Chapter 16
Westward Expansion
The Great American Desert
• Early explorers referred to the lands west of the
Mississippi River as the Great American Desert
– They believed it was incapable of supporting life, much
like a desert.
• In fact the regions west were more diverse than
any other in America.
– Included most arid desert climates, but also lushest
wet lands also. The flattest plains accompanied by
rocky mountains.
• Not only could it support life, but millions had
been living there for generations.
Western Tribes
• Some tribes were new to the region due to Indian
Removal Acts, but most were native to the region.
• Perhaps the most powerful, yet diverse, were the
Sioux of the Plains.
– While no specific number was ever recorded regarding
how many, they were broken into bands of roughly 500
warriors, women, and children.
– Excellent horsemen, outstanding warriors, perhaps the
greatest environmentalists known to human history.
• Sioux culture revolved predominantly around the
buffalo tribes roaming the plains.
49ers and the Gold Rush
• Gold discovered in the hills outside of San
Francisco in 1849.
– Americans flooded west in hopes of getting rich quick.
– Eventually was the primary reason why California
became a state.
• As farmers and laborers dropped everything in
search of gold, immigrants from China became a
popular replacement.
The Oregon Trail
• Aside from mining hopefuls, family units swept
west in hopes of fresh starts in Oregon and
California.
• Between 1840 to 1860 roughly 30,000 migrants
undertook the trip across the continent.
• There was safety in numbers for such a difficult
trip.
– Development of wagon trains that generally followed
the same trails or routes for safety.
– Oregon Trail was a 2,000 mile path that most followed
toward the Oregon territory and northern California.
– Santa Fe trail led toward southern California.
The Transcontinental Railroad
• By 1852 government officials wanted to construct a
railroad that would improve communications with
western territories, create new markets, and allow
Americans to travel safely.
– The government contracted two separate companies to
build the railroad and paid each by the miles of track they
laid.
– The Union Pacific Co. started in Omaha, Nebraska and went
west
• Laborers consisted of former soldiers, slaves, and factory workers
leaving overcrowded cities.
– The Central Pacific Co. started in Sacramento, CA and went
east.
• Predominantly hired Chinese immigrants to do the work.
• The two companies met in Promontory Point, Utah
Settlers of the West
• Many moved west for the prospect of land ownership
rather than easy wealth.
– Millions of American families moved west in hopes of
obtaining some of the vast lands for cheap prices.
• Homestead Act of 1862: the head of a family could
purchase 160 acres of land for $10 provided they
agree to stay for 5 years and farm.
– Unfortunately, the nature of the climate made 160 acres
inadequate to support farms.
– Life on the plains was difficult.
– Gov’t. officials failed to take into account the rising prices
of mechanized farming, and many families eventually went
bankrupt.
Boom and Bust of Mining Towns
• Gold or silver would strike in many different regions
west of the Mississippi and entice rushes similar to
‘49.
– Often the mining towns would follow the similar cycle of
development.
• Individual prospectors would move in and pan by hand and try
to exploit surface minerals.
• Then more advanced digging and mining techniques would
develop, eventually commercial mining companies.
• Eventually ranchers and farmers would establish more
permanent economies.
Gold Outside of California
• 1858: Gold discovered in Pike’s Peak.
– Miners flooded the Colorado territory in search of gold
and Denver went from a small mining town to a major
city overnight.
• 1859: The Comstock Lode in Nevada.
– Initially found gold, but realized they had stumbled
upon the largest vein of silver in history.
• 1874: Black Hills of South Dakota.
– Until then the only routes into the Dakota Territory
was by stage coach.
– Caused more problems with natives living there.
Life in Mining Towns
• Small towns emerged for miners to get supplies
and live until they struck rich.
– Crime became a problem since most people had no
intentions of staying and raising a family.
• Vigilance Committees
– Groups of civilians that would gather in mining towns
to enforce laws.
– Often local law enforcement was incapable of stopping
duels and fights.
– Vigilantes began enforcing their own versions of
justice and lynch mobs and impromptu hangings
became common.
The Cattle Kingdom
• Most of the dress, roping techniques, and
characteristics of American cowboys came from
Spanish settlers.
– Texas Longhorns were actually the descendants of stock
originally brought over by the Spanish.
• Mavericks: Unbranded cattle that roamed the plains
ownerless.
– Between 1850 and 1860 the number of mavericks went
from 330,000 to 3 million.
– A growing population in northern cities caused a need
for beef and a market for Texas longhorns.
Cattle Kingdom Cont.
• Anyone capable could make a lot of money by
herding a group of mavericks and selling them in
the market.
– 2,500 cattle could be moved by 8-10 skilled cowboys.
• The work was hard and dangerous but paid well.
– Cattle rustlers and stampedes were common
• Long drives became less frequent after Joseph
Glidden invented barbed wire and ranches became
more common.
– This combined with severe droughts in 1885-86 virtually
killed the cowboy era as well as industrialization.
Romanticizing Cowboy Culture
• Many Americans came to associate the west with
a rugged free-spirited lifestyle.
• Dime Novels: Cheap books that exaggerated the
romanticized life of cowboys on the plains.
– Many cowboys would tell wild stories while in these
cow towns and as the stories spread they became
more outrageous.
– Magazines, cheap books, theater productions, and
even traveling “Wild West Shows” furthered the myths
– The American cowboy became a symbol of the ideal
natural man.
Native Obstacles in the West
• Treaties between natives and American gov’t.
rarely survived pressure from settlers who were
eager to access western lands.
– Treaties were often illegitimately negotiated by
unauthorized representatives chosen by white settlers.
• The Bureau of Indian Affairs was designed through
the Dept. of the Interior to distributing and
managing the reservations.
– Many Bureau agents were dishonest and incompetent,
prone to political patronage in the east.
– Others simply didn’t understand native culture and
rarely offered reasonable solutions to natives.
Decimation of the Buffalo Herds
• Relentless slaughtering of buffalo herds
compounded problems for natives.
– White travelers killed massive amounts to feed families
traveling west before the Civil War.
– After the war, demand for hides created a new enemy,
the buffalo hunter.
• They killed hundreds at a time only for their hide and
tongues, leaving the rest to rot on the plains.
– Railroad companies hired them to shoot buffalo
because they were an obstacle for constructions.
– As more settlements, towns, and cities sprang up on
the plains buffalo were slowly pushed out.
• Even the Bureau of Indian Affairs often encouraged such
slaughter.
Indian Resistance
• For the most part, any native resistance was
limited to small warrior parties of roughly 40-50
men attacking settlements.
• After the Civil War; however, the U.S. military
focused on the “Indian problem” of the plains.
– Native raids turned to white soldiers as targets.
– At times the conflicts would escalate close to war.
• With decimated buffalo herds the natives were
left with few resources to resist.
Resistance Cont.
• Encounters between U.S. military forces and
native warriors increased as expansion continued.
– Spread from California to Colorado, Montana, and
eventually South Dakota.
• Little Bighorn: most notorious of the battles
between natives and military.
– Also known as “Custer’s Last Stand”
– One of the few accounts where native tribes came
together in resistance.
– Custer’s 264 men were all slaughtered by over 2,500
warriors.
Resistance Cont.
• Nez Perc and Chief Joseph: a peaceful tribe living in
Oregon Territory.
– Were forced out by white settlers sign a treaty and
relocate to Idaho.
– Four angry, drunk, young warriors killed a group of U.S.
soldiers.
– Fearing retribution, the Nez Perc fled for Canadian borders
under Chief Joseph.
– They were tracked down at White Bird Canyon, but
astonishingly won the battle.
– Seeking revenge, U.S. forces finally tracked them down just
short of the Canadian border.
– In hopes of peace, Chief Joseph signed surrender to allow
them to return to Reservation, most never did.
Massacre at Wounded Knee
• Sioux living in the Wounded Knee Reservation
in South Dakota partook in ancient ritual
called the “Ghost Dance”.
• The soldiers mistook it as a sign of possible
conflict and uprising.
• When fight broke out the soldiers killed over
200 unarmed warriors, women and children.
– While there was Indian resistance, most were
unarmed.
Dawes Act
• Legislation passed to end Indian conflicts
permanently.
• According to the act all natives received the
following:
– 1.
– 2.
– 3.
– 4.
160 acre plot of land to farm
eventual U.S. citizenship
20 year probationary period
native children were forced to attend U.S. schools
• Seemed like good deal to most Americans, but
highly disappointing to natives.