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American Stories THIRD EDITION By: Brands • Chapter 17 The West: Exploiting an Empire 1849‒1902 The West: Exploiting an Empire, 1849‒1902 17.1 Beyond the Frontier What were the challenges of settling the country west of the Mississippi? 17.2 Crushing the Native Americans How did white Americans crush the culture of the Native Americans as they moved west? The West: Exploiting an Empire, 1849‒1902 17.3 Settlement of the West Why did Americans and others move to the West? 17.4 The Bonanza West Why was the West a bonanza of dreams and get-rich-quick schemes? Video Series: Key Topics in U.S. History 1. 2. 3. 4. Conquest of the West The Dawes Act Chinese Exclusion Act The Gold Rush Home Lean Bear’s Changing West • 1863 – Indian chiefs met with Lincoln • Lean Bear, the Cheyenne Chief • A few years later federal troops invaded Lean Bear’s land and killed him • Promised peace • The West became great colonial empire • Place of conquest and exploitation Home Beyond the Frontier • 1840 - Settlement reached Missouri • • • • Great Plains – treeless, nearly flat Rockies – formidable barrier Basin – desolate areas of Idaho and Utah Pacific Coast – past Cascades and Sierra Nevada, temperate • Most pre‒Civil War settlers headed directly for Pacific Coast Home Beyond the Frontier Discussion Question • What were the particular challenges of settling the country west of the Mississippi? Beyond the Frontier Crushing the Native Americans • • • • Life of the Plains Indians Searching for an Indian Policy Final Battles on the Plains The End of Tribal Life Home Crushing the Native Americans • 1865: 250,000 Indians in western U.S. • Displaced Eastern Indians • Native Plains Indians • Pacific Coast tribes • By the 1870s • Most Indians on reservations • California Indians decimated by disease Crushing the Native Americans Life of the Plains Indians • Two-thirds of all Native Americans lived on the Great Plains • • • • Many distinctive tribes Nomadic and warlike Migratory Labor divided by gender Crushing the Native Americans Searching for an Indian Policy • Early nineteenth century • Indian Country - land west of the Mississippi River • Whites could not enter without license • 1850s – Wagon trains, gold rush, and talk of transcontinental railroad • Government ended “one big reservation” • New policy of concentration • Whites poured into West Crushing the Native Americans Searching for an Indian Policy (continued) • Violence erupted as settlers moved west • Sand Creek massacre • Sioux War of 1865–1867 • Fetterman massacre • Debate over Indian policy • Humanitarians wanted to “civilize” Indians • Others wanted firm control, swift reprisal • Small reservation policy adopted • Isolate Indians Crushing the Native Americans Crushing the Native Americans Final Battles on the Plains • Small reservation policy failed • Young warriors refused restraint • White settlers encroached on Indian lands • Final series of wars suppressed Indians • Little Big Horn • Wounded Knee Massacre - 1890 • To suppress Ghost Dances • Most battles resulted in Indian defeat Crushing the Native Americans Crushing the Native Americans The End of Tribal Life • Assimilation policy • • • • Congress stopped making treaties - 1871 Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania Dawes Severalty Act - 1887 Near extermination of buffalo • Native American loss of culture • 1900 – only 250,000 remained in U.S. • Poor lifestyle Crushing the Native Americans Crushing the Native Americans Discussion Question • How did white Americans crush the culture of the Native Americans as they moved west? Crushing the Native Americans Settlement of the West • Men and Women on the Overland Trail • Land for the Taking • The Spanish-Speaking Southwest Home Settlement of the West • Unprecedented settlement 1870–1900 • Most moved West seeking a better life • Rising population drove increasing demand for Western goods • West was not a major “safety valve” for social and economic tensions Settlement of the West Men and Women on the Overland Trail • Great migration westward • • • • • First push aimed for California and Oregon Gold Rush of 1849 Overland Trail Migration usually a family affair Journey was strenuous Settlement of the West Land for the Taking • 1860–1900: Federal land grants • Homestead Act of 1862 • Most land acquired by wealthy investors • Water was dominant issue • 1902 - National Reclamation Act (Newlands Act) • Railroads largest landowners in West • Eager to have immigrants settle on land Settlement of the West Settlement of the West The Spanish-Speaking Southwest • Spanish-speakers of Southwest • • • • Contributed to culture and institutions Spanish‒Mexican Californians Culture shaped society Continuous immigration kept culture strong Settlement of the West Discussion Question • Why did Americans and others to move to the West? Settlement of the West The Bonanza West • • • • • The Mining Bonanza The Cattle Bonanza The Farming Bonanza Discontent on the Farm The Final Fling Home The Bonanza West • Quest to “get rich quick” • Produced uneven growth • Caused boom-and-bust economic cycles • Wasted resources • Constant change • “Instant cities” • Institutions based on bonanza mentality • West - an idea as well as a region The Bonanza West The Mining Bonanza • Mining first attraction to the West • • • • California Gold Rush of 1849 Placer mining gave way to big business Comstock Lode Black Hills • Towns grew from camps that sprouted with first strike • Governed by simple democracy • More men than women • Many foreign-born The Bonanza West The Mining Bonanza (continued) • Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 • Hostility toward foreign miners grew • Suspended Chinese immigration for ten years • 1890s - bonanza over • Contributed millions to economy and helped finance Civil War • Scarred and polluted environment • Left ghost towns The Bonanza West What New Economic Patterns Emerged in the West? • How did railroad expansion shape population growth in the West? • How did western agriculture develop during the late 1800s? • How did the federal government’s presence manifest itself as settlers moved west? The Bonanza West The Bonanza West The Bonanza West The Cattle Bonanza • The far West ideal for cattle grazing • • • • Cattle ranching dominated open range Getting beef to eastern markets Cowboys worked long hours for little pay Laws and rules • End of the great cattle drives • • • • Farmers moved in Mechanization modernized ranching Weather connection The Bonanza West Ranchers adapted The Bonanza West The Bonanza West The Farming Bonanza • 1870‒1900 – Millions of farmers moved West to cultivate land • Population on Plains tripled • 1900 - 30 percent of population in West, compared to less than 1 percent in 1850 • Exodusters • Problems on the Plains • New farming methods The Bonanza West Discontent on the Farm • National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry (the Grange) • Provided social, cultural, and educational activities • Banned political involvement • Farmers’ grievances • Transformation of American agriculture • Nation’s garden • Commercial and scientific The Bonanza West The Final Fling • 1889 - Oklahoma opened to white settlement • Indians forced to give up rights to land • Sooners and Boomers The Bonanza West Discussion Question • Why was the West a bonanza of dreams and get-rich-quick schemes? The Bonanza West Conclusion: The Meaning of the West • Historians differ in their interpretation of the American frontier experience • Frederick Jackson Turner – Turner’s thesis • “New Western historians” • Image of frontier and the West influenced American development