American West
- Created by: Jxss.lx
- Created on: 24-04-19 13:14
Permanent Indian Frontier
1834
- Us Government passed Indian Trade and Intercourse Act
- Eastern tribes forced west of Mississippi, now Indian territory
- All whites banned from settling on any land west of Mississippi other than Louisianna and Mississippi itself
- Frontier was guarded by US gurads, army forts and military roads
Indian Appropriations Act
1851
- 1850s, whites wanted to use Indian land
- Act provided money for government to move Indiansonto reservations managed by federal government
- Some tribes allocated hunting grounds
- Government hoped whites could teach Indians new ways to live
- Hoped small areas of land would force them to farm
Economic conditions
1837
- Corn prices collapsed, farmers faced ruin, made worse by overcrowding in fertile farming region
- Financial crisis, banks ran out of money, people lost savings + jobs, unemployment reached 25% in some areas
Oregon Trail
1836
- Created by fur trappers for better access to beavers
- Ran from Missouri to Independence, Oregon
- Migrants could travel across land inistead of water, massively decreased journey time, dangers and expense
1841
- Government-funded map produced
Manifest Destiny
- Belief it was God's will for white Americans to settle over all of America
- Encouraged by Government, needed it settled as protection from foreign powers
- Included the 'civilisation' of Indians
The First Gold Rush
1848
- Gold first discovered in California
1849
- Hundreds of thousands travelled to California in search of Gold
1850s
- Professional miners with equipment + expertise to mine underground took over
Process of migration
- Began at Independence, Missouri
- Train of wagons, 20+
- 8-9 months
- Oregon Trail, 3200km
- California Trail, 3800km
- Early migrants used explorers and Indians to find the way
- Later used pamphlets
- Began in April, enough grass for animals
Problems of migration
- Trails crossed the Rockies and Blue Mountains on the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, steep, little to hunt, bad weather, wagons were hauled across using chaines and pulleys, injuries were common
- Need to complete journey before winter or get stuck in mountains
- Sandstorms
- Quicksand
- Extreme heat
- Storms
- Disease
- Stampeding buffalo
- Hostile Indians
- Lack of supplies
- Required enough food for whole journey
The Donner Party
1846-47
- led by Jacob + George Donner
- Left Missouri for California, May 1846 (late)
- 60 wagons + 300 people
- Well-equipped
- More women, elderly + children than normal
Fort Bridger
- 80 tried to take a shortcut, using a leaflet
- 4 wagons broke
- 300 cattle died
- 1 man killed another
- Group arrived late in Sierra Nevada
- Trapped by heavy snow
- Group sent for help, took 32 days to reach Johnson's Ranch
- Both groups at their dead to survive
- Jan 1847, found by rescue parties
Joseph Smith
Joesph Smith
- Founded Church of Latter-Day Saints
- Followed by Mormons
- Numbers grew to several hundred by 1830
- Taught Mormons to obey him as his decisions were from God
- 1844 murdered in Illinois
Mormon Migration Preparation
Reasons
- Persecuted,
- were successful,
- desired to free slaves and befriend Indians,
- practised polygamy,
- so-called blasphemy
Preparation
- Brigham Young became leader after Smith's murder
- Persecuted in Illinois, forced to find land no-one else wanted
- 1500 people
- 2250km journey
- Split into groups, one leader, each given a specific role
- Had enough food for a year
- Advance group specially chosen to pick best route, improve trail, mark water + food for animals
Mormon Migration
1847
- Young led an advance party on a carefully researched rout
- Advance group, chose best rout, improved trails, marked food + water for animals
1847-49
- 70,000 Mormons followed on the Mormon Trail
Success in Utah
- Settlers organised, each town had a mix of skills to prosper
- Perpetual Emigration Fund, provided resources for thousands of Mormons to travel to Utah
- Dug irrigation ditches to provide farmland with water
- Faith encouraged hardwork and determination
- Mormon church owned all of the land, water and timber, allocated plots to families
Farming the Plains 1835-62
Problems
- Climate, hot + dry summers, cold winters
- Lack of water, very little surface water, low rainfall
- Prarie fires, dry grass burned easily
- Thick sod, soil was a tangled mass of grass roots
- Lack of trees, no timber for fencing and building
- Weather, thunderstorms, violent winds
- Grasshopper plagues + other insect pests
Differences from East
- Sod, broke ploughs, had to be dug up by hand, back-breaking work
- Crops, died from lack of water, easten by insect infestations
Lack of timber solutions
- Settlers paid large amounts to import timber for fencing
- Sod houses, thick walls + roof, good insulation, earth walls were fireproof (prarie fires)
- Impossible to clean, full of insects
Causes of tension between Indians and Settlers
- Indians spied on whites, made them nervous
- Increased conflict between tribes, Whites retaliated with violence
- Increase in migration, whites built forts along trails, disrupted Indians' travelling, increase in people using resources
- Whites feared the Indians, scalping viewed as barbaric
- White migrants killed Buffalo for food, caused stampedes, disrupted Indian organistaion of herds
- White settlers racist towards Indians, believed they were superior
- Resources were scarce, white settlers mistook Indian raids for attacks
Fort Laramie Treaty 1851
Terms
- Plains Indians had to:
- end fighting between tribes
- allow migrants through their land safely
- permit railroad surveyors onto their landd
- allow government to build roads and army forts on land
- pay compensation if any individuals from their tribe break the treaty
- Territories set out for Indian tribes
US government would
- protect ndians from whites including those trying to settle on Indian land
- pay tribes an annuity of $50,000 as long as treaty terms are kept to
Lawlessness in early settlements
Causes
- New crimes, claim-jumping in mining camps, miner took over a promising claim made by someone else, salting a claim, salt flakes scattered to look like gold
- Isolated comunities, harder to reach by law enforcement, e.g. mining camps in mountains
- Racial tensions from immigration, Chinese 1949 Gold Rush, Chinese famine 1852, discriminated against in court, not allowed to work new claims, claims stolen from
- Mining camps became targets for criminals
- Law enforcement not big enough to cope with rapid population growth
- Social factors, gambling, alcohol, prostitution, all-male camps, fighting over women
San Francisco lawlessness
1849 Gold Rush
- Population grew rapidly, 100 to 25,000
- Very few found gold
- Mostly unemployed, angry miners
- Increased number of chinese immingrants, racial tensions grew
1852
- gangs had formed, were out of control
- local policemen unable to cope, often bribed
- theft, murded and violence common
- vigilance communities set up to control violence
Attempts to tackle lawlessness
People
- US marshals, appointed by president, responsible for state or territory, needed deputies due to size of land
- Deputy marshals, assigned to specific towns + counties in federal territories
- Town marshals, appointed by townspeople yearly, dealt with local lawlessness (e.g. saloon brawls), could appoint deputies, fewer than sheriffs but a similar job
- Sherrifs, appointed in counties, 2 year office, could force locals into posse to catch lawbreakers, could appoint deputies
Federal control
- Federal government in charge of territories, decided on laws, appointed a governor + 3 judges to listen to court cases + a US marshal
- Once territory had population of 5,000, a sheriff could be appointed
- Once territory reached 60,000, could become a state with its own legal system
Problems for federal government tackling lawlessne
- Settlers, disliked government, ignored rules
- Sheriffs, chosen for ability to keep the peace, no legal training, unfair decisions, led to resentment
- Money, federal government didn't spend much on law enforcement, law officers poorly paid, corruption was likely
- Geography, territories were huge, scattered settlements, took days before news of trouble reached US marshal, more days before response was made
Civil War and Reconstruction
1861-1865
- North: small family farms, Union, South: large plantations, Confederat
- North wanted to abolish slavery but it was vital to the South's economy
- Abraham Lincoln elected as president, against slavery, South attacked Northern fort
Consequences
- Reconstruction of towns + cities + factories, increased migration West
- Plains settlers fighting, sharing stories, increased migration West
- South defeated, previously resisted Homestead Act, passed 1862
- Regular troops in West removed to fight for Union, conflict on Plains increased
- Slavery abolished, increased migration: freed slaves
Homestead Act
1862
Terms
- 160 acres of land for:
- Head of family or single over 21
- Not Indians or Confederate soldiers
- Women
- Former slaves
- Single under 21 + fought for Union
- $10 to claim land
- $30 to own land after working it for 5 years
- 1 claim per person
Aims
- Encourage settlement by families, not large landowners
- Make land cheap
- Most American citizens could file a claim
- Homesteaders had to prove they lived on and improved the land
Limitations and Successes of the Homestead Act 186
Limitations
- Rich landowners found ways to buy land
- 300 million acres of land given to railroad companies, more successful than Homestead Act
- High dropout, 60% never 'proved up' (bought the land), plots too small, environment too dry
Successes
- Settlement of the West, half of Nebraska land homesteaded
- Increased migration
- 80 million acres of land Homesteaded by end of Act (1930s)
- 6 million + acres of federal land homesteaded by 1876
The Transcontinental Railroad beginning
Pacific Railroad Act
- South had blocked proposed rote, had benefitted North not South
- Passed in 1862, South had temporarily left Union (Civil War)
- Granted job to Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad companies
Government support
- Gave $61 million in loans to railroad companies
- 45 million acres of free land given to companies to sell to settlers
- Agreed treaties with Indians along route to move them to new reservations
Transcontinental Railroad established
Use of railroad
- Troops could be moved around to control Indian uprisings
- Allowed all Americans to keep in touch, united country
- Easier to fulfil Manifest Destiny, easier to migrate, easier to secure more areas of country
- Federal law officers could reach settlements quicker
- Goods could be transported to California + Oregon, good position to trade with Far East
Settlement
- 1880, Railroad companies had settled 200 million acres of land
- Companies sold land along routes + built towns at railheads
- Railroad 'Bureas of Immigration' sent agents abroad to persuade immigrants to buy land
- RAilroad companies used effective marketing e.g. leaflets
Impact (Completed in 1869)
- Travelling west easier + cheaper, farmers + cattlemen could transport produce East for better prices
- Declining buffalo numbers, reduced grassland, hunters
- Settlers could buy from industrial cities, clothing, farming machinery
Homesteader farming solutions
Lack of timber
- Few trees on Plains
- No materials to build houses: sod houses built from blocks of earth
- No materials to build fences to contain cattle and protect crops from animals: 1874: Glidden invented barbed wire, quick and easy to erect
- No fuel for cooking and heating, Women collected dried buffalo or cattle dung for use as fuel
Lack of water
- Low rainfall, few rivers + lakes
- Needed to drink, water crops, for cattle, to wash
- Drills developed to find water underground
- Wind pumps built to bring water to surface
Disease and lack of medical care
- Sod houses hard to clean, had no sanitation
- Women cared for sick using home remedies, as communities grew doctors arrived
Homesteader farming solutions continued
Hard, arid land
- Crops wouldn't grow
- Plough broke going through deep-rooted grass: mass-produced, stronger machinery from eastern factories helped to cultivate land more easily
- Low rainfall prevented growth of crops like maize + wheat, common in East: New techniques developed e.g. dry framing conserved rainwater, Turkey Red Wheat brought by Russian migrants
Land holdings were too small
- 160 acres from Homestead Act not enough for average family
- 1873: Timber Culture Act: another 160 acres of land if 1/2 planted with trees
- 1877: Desert Land Act: 640 acres of cheap land
Lack of education
- Homestead too far from towns with schools: women taught the young
- As communities developed single, female teachers arrived + schools developed
More lawlessness
Civil War
- Young men from defeated Southern states resentful towards victorious US government and laws
- Young men traumatised by war, found it hard to fit into society
- Devastated South's economy, many unemployed
Railroads
- New towns created along railroads, grew very quickly, no law enforcement
- Cow Towns: cowboys just paid after weeks of driving cattle, enjoyed drinking, dancing and fighting
- "Hell on Wheels" towns known for gambling, heavy drinking + prostitution
- Trains replaced stagecoaches for transporting valuables: targeted by looters
More lawlessness solutions
Pinkertons
- Private detective company
- Employed by banks, railroad + stagecoach companies to track down robbers and thieves + to provide advice + protection
Sheriffs & Marshals
- Enforced laws using intimidation + violence
- New settlements left to deal with lawlessness themselves by electing town marshals + sheriffs
Cow towns
- Passed laws banning firearms
Railroad + electric telegraph
- Improved communication between law officers, increase in federal government influence
Cattle
Quarantine
- Texas cattle had contagious disease Texas Fever
- Farmers' cattle in settled areas have no immunity
- 1855, laws block Texan cattle from Missouri
- 1859, laws block Texan cattle from Kansas
- These laws blocked the long drives to Sedalia and St Louis
Civil War: 1861-65
- Texans fight for the Confederancy, cattle herds run wild: 5 million cows by 1865
- Beef in high deman in Northern citiess, drives to Sedaia blocked (Texas Fever)
- Creation of railroad: cattle worth $5 a head in Texas but $40 in Northern industrial cities
Abilene
- 1867, railroad reaches Abilene, Kansas, outside of quarantine zones
- Joseph McCoy sets up first cow town, built stockyards, built a railroad spur for loading cattle onto railroad carts, extended Chisolm Trail to Abilene through Indian territory, spent $5,000 on marketing, 35,000 cattle driven to Abilene over time
Cattle continued
The Goodnight-Loving Trail
- Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving recognised settlements in west to be market for Texan cattle
- 1866: Creatd trail to Fort Summer, government had failed to provide enough supplies for Navajo Indian reservation, sold 800 cattle for $12,000, 4x price in Texas
- 1868: Goodnight extended trail to Colorado (boomingmining towns) and Wyoming (Union pacific Railroad being built)
- Other cattlemen drove cattle to Wyoming
- Wyoming's cattle ranches began to grow
John Iliff
- Saw oppurtunity to sell meat to booming mining towns in Colorado
- Denver, Colorado not reached by railroad until 1870, difficult to get supplies to, over Rocky Mountains or across Plains
- Saw oppurtunity to raise cattle on Plains, 1866: began ranching near Denver
- 1870: herd of 26,000 cattle on Plains, ranch of 16,000+ acres
- Denver's 1st millionaire, selling meat to miners, Indian reservations and railroad workers
Cattle continued +
Beef Bonanza 1870s
- Investors pile into cattle industry from around the world
- Rise of cattle barons
Cowboys
Appearance
- Stetson, hat gave protection from sun, rain and cold
- High-heeled boots, stopped feet slipping though stirrups
- Chaps, protected legs from vegetation and weather
- Bandand, pulled over nose and mouth toprotect from dust
Who?
- Young, single men
- Different nationalities
- Former soldiers or drifters
- Criminals on the run
Life
- Long trails, could ride for 12-24 hours a day in all weather
- Lonely, cowboys on same drive could be miles apart
Cowboys continued
Trails
- Seasonal work, spring round-up, long drive in autumn
- Work, rounding up, branding, driving cattle hundreds of miles, looked out for sick cattle, started fast, slowed to 20km a day for grazing
- Dangers, stampeding cattle, wild animals, crossing rivers + quicksand, rustlers, hostile Indians, exterme weather
- Slept in open air, cooked on campfires
- Freetime spent in saloons + brothels in cow towns
Ranches
- Year round, full time work
- Fewer needed
- Work, rounding up, branding, driving to market (smaller distances), checked ranch boundaries, mended fences, looked out for sick/injured cattle
- Dangers, fewer than on trails, rsutlers, wild animals, Indian attacks
- Slept in bunkhouses, cooked in cookhouses
- Drinking, gambilng, guns + knives banned, many struggled to adapt
Ranchers VS Homesteaders
Public land
- Open-range ranching needed a lot of land to let cattle roam + have enough to eat
- Federal law stated that everyone could pasture cattle on public land for free, ranchers did
- Open range was divided into ranches, only a few bought plots when necessary
- Homesteaders began to file claims for 160 acres of public land
Blocking homesteaders
- Ranchers filed homestead claims to parts of their land homesteaders may be interested in, bought + fenced off just enough land to block access to other plots
- Racnhers took homesteaders to court over rights to land, homesteaders to poor to pay court fees
Fencing
- Farmers wanted racnhers to fence in their cattle to prevent them grazing on crops, ranchers felt cattle had right to roam, was farmer's responsibility to fence in crops
- Aguments over fencing ended up in state court cases, tension between ranchers + homesteaders could lead to conflict
Impacts on Plains Indians
Railroads
- Noise of trains + fencing of railroad tracks disrupted buffalo migrations
- Hunters brought onto plains, extermination of buffalo
- railroads funded by land grants, sold to settlers, reduced availability of resources
- Government persuaded tribes to give up lands on railroad route + move to reservations
Gold
- 1849: California Gold Rush, whites trespass on Indian land using Oregon Trail, Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 + Indian Appropriations Act
- 1859: Rocky Mountains Gold Rush, whites terspass on Cheyenne and Arapaho land, 1861 Fort Wise Treaty, 1864 Sand Creek Massacre
- 1863: Montana Gold Rush, whites trespass on Sioux lands on Bozeman Trail, 1866-68 Red Cloud's War, Fort Laramie Treaty 1868
Cattle Industry
- Trails often crossed Indian Territory, tension bewtween cowboys + Indians
- Cattle + buffalo competed for grass Cattle numbers 1860-1880 = 130,000-4.5 million
Impacts of Government policy
Reservations
- Tribe's council agreed it was necessary for survival
- White expansion, less land to hunt on + fewer animals
- US government promised protecton of lands + regular food supplies
- Tribes desperate for food signed for food
- Tribes sided with government for support against enemies
- US Army used force to move tribes + keep them on reservations
- Smaller than Indian hunting grounds, couldn't survive by hunting, depedndent on food supplies from government
- Bureau of Indian Affairs, agents ran reservations, often corrupt, cheated tribes out of annuities
President Grant's Peace Policy- 1868
- President Grant recognised that bad reservation management was leading to conflict
- Appointed new reseravtion agents who had strong religious views, wouldn't cheat Indians, would instruct them in Christianity
- Made an Indian Commissioner of Indian Affaris-Ely Parker
- Obtained a budget of $2million to improve reservations + create new reservations for all Indians
- Indians who resisted moving under new Peace Policy were treated as hostile + force could be used against them
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