.
Large numbers of non-Spanish speakers had begun to migrate there in the early
1800s. Mexicans differentiated between themselves – the true “Californios” – and these settlers.
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The Californios were outnumbered by the
1830s, a fact that contributed heavily to
Mexico’s loss of California in the war between Mexico and the United States in
1846-1847.
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Manifest Destiny had been responsible for the English-speaking migration into
California
The Manifest Destiny movement also dictated that the Native American tribes that inhabited California were not entitled to these lands either
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California was the first new state formed from the lands won from Mexico in 1847, by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
It was quickly admitted to the Union after gold was discovered in 1848
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The “gold rush” resulted in a rapid increase in population of the new state
It also led to a need for cheap labor, both for mining tasks and for railroad building
Indians were unsuited for this work, and many white settlers were more interested in “get rich quick” opportunities than in the dreary labor of construction
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California was a “draw” to settlers from the time of the Gold Rush
The lands near the west coast settled before the Plains
Travel to California sometimes overland via covered wagon; more often, by ship
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Asians Began settling in California in early
1820s
Their numbers grew after the 1840s Gold
Rush
White mine owners needed cheap labor
Many Chinese also worked on building transcontinental railroad in 1860s
Resistance to Chinese immigrants grew as their numbers increased and prospered
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Anti-Chinese racism in California was similar to anti-black racism in East
In 1852, California levied a tax on nonwhite mine owners, to discourage
Chinese entrepreneurship
Chinese workers on transcontinental railroad were treated badly, often cruelly, to discourage them from remaining in the
US after completion of the railroad
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In 1869, the final spike placed on transcontinental track at Promontory
Point, Utah, joining Central Pacific and
Union Pacific railroad company tracks
Once the railroad was completed,
Chinese workers were expected to return to China
Instead, they flocked to West Coast cities, establishing many “Chinatowns”
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Chinese contract labor was often the solution to these worker shortages
Mining companies and railroad companies advertised heavily in China
(most of which was at that time under colonial control by Britain)
Working prospects in China were poor, so many workers came to the US in search of the high wages advertised
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The advertisements were often false
The Chinese were welcome, but with the understanding that once the work was completed they would take their wages and return to China
However, many men brought their families and settled permanently
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By the late 1850s the permanent Chinese population of California was growing
White resistance grew with it
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Chinese immigrants were successful in many ways
In San Francisco, Chinese businessmen formed the “Six Families” of “six Companies” organization
They worked out favorable trade arrangements among each other and kept
Chinese trade in Chinese hands as much as possible
They also kept Chinese ethnic traditions alive
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Generally similar to a business corporation
Provided jobs, insurance, business contacts for Chinese people
Other Chinese organizations were more secretive, such as the gang-like “tongs” formed for protection
Not all of the tongs were criminal gangs
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However, so many tongs were engaged in criminal activity that the very existence of a Chinese tong in a community set local law enforcement on edge
Some of the benevolent tongs were harassed by police as much as those who ran opium dens or committed other crimes.
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By an 1852 law, Chinese men were not allowed to purchase mines without paying an exorbitant “foreign miner’s tax.”
Working conditions for Chinese men were harsh, often deadly
The fact that Chinese immigration continued regardless of the poor conditions in America shows how desperate Chinese were in China, under
British rule.
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All Chinese workers were called “coolies” in the slang of the day – a highly derogatory term
Evidence of strong “anti-coolie” sentiment:
Anti-Coolie clubs formed; boycott of Chinesemade products; ban on hiring Chinese workers
All were organized by white businessmen and citizens
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Anti-immigrant feeling towards the
Chinese grew as strong in California as anti Irish feeling had in the northeast, and anti-Black feeling had in the South
Newspapers began to speak of the
“Yellow Peril” – the large population of
Chinese in California’s bigger cities.
Often erupted into outright violence against Chinese
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In 1882 Congress accepted this race fear and passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned any Chinese immigration from 1882 until 1892
It also kept any non-naturalized Chinese person already in the US from applying for citizenship
Congress extended the Act for another ten years in 1892, and made it permanent in 1902.
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White immigration from poor areas in the eastern United States continued during these years also.
This immigration was encouraged by the US government, in part to counter the rise of Asian populations and in part to “fill up” the new territories
Some thought this would reduce the
(negligible) risk of any attempted takeover from a foreign country
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The invention of a new type of plow in the
1850s made prairie farming possible
Prairie soil was discovered to be exceptionally rich, ideal for corn, wheat, oats
European immigration increased strongly from Eastern European farming countries:
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia,
Scandinavian countries of similar climate
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This increasing population would bring about conflict between these new populations and the many Native
American tribes who had called California home for many centuries.
Settlers were innovative in adapting to harsh prairie conditions
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Settlers made bricks of thatched prairie sod removed for tilling soil (“soddies.”)
Gave new nickname for Eastern
European immigrants: “sod-busters”
Homestead Act of 1862 promised 160 acres to any who would live on and cultivate land
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USA thus settled its new lands from the edges into the center
By 1890 only Oklahoma (once called merely “Indian Territory in the early 19 th century) was the only unorganized territory from the original Louisiana
Purchase
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The Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres of land very cheaply (usually, 4 acres for $1) to any person who would live and farm there for at least 5 years.
Some land in California was not suitable for farming, and many homesteads were abandoned – more were abandoned than were settled.
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The Homestead Act made the west by far the most culturally diverse section of the
United States or its territories, and it was for a long time the most socially integrated.
But the social equality was most obvious among the poor and landless than among land owners
Between these two classes, the differences resembled life in the East.
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The gold rushes brought a mining boom to western territories. The 1848 California gold rush was followed by an 1858 gold rush in Colorado, by a Nevada silver rush in the 1870s, and by an Alaska gold rush in the 1880s.
Each rush saw the overnight rise of “boom towns,” places where miners took care of the necessities (social and legal) of their lives and businesses.
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Prairie land was also excellent for grazing cattle
New industry sprang up, aided by the transcontinental railroad: cattle ranching
Ranchers established large spreads on remote prairie areas, herded cattle to nearest rail connection (“railhead”) in late summer each year to sell for beef markets and shipment East
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Aside from gold, the next-biggest factor in the economy of the New West was cattle farming
The plains (formerly called “The Great
American Desert) were found to be very well-suited for cattle ranching.
Farmers did not develop suitable plows for the tough grass of the prairies until the
1880s, and ranchers’ cattle roamed free and grew fat on the rich prairie grass.
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Once yearly, ranch hands known as
“cowboys” would round up their owners’ cattle – distinguished from each other by distinctive brands burned into the cows’ flesh, and herd them to the nearest railroad outpost (or “railhead.”)
Herders known as “cowboys” led the cattle to these railhead towns.
These were known as the “long drives.”
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Boom towns also sprang up at these railroad outposts.
Rail towns became boom towns because of the cattle markets
Dodge City, Kansas and Omaha,
Nebraska are only two examples
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Life in the “cattle country” was more relaxed, much less formal than in the east
Women were vastly outnumbered by men, and gained social acceptance in traditionally male roles that was not available to them elsewhere.
Western states generally granted suffrage to females long before eastern states did.
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“The West” was highly romanticized in the
East
Novels, songs, “Wild West Shows” attracted a wide audience
Popular novels such as Owen Wister’s The
Virginian (1902) served to heighten public interest in the west; a popular perception was that people were somehow truer, and more natural living close to the land as westerners did.
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American painters idealized the “savage wilderness”
Painters such as Albert Bierstadt, Thomas
Moran, and Frederick Remington romanticized the heroes of the “Wild
West.”
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A romantic aura grew around life in the
West
Tales of cowboys, Indians, gold strikers were popular with Americans who never hoped to actually see the territory
Often, these stories were written by people who had never seen the territory either, based on second-hand reports and pure invention
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“Wild West” shows in the east featured sharp shooters, cowboys and cowgirls doing stunts on horseback
Usually included a token Indian or two.
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The West figured in American social history as well
Several important theories were advanced by various historians to explain both the romantic lure of the west, and the necessity of a place for the country to expand.
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American historian Frederick Jackson
Turner wrote an essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”
He advanced what has become known as the “Turner Hypothesis.”
Turner believed that the constant existence of a western frontier actually drove American expansion politically, and in turn shaped Americans’ view of themselves as a civilization
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Turner saw the frontier also as a safety valve, where the country could trust that the rowdier elements of society could be kept away from more citified folk
These adventurers could put their talents to use in a way that benefited the country; America got to use the talents of these people, without having to endure the problems they would have made in cities.
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The Gold Rush in the late 1840s (and later
“rushes” as silver and copper were discovered through the 1870s and 1880s) also brought many “boom towns” into existence, almost overnight
Discovery of the Comstock Lode of silver and copper in the early 1860s brought a huge influx of new miners
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Boom towns were often wild and lawless places
They attracted many who had not been able to make it economically in the East
They also attracted some who were escaping from the police in the East
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This “safety valve” belief filled some politicians with alarm
By the late 1800s, expansion toward the
Pacific was almost complete
What would happen to the country once there was no more frontier?
Where would these rowdy elements of society find a positive outlet for their energies?
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With the last of the frontier being settled as of 1890, how would the country cope with the absence of a “reason for developing”?
As a practical matter: the closing of the last frontier would bring “the Indian problem” to a violent and unsatisfactory close
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Demographically, the West was vastly different from the Eastern United States
Population was ethnically quite diverse
Economic opportunity more available
Especially after the Gold Rush, the wealthy class included many born into poverty
Women were scarce, often had more legal rights than in the East
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Another famous historian of the west was
Henry Nash Smith, who echoed many of
Turner’s beliefs in his own book, The Virgin
Land
Smith described the romanticism not as actual fact but as an American
“mythology.”
He used the word “myth” not as a synonym for “fairy tale,” but as a metaphor for the glass through which a culture examines itself.
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Smith contended that whether the stories about the Wild West were true or false was irrelevant
What was important was that Americans chose to believe them all, and embraced the stories as expressions of something they believed to be true about their country.
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US policy toward Indian tribes went through 3 phases in the 19 th century:
Concentration phase, begun in 1830s: force all Indian tribes to live on land unwanted or unneeded by settlers
Tribes gradually pushed onto the Plains
Satisfactory until new farm methods made the Plains more attractive to white settlers
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Concentration policies were gradually replaced by the restriction phase by the second half of the 19 th century.
All Plains Indians restricted to either the
Dakota Territory (north Plains) or “Indian
Territory (Oklahoma)
Tribes were left to fight out tribal boundaries among themselves.
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As the Plains grew more and more settled,
Indians found their newly-limited hunting lands more and more disturbed.
Railroads disturbed their buffalo hunting.
Ill-planned buffalo hunting for sport by white settlers and buffalo hide-hunters was ruining their major food source.
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It was inevitable that Indian tribes would eventually strike out in warfare against white settlers and the US Government that protected them.
The outcome of these Indian wars was the reservation phase, during which tribes found their land boundaries extremely restricted, not by themselves but by the
US government..
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Important white-Indian conflicts:
The Sand Creek Massacre, 1864. US
Cavalry commander J. M. Chivington led a group of irregular troops to murder nearly 160 Cheyenne Indians, to prevent their attack
Most of the Indians killed were women and children, not warriors.
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Little Big Horn, 1876: US Cavalry commander George Armstrong Custer and a troop of cavalrymen (some of whom had taken part in the Sand Creek episode) were cornered and massacred by Cheyenne and Sioux warriors.
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Pursuit of the Nez Percé, 1877. The Nez
Percé were a relatively peaceful tribe; forced onto a reservation by the US government, several young warriors rebelled and killed four whites
The tribe was pursued nearly to Canada in retribution, and Chief Joseph pledged on the tribe’s behalf to “fight no more, forever” after many were killed.
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce
I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking
Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no.
He who led the young men is dead.
It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead.
Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.
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Cochise and Geronimo were both
Apache chiefs in the Southwest
Geronimo was Cochise’s successor as
Apache chief
Geronimo fought the last violent wars against the US Army in the 1880s
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Wounded Knee, South Dakota, 1890:
Because of an Indian revival ceremony called “The Ghost Dance,” a celebration of Indian tribal customs, the US Army feared an uprising. 350 Sioux
Many women, children, and elderly came to surrender to the Army in 1890 and were cut down by cavalrymen
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The Dawes Severalty Act, 1887: US government negotiated an end to tribal ownership of hunting lands
Each tribe relegated to a tract known as its
“reservation”
Indian men were required to farm (the land was poor quality
Indians were ordered to stop tribal rituals, and to allow their children to be educated in
“white” ways
