Transcript Native American Removal and Farmer

Native American Struggles
Starting in the mid- 1850’s, miners, railroads, cattle drives, and farmers came to the Plains.
The Plains Indians had millions of buffalo to supply their needs.
•After the Civil War, American hunters hired by the railroads began killing the
animals to feed the crews building the railroads and for sport.
•William Cody claimed to have killed more than 4000 buffalo in 18 months.
•The loss of the buffalo helped lead to the loss of a way of life for the Plains
Indians.
Conflict
In 1867 the federal government began moving the Indians to a few large reservations.
• One large nation was in Oklahoma, the “Indian Territory”. Another was in the Dakota
Territory.
•Managing the reservations would be the job of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
•Most reservations were on poor land and the Indians were often tricked to move there.
•Many Natives moved to the reservations but some resisted.
Battles
on the
Plains
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody (back row center)
meeting with Indians and government officials
following the massacre at Wounded Knee, 1890.
"The Death of Custer" at the Battle of the Little
Bighorn, as enacted in Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
•In 1874. General George A. Custer led an army to check on rumors of gold in the Black
Hills of South Dakota, a land promised to the Sioux Indians.
•Gold was found and prospectors flooded the area.
•The Sioux protested but the government did not honor its promise The Sioux leader
“Sitting Bull” refused and gathered Sioux and Cheyenne warriors at Little Bighorn
River where they were joined by another Chief Crazy Horse and his followers.
•Custer divided his forces and attacked with 250 soldiers against thousands of Natives.
•Custer an all his men were lost. The defeat shocked the nation.
•The Native victory was short lived as the Army crushed the uprising soon after.
The Apache
Wars
Geronimo fought against both Mexican and United States troops and became famous for his daring
exploits and numerous escapes from capture. His 38 men, women and children evaded 5000 U.S. troops
(one fourth of the army at the time) and the Mexican army for a year. His forces became the last major
force of independent Indian warriors who refused to acknowledge the United States Government in the
American West. This came to an end on September 4, 1886, when Geronimo surrendered to United
States Army General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.
Geronimo was sent as a prisoner to Fort Pickens, Florida. In 1894 he was moved to Fort Sill,
Oklahoma. In his old age Geronimo became something of a celebrity. He appeared at fairs, including
the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, and selling souvenirs and photographs of himself. However, he was
not allowed to return to the land of his birth. He rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905
inaugural parade.
Chief Joseph Surrenders
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce led his people in an attempt to resist the
takeover of their lands in the Oregon Territory by white settlers. In
1877, the Nez Perce were ordered to move to a reservation in Idaho.
Chief Joseph agreed at first. But after members of his tribe killed a
group of settlers, he tried to flee to Canada with his followers, traveling
over 1500 miles through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.
Along the way they fought several battles with the pursuing U.S. Army.
Chief Joseph spoke these words when they finally surrendered on
October 5, 1877.
Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of fighting.
Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Ta Hool Hool Shute is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the
young men who say yes or no. He who led on 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 of them 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.
Chief Joseph - Thunder Traveling to the Loftier Mountain Heights - 1877
A
Changed
Culture
•Reformers like Helen Hunt Jackson were horrified at the treatment of Native
Americans and pushed for reforms.
•Congress changed government policy with the passage of the Dawes Act in 1887.
The
Dawes
Act of
1887
Ethnocentrism
Congressman Henry Dawes, author of the act, once expressed his faith in the civilizing power of private
property with the claim that to be civilized was to "wear civilized clothes...cultivate the ground, live in
houses, ride in Studebaker wagons, send children to school, drink whiskey and own property."
•The law aimed to give Native Americans private individual ownership of land,
eliminate their nomadic lifestyle, and encourage them to become farmers.
•The law broke up the reservations in an attempt to end tribal identification.
•Native American children were sent to white-run boarding schools for
deculturization.
•The plan failed and speculators acquired most of the valuable land with
Natives receiving land that was often dry and ill-suited for farming.
Wounded Knee
The frozen body of one of the victims at Wounded Knee. The caption written on this photograph identifies him as the medicine man
who triggered the conflict with a handful of dust tossed into the air to illustrate how the power of the Ghost Dance would sweep the
whites from the plains.
•The Dawes Act changed the Natives way of life and in despair they turned to
Wovoka in 1890, a prophet who claimed the Sioux would regain their greatness
by performing a ritual known as the Ghost Dance.
•The reservation officials became alarmed by the dance and arrested Sitting Bull
as the leader of the movement. He was shot during the arrest.
•In response the Sioux gathered at a creek called Wounded Knee in South Dakota
and were confronted by the army. In the battle 150 Sioux and 25 soldiers were
killed. This ended the armed conflict between whites and Native Americans.
The Ghost Dance
Farmers in Protest
After the Civil War farming
expanded and as more land
was cultivated supplies grew
faster than demand which
caused prices to fall while the
farmers costs of transporting
their goods to market, for seed,
and for equipment all rose.
Farmers blamed their troubles
on three groups:
1.
2.
3.
Railroads, because they engaged in pools and rebates.
Eastern manufacturers because they charged high prices for their products.
Bankers because of their lending practices and a money supply based on
gold.
The Grange
Farmers began to
organize to solve their
problems. In a short
time they created a
political movement.
The movement started
with local self help
groups that eventually
became called the
National Grange
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The Grange offered farmers education, fellowship, and support encouraged
economic self-sufficiency. It set-up cash only cooperatives in an attempt to end
buying on credit that burdened farmers with debt they often could not pay.
The Grange looked to gets states to limit railroad rates and did get many laws
passed.
The railroads put pressure on the state legislatures and the laws were repealed.
The Grange cooperatives also failed as farmers, always short of cash, had to borrow
money until their next crop was sold. The Grange was replaced by Farmers
Alliances.
Farmers’ Alliances
Like the Grange the farmers
alliances offered farmers
education, fellowship, and
support.
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The alliances supported a plan for the federal government to store
farmers’ crops in warehouses and lend money to the farmers.
When the stored crops were sold the farmers would repay the government
loans.
The plan would reduce the power railroads, merchants, and banks had
over them by offering the farmers federal protection.
The alliances did not remain united and were split by regional differences.
The Populists: A
Party of the People
The Populist (or People's) Party
was formed in 1892 when the
Knights of Labor and the
Farmers Alliance leaders turned
their movements into a political
party.
The Populists: A
Party of the People
The issues the Populists
endorsed were:
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Australian (or Secret) Ballot.
The Popular Election of U.S. Senators. (This plank would become part of the
Constitution in 1913 when Amendment XVII was ratified.)
Direct Democracy. The Populists urged the adoption of the initiative. They felt the
initiative would expand Democracy by allowing laws or amendments to be initiated
directly by the voters.
They wanted the right to pass a referendum where legislation is submitted to the
people for approval.
They also wanted the right of recall so the people could remove elected officials before
their term expired.
All of these measures looked to give the people a more direct voice in government by
increasing democracy for common people.
The Populists:
A Party of the
People
The issues the Populists
endorsed were:
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Banking Reform. The Populists believed that much of their economic
hardship had been caused by bankers' unfair practices.
Government Ownership of the Railroads. During the Theodore Roosevelt
administration, steps were taken toward reform of the railroads.)
Graduated Income Tax. The Populists viewed the graduated income tax as
a means to pry loose a portion of the tremendous wealth of the nation's
most prosperous citizens.
Free and Unlimited Coinage of Silver. The Populists in 1892 raised the
silver issue the free silver crusade would die a natural death in the years
following 1896 as prosperity returned and the world's gold supply
increased.
The Free
Sliver
Movement
•Populists wanted the federal government to mint silver freely the result of this which
would have been a considerable increase in the money supply and inflation.
•Populists favored an inflationary monetary policy on the grounds that it would enable
debtors (often farmers, laborers, and industrial workers) to pay their debts.
•Wealthy creditors such as banks, leaseholders, and landlords, who under this theory
suffer considerably strongly opposed the idea..
The Election of 1896
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In 1896, the Populists gained control of the Democratic Party and
engineered the nomination of William Jennings Bryan. The campaign was
dominated by the silver issue.
An energetic campaign failed to sway the electorate, except in the farm
belt. The Republicans were returned to power and the Populists were
badly split between those who wished to remain with the Democrats and
those who wanted to reclaim their identity.
The Cross of Gold Speech
William Jennings Bryan's speech before the
Democratic convention concluded with the
following:
Therefore, we care not upon what lines the battle is
fought. If they say bimetallism is good, but that
we cannot have it until other nations help us, we
reply that, instead of having a gold standard
because England has, we will restore bimetallism,
and then let England have bimetallism because
the United States has it. If they dare to come out
in the open field and defend the gold standard as
a good thing, we will fight them to the uttermost.
Having behind us the producing masses of this
nation and the world, supported by the
commercial interests, the laboring interests and
the toilers everywhere, we will answer their
demand for a gold standard by saying to them:
You shall not press down upon the brow of labor
this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify
mankind upon a cross of gold.
The
Populist
Legacy
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Many of the Populist
ideas were later adopted
by the other parties and
became law.
In the 1900’s, the U.S.
abandoned the gold
standard, adopted an
eight hour work day, and
introduced an income
tax.
Election reforms
achieved the secret ballot
and direct election of
senators.