Transcript WESTWARD EXPANSION - Belton ISD / Overview

“American Progress” by John Gast (1872)
WESTWARD
EXPANSION
The Last American Frontier
INTRODUCTION
In the later 19th century, the last American
frontier was transformed by America’s rapid
population growth and industrial
development. The Frontier has generally
been defined as the line separating areas of
settlement from “unsettled” wilderness
territory. From another point of view, the
American frontier marked the dividing line
between areas where Native Americans
lived and areas settled by more
technologically advanced peoples
THE BIG QUESTION
What
factors contributed to the
settlement of the Great Plains
and Far West?
SETTLEMENT OF THE FRONTIER
 By
the end of the Civil War, American settlers
occupied the Mid-Western prairies and had a
foothold along the Pacific Coast.
 Between was a vast expanse of territory that
consisted mostly of the Great Plains. Home to
millions of buffalo and the Native Americans who
lived of them for food and hides.
 The Lure of Precious Metals – discoveries of gold
and silver in California, Alaska, the Rocky
Mountains, and Black Hills of North Dakota led
many to set out to “strike it rich”
Continued…
 The
Indian Wars – After the Civil War, Union troops
were stationed in forts along the frontier.





They defeated several tribes on the Great Plains
and Southwest and moved them to reservations
Most noted was the contest with the Sioux. After
discovery of gold in the Black Hills, they were asked
to move from the sacred grounds.
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated Custer, killing
264 soldiers at Little Big Horn
Within 2 years, Crazy Horse was captured and killed,
and most Sioux were forced onto reservations
In 1890, 300 unarmed Sioux men, women, and
children were slaughtered by machine gun fire at
Wounded Knee, SD.
Continued…
 The





impact of the Railroads
The Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869,
reduced the journey from New York to San Francisco
from 6 months to 10 days
The U.S. led the world in railroad track mileage
Railroads attracted an increasing number of settlers
to the west, since they could ship their crops by rail to
Eastern markets
Because they sometimes ran through Native
American territories, new conflicts arose
From 1870-1890, the buffalo herds on the Plains were
destroyed by sharp-shooters traveling by trains,
affecting the ability of the Plains Indians to survive.
Continued
 The





Availability of Cheap Land
Prior to the Civil War, the federal gov’t. had sold
unsettled land from its public domain for about
$1.25 an acre.
After the Civil War the Southern states could no
longer block bills that encouraged expansion in the
West.
The Homestead Act in 1862 – stated that any citizen
could occupy 160 acres of gov’t. land. If they
improved the land by making a home and growing
crops, after 5 years, they could own the property.
This appealed to many European immigrants.
Almost 1,400,000 homesteads were granted under
this act.
Continued…
 The





Cattle Industry
At the end of the Civil War, Texans decided to drive
millions of wild longhorn cattle that were grazing on
the Great Plains of Texas to railroad lines in Kansas,
From there they were shipped to Chicago to be
slaughtered, then by refrigerated rail cars to cities in
the East.
This gave rise to the cowboy (1 in 5 were African-American)
Long cattle drives ended by 1887 due to harsh
conditions, overgrazing of land, and “closed range”
being fenced by barbed wire
Cattle ranchers remained in the plains area,
breeding cattle on the closed range and shipping
them eastward by train each year
Continued…
 Farming
on the Great Plains
 The Homestead Act and sale of railroad landgrants lured farmers westwards.
 Railroads made it possible to ship crops to the East.
 About half were immigrants from Europe
 Farmers faced hostility from both Indians and
cattlemen
 Natural hardships included little rainfall, few trees,
tough soil, extreme temperatures, grasshoppers,
and isolation.
 New technology – sod-houses, barbed wire, steel
plows, drilling equipment, harvesters, and threshers
THE FATE OF NATIVE AMERICANS
 Government
Policy – to push Native Americans
from traditional lands to gov’t. reservations in the
West
 The Reservation – usually smaller than the lands
from which the tribe was removed and was less
desirable


The gov’t. promised food, blankets, and seed
Clashed with tribal customs, since most were hunters,
not farmers
 The
Dawes Act, 1887 – sought to hasten the
“Americanization” of Native Americans by
abolishing tribes, giving 160 acres to each family as
private property, promising citizenship for those
that complied, and the right to vote.
Continued…
 American





Indian Citizenship Act (1924)
Before 1924, Native Americans held a unique position
under federal law. Some had become citizens by
marriage to a U.S. citizen, other were granted it by
serving in the military, or through special treaties.
Most were still not citizens and were blocked from the
normal process of naturalization open to foreigners.
American Indian Citizenship Act granted immediate
U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S.
They did not need to give up tribal lands or customs
Some saw this as a reward for service in WWI
By 1934, the Dawes Act was replaced by an act
guaranteeing tribal self-government.