What do you know about
Westward Expansion?
Write down your responses.
Analyze this painting. What do you
think it means? Write down your
response
Topics of discussion
Native American Culture
• Tribes relied on the buffalo
to survive
– Native Americans on the
Great Plains would follow
the herds across the land
(nomadic).
– They used these animals
for food, shelter, and
clothing.
– White settlers were
hunting these animals for
sport.
U.S. Government’s Response to N.A.
• In the beginning, the
U.S. government
offered peace
– In 1851, the Treaty of
Fort Laramie guaranteed
Native Americans land
rights on the Great
Plains.
U.S. Government’s Response to N.A.
• The belief of manifest
destiny encouraged
countless Americans to
pick up their belongings
and head out west in
search of a better life
– This caused the U.S.
government to rethink its
policy of dealing with
Native Americans.
U.S. Government’s response to N.A.
• The government set up
the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) to manage
Native American issues.
– The chief of the agency,
Luke Lea, supported the
system of reservations.
– Reservations: land set
aside for Native
Americans to live on and
farm.
Intro Questions:
• Was it a necessity for the United States
due to the concept of “manifest destiny”
or not?
• What else could the United States have
done other than the reservation system?
• Do you think the idea of placing Native
Americans on reservations is an idea that
many Americans do not care about today?
If so, do you think that is wrong?
Voices of Protest
• Horrific treatment of
Native Americans led to
the formation of
organizations to protest
such treatment.
• In addition, Helen Hunt
Jackson wrote the book, A
Century of Dishonor,
which criticized the
government for its years
of broken promises and
mistreatment of Native
Americans
Multiculturalism
Assimilation
Discrimination
Segregation
Genocide
Native American Assimilation
• In the late 1800’s, the
U.S. government felt the
long-term solution to a
peaceful existence with
Native Americans was
assimilation.
• The government:
– Set up “Indian schools”
– Passed the Dawes
General Allotment Act
Do you think people are
assimilated into American society
and they don’t even realize it?
Explain your answer.
Government lures people out West
• Homestead Act:
permitted “any citizen
or intended citizen to
select any surveyed land
up to 160 acres and to
gain title to it for five
years’ residence” if the
person cultivated
(farmed) the land.
• Morrill Act: granted
more than 17 million
acres of federal land to
the states and ordered
the sale of this land to
finance the construction
of agricultural and
engineering colleges.
Other ways to gain land
• Citizens could also gain
land from events called
“land rushes.”
– One of the most famous
was the Oklahoma land
rush
Water
• Water was always in
short supply in a large
portion of the West.
• Some solutions were
irrigation systems and
windmills
Trees
• Trees were also in short
supply on the Great
Plains
• Farmers needed the
wood from trees as a
fuel source or for
building materials.
Solutions to the lack of trees
• As a substitute for
wood, they used dried
buffalo manure for a
fuel source.
• They used heavy layers
of soil to build homes,
which were called sod
houses
Climate
• Blizzards and brutal
cold gripped the Great
Plains during the winter
while summer brought
soaring temperatures
and drought.
• Insects ran rampant on
the Great Plains and
devoured almost
everything in their
paths, ruining a harvest.
The Government steps in to help farmers
• U.S. Department of
Agriculture was created
in 1862 to help farmers
adjust to their new
environments.
Farmers, have
no fear, the
government is
here!!!
New Farming Methods of the West
• New plows with durable
blades helped to easily
cut through tough soil.
• Many of the new
devices utilized the
steam engine.
– Many of these new
devices were extremely
expensive and plunged
farmers into massive
debt.
• Large companies
practiced large scale
farming called bonanza
farming.
People flood the west looking to get rich
• Gold was discovered in
Pikes Peak, Colorado in
1858 and was invaded
by western settlers.
• The Carson River valley
(in present day Nevada)
offered miners a new
place to get rich when it
yielded gold as well as
the Comstock Lode, one
of the world’s richest
silver veins.
• U.S. miners pushed all
the way into western
Canada in search of
riches.
– One of the results of this
was the purchase of
Alaska from Russia in
1867.
Mining Life
• Mining communities
were almost entirely
male.
– Families did not
accompany the miner.
• The atmosphere in
mining camps was one
of extreme competition
as everyone was looking
out for themselves.
Mining Violence
• Deadwood, South
Dakota was legendary
for its violence.
Prospecting
Mining Centers: 1900
Mining (“Boom”) Towns-Now Ghost Towns
Calico, CA
Big Business Mining
• In the early years of
mining, the individual
miners had exhausted
much of the easily
accessible minerals
from the mines.
• Getting to minerals deep
beneath the surface
would require new
technology that could
only be supplied by
large corporations.
Ok little miner,
we’ll take it from
here
Corporate Mining Techniques
Hydraulic mining:
water shot at high
pressure ripped away
gravel and dirt to
expose the minerals
beneath.
Hard-rock mining:
involved sinking deep
shafts to obtain ore locked
in veins of rock.
Dangerous Working Conditions
• There was also a risk
of injury or even death
due to cave-ins,
rockfalls, and the use
of dynamite.
• Poor ventilation
caused the air to be
dangerous to breath.
History of Ranching in the West
• The Spanish were
the first to introduce
cattle to the
American West.
Yeah we brought
cattle to
America!!!!!!!!!
History of Ranching in the West
• Eastern cities of the
United States grew
in population and
ensured a strong
demand for beef.
MMMM…..
Beef
History of Ranching in the West
• The demand and
price of cattle
increased as the
buffalo began to die
out.
Hey, where are
all my
friends????
The Economy of Cattle
• The workers who
took care of a
rancher’s cattle were
known as cowboys.
NOT
Cowboys
• Cowboys were also
in charge of herding
as many as 3,000
cattle to the railroad
stations sometimes
hundreds of miles
away.
• These trips were
called long drives.
The
Cattle
Trails
Problems for Cowboys
• A sudden sound
could spook the
cattle into a
stampede, which
would endanger not
only the cowboys
but also the herd.
• Cowboys worked for
little pay in all types
of weather
conditions.
Cattle (Cow) Towns
• Long drives ended at
places called
cowtowns, towns
located along
railroads where
cattle would be
shipped to the east.
• Famous cowtowns
were Dodge City,
Abilene, and
Wichita.
Cattle (Cow) Towns
• These towns became
synonymous with
drinking, gambling,
and lawlessness.
• It was in these towns
that famous law
enforcers like Wyatt
Earp became
American legends.
The Open Range
• As the U.S.
government acquired
more Native
American land, they
allowed cattle
ranchers to use
public land as open
range, or free
grazing land for their
cattle.
• Huge corporations
took advantage of
this offer and
utilized millions of
acres for ranching.
The Roundup
• During the spring
and fall months,
hired cowboys
would “roundup” the
rancher’s cattle from
the open range.
• They would
distinguish between
different ranchers’
cattle by the various
branding marks left
on the skin.
Land Use: 1880s
The Range Wars
Sheep
Herders
Cattle
Ranchers
Reasons the Cattle Boom Ended
• Greedy ranchers
overcrowded the
open range with too
many cattle, i.e.
there was too high of
a supply thus the
price dropped.
• The invention of
barbed wire by
Joseph Glidden
limited cattle access
to land and water.
• Drought and a
horrific blizzard
decreased the
number of many
herds.