Great West and
Agricultural Revolution
Chapter 26
Indians of the Great Plains
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360,000 North American Indians
– Indians on Plains Relied on Buffalo
– Were nomadic
– Various tribes would fight between themselves
• Those with access to horses had advantage
White settlers began moving across Plains to get to
Pacific
– Some settled; brought small pox
– Intentionally killed buffalo
• Caused even more Indian wars over disappearing
resources
– Railroads played major role in ending Indian way of
life
Fort Laramie (1851) and Fort Atkinson (1853) Treaties
– Established Indian territories separate from white
settlement – beginning of reservation system
– White treaties did not understand Indian culture, so
were ineffective
– In 1860s Indians pushed onto smaller territories
(Dakota Territory, Indian (Oklahoma) Territory)
Indians gave up land in exchange for security; but were
taken advantage of
The Cheyennes will have to be soundly whipped
before they will be quiet. If any of them are
caught in your vicinity kill them, as that is the
only way.
Colonel John Chivington, United States Army
Indian Wars
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Sand Creek Massacre
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Series of massacres by both US troops and Indians
– Buffalo Soldiers – African American soldiers
American policy became to either kill Indians or make
them submit
Sand Creek Massacre 1864
– Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians had a peace treaty
with the US.
– US Army attacked, killed and mutilated over 400
people
Fetterman Massacre 1866
– Sioux Indians ambushed and killed US soldiers
Battle of Little Big Horn (1876)
– Gold discovered on Sioux reservation leading to
white settlement
– Custer’s Last Stand
– Sioux led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated US
Army
Chief Joseph (1877)
– Led Nez Perce’s resistance
Wounded Knee
– US Soldiers killed unarmed Sioux when US military
fought members of “Ghost Dance”
Dawes Severalty Act
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Dawes Act 1887
• Attempt to Americanize and
“civilize” the Indians
• Aim to end Indian culture
• Dissolved tribes and took
away their land
• Forced Indians to live on farms
• Many Indians were scammed out
of their land
Carlisle Indian School (PA)
• Created to convert Indians
Gold Mining
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1849 – Gold in CA; “Fifty Niners” went for gold in
Colorado and Nevada
Pan mining (placer mining)
– Take a tin, sift sand and gravel through and look
for gold specks
• Done mostly by individuals
Hydraulic mining
– High pressure water blasted into mountain to
find gold
Comstock Lode
– was one of richest mines in world
– Used Quartz Mining
• Dynamite used to blast ore out of mountains
Boom Towns
– Virginia City
– Develop overnight to provide food, supplies,
entertainment, alcohol for miners
– Frequently lawless, dominated by men
– When gold runs out, everyone leaves and town
becomes a ghost town
Life on Range
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Cattle roamed plains led by Cowboys
– Cowboys learned skills from Mexican vaqueros
– Needed open range for herds
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Cattle Drives “Long Drive”
– Ranchers paid cowboys to drive cattle from grazing
areas to railroads from Texas to Wyoming (more money
in east)
– Needed to keep herd moving at consistent pace
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Cow Towns (Abilene, Wichita, Dodge City KS)
– Emerged at end of cattle drives
– Frequently along railroad routes
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End of Open Range
– Too many ranchers reduced grasslands of Plains
– Farmers began claiming lands in open range
• Put up barbed wire fences to keep cattle out
• Government helped protect land claims
– Ranchers had to buy grazing land instead of open range
• Cattle raising became a more structured business
Farmers’ Frontier
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Railroad Land
– Railroad companies were given land to sell in exchange
for building railroads
– Railroads encouraged settlement of west
Homestead Act (1862)
– Government gave 160 acres of land as long as work land
for 5 years, improved it and paid $30
– Designed to encourage settlement, not raise money
A lot of corruption in land sales
Difficulties Farming
– Prairie grasses were to break; required lots of labor
– West of 100th meridian, water was difficult to find;
weather extreme; insects
– Barbed wire was invented to keep cattle off of farmland
Dry Farming developed
– Water wells were not enough for irrigation
– “Dry farming” was developed
• Used moisture in soil
• Required steel plows and heavy machinery
• Created conditions that led to “Dust Bowl”
Federal irrigation projects brought water to area via dams
West Grows
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Great Plains grew rapidly
– Helped with Homestead Act and railroads
– CO, ND, SD, MT, WA, ID, WY, UT admitted between 18891896
Closing of the Frontier
– 1889 Oklahoma was settled – ended the frontier
– April 22, 1889 at noon the last Indian territory was
settled by white settlers.
• 9 hours – 2 million acres claimed
– Best land taken by “Sooners”
• People who entered the territory than the
government allowed
Frederick Jackson Turner (Turner’s Thesis)
– American exceptionalism tied to frontier
– Possibility of fresh start in west
• West established new identity
– Influenced by Hispanic, Asian, and Native American
cultures
– Environment played a bigger role
Problems for Farmers
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Debt
– Farmers to borrow money to buy food, clothing, and
seed from stores.
– Led to “big business” farming tied to markets and
railroads
Cash Crops
– Farmers only grow cash crops such as tobacco,
cotton, corn, wheat
Low prices
– caused by overproduction resulting in an increase in
supply brought on by new land and machines.
– Low prices led to less income to pay debt
– Farmers lose money with bad crops or drops in prices
More Expenses
– High Tariffs increase cost of machines
– Railroads could charge any price
• Pools
– competing railroads shared revenue in a
market
– railroads agree to charge farmers same rates
• Rebates
– Refund given to large businesses
Farmer Response
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Farmers were at mercy of banks, railroads, nature, taxes –
caused many small farmers to go bankrupt
Grange
– Founded by Oliver Kelley in 1867
• Originally was a social organization
– Changes to a political organization
• Farmers gathered and talked about their problems
• led to calls for change
– By 1875 800,000 members
Cooperatives (Farmers Alliance)
– Businesses, owned by groups of farmers, were created to
buy and control resources
– lowered prices because middleman was eliminated
– Ignored tenant farmers and blacks
Political Action
– Farmers elect politicians that would support their needs
• laws limited railroad and storage rates
– Most success in IL, WI, IA, MN
– Munn v Illinois (1877) allow state regulation of commerce
Wabash v Illinois (1886) said states cannot regulate
INTERstate trade
– Greenback Labor Party won million votes in 1878
Coinage of Silver (Silverites)
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Populists attack Wall Street and “money trust”
– Wanted nationalized railroads, telephone; income tax;
government protection of farm prices
Populists and farmers want gold AND silver to back money
(bimetallist)
– Would increase amount of money in circulation
– Leads to inflation
– supported by debtors
– Farmers want inflation, so support Silver
Free Silver Leaders
– William Harvey Coin’s Financial School(1894) argued for
coinage of silver
– Mary E Lease “raise less corn and more Hell”
Populists won many votes in 1892 forcing major parties to
take notice of their issues
Coxey’s Army and the Pullman Strike
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Coxey’s Army (“Commonweal Army”)
– Jacob Coxey led group of unemployed people to
demand federal public works programs to relieve
unemployment and printing of paper money
Pullman Strike (1894)
– Pullman made sleeper cars for trains
• Pullman created a company town in which
everything was owned by Pullman.
– Panic of 1893/Depression of 1894
• Businesses lose money so cut wages to protect
profit but didn’t lower rent of workers in company
towns
– American Railway Union led by Eugene V Debs
• Debs led strikes and boycotts against poor
treatment of workers by Pullman
• Debs becomes leader of Socialist Party in America
– Pullman put mail cars on each train to make stopping
them a federal offense
– President Cleveland send troops to stop strike
Federal Government reaction created sympathy and
increased radicalization of labor movement
Conflict over money supply
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Money Supply
– Refers to the amount of money in circulation
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Cheap Money (bimetallism)
– more money leads to a rise in prices
(inflation)
• also known as cheap money
– less money leads to lowering of prices
(deflation)
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Hard Money (Gold bugs, Gold Standard)
– United States government backed every
dollar with a certain amount of gold
– Money supply limited because supply of gold
is limited
– prevents inflation
– favored by creditors, businesses and
Republicans
Election of 1896
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William Jennings Bryan (Democrat)
– Democrats opposed Cleveland because of his
role in Pullman strike, hard money and Morgan
bond deal
– Bryan argued against the gold standard and
the Populists supported him
– “Cross of Gold” Speech – given at convention
to inspire unlimited coinage of silver
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William McKinley (Republican)
– Supported big business and believed
government should help big business
• Wealth of laborers benefitted from strong
business
– McKinley argued coining silver would lead to
factories closing and people losing their jobs
– Supported gold standard and protective tariff
– Trusts gave McKinley campaign large amounts
of money to appeal to voters (outspent
Democrats 16:1)
Election of 1896
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McKinley Wins
– Victory symbolizes strength of big
business, urban, middle class values and
financial conservatism over rural in
politics
– Last attempt by a politician to win with
agriculture
– Republican conservatives get control of
Presidency for 16 years; ends period of
reform
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McKinley Presidency
– Avoided reform and allowed trusts to
operate without regulation
– Tariff issue
• Wilson-Gorman tariff was not raising
enough revenue
• Dingley Tariff Bill (1897) established
high tariff rates
– Economy improved which silenced money
issue
– New discoveries of gold “cheapened” its
value