American West

What were the key features of Plains Indian life?

• Buffalo - every part used (bones, hide, dung, intestines) however they were difficult to hunt (nomadic)
  
• Tribal Structure - women, men, children (different roles)
• Role of men/women - women = work, food, and homes and men = fighting, and hunting
• Nomadic - following the buffalo
• Tipi - Natives homes = made from buffalo skins
• Warriors and Warfare - scalping enemies (spiritual)
• Nature and Land - land was sacred and they did not farm

Why did people move west?

Push Factors

• overpopulated
• lack of land
• increased crime rates
• clash of cultures
  
• fewer jobs

Pull Factors

• to explore the land
• more space to settle
• more space for farming
• resources
• own land
• discovery of gold
• freedom

What problems did people face as they move westward? Why did the Donner Party fail?

Problems

• harsh conditions (cold-hot)
• long way to travel
• Natives

Donner Party to California

• split up - different routes
• suffered in the desert - lost 4 wagons and 300 cattle
• snow came early - trapped

What is the Manifest Destiny? Why was this central to creating conflict on the Great Plains?

• The idea that whites should own the entire country
• White Americans would spread out, taking Native land as their own

Who were the Mountain Men? How did they help other people move westwards?

• first adventurers and explorers
• relayed information about the Plains back to the East
• helped set up the first trails

How did the discovery of gold lead to increased migration? What were the positives and negatives of the gold rush?

• 1848 - gold discovered in California - by the end of the year - 10,000 crossed the Plains
• 1849 - 100,000 people had crossed - known as the forty-niners

Positive 

• 'opened up' the west
• industrial areas in the west
• San Francisco was a rival to New York

Negative

• racism
• poor living conditions
• law and order
• vigilantes

Who were the Mormons? Why was Brigham Young such an important leader?

• religious group - by Joseph Smith in 1830 - Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints

Dislike because...

• polygamy
• had their own army
• very hard-working (jealousy)
• quick growing religion

Brigham Young - led the Mormons to Salt Lake City

Why did people start to migrate to the Plains?

• Manifest Destiny
• Freedom
• Troubles in the East

What problems did the homesteaders face and how did they overcome them?

Problems

• unpredictable weather
• unsuitable land
• lack of food and water
• other people
• transport

Solutions

• …