The Americans Chapter 5 - Indians and the Western frontier.

1. WESTERN FRONTIER

2.  The Culture of the Plains Indians
 Way of life changed when horses and guns were
introduced
 Tribes began to roam the plains and hunt buffalo

3.  Buffalo provided meat, hides for clothing, shoes,
and blankets.
▪ It was central to life on the plains

4.  Family Life of NativeAmericans on the Plains
 Usually live in small family groups with ties to
other bands that spoke the same language
 Young men trained to become hunters and
warriors.
 Women helped butcher the game and prepared
hides.
▪ Sometimes they chose their own husbands

5.  Settlers disagree with Indians on the use of
the land.
 Settlers wanted to own the land.
 Gold was discovered in Colorado in 1858.
 Many settlers traveledWest.

7.  Mining camps ruined the look of the land.
 Immigrants of every kind came to the camps
in hope of striking it rich.
 Women owned businesses, - laundries,
hardware stores, freight hauling.
 Cities that evolved from mining camps:
VirginiaCity, NV, Helena, MT.

8.  Influences on policy
 Westward movement of settlers
 Arrival of railroads
 1850’s the govt. created treaties that defined
specific boundaries for each tribe.
 Most tribes ignored the treaties and continued to
hunt on their lands, clashing with miners and
settlers.

9. 1864 – Cheyenne returned to Colorado’s Sand Creek reserve
for the winter.
- they thought they were under the protection of the
government.
Army commander S.R. Curtis sent a telegram to colonel
JohnChivington stating “I want no peace till the Indians
suffer more.”

10.  Chivington attacked theArapaho and
Cheyenne.
 200 warriors, 500 women and children
 150 were killed, mostly women and children

11.  The trail ran through the Sioux hunting
grounds in the Bighorn Mountains.
 Red Cloud, the Sioux chief, had appealed to
the government to end white settlement on
the trail. They would not agree.

13.  December 1866
 Crazy Horse ambushed Captain William J.
Fetterman and his company at LodgeTrail Ridge.
 80+ soldiers were killed
 Natives called this the Battle of the Hundred
Slain, but whites called it the Fetterman
Massacre.

15.  Skirmishes continued until the government
agreed to close the trail.
 Treaty of Fort Laramie – the Sioux agreed to
live on a reservation along the Missouri River.
1868

16.  Sitting Bull – leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux
had never signed the treaty.

17. Red RiverWar – 1874-1875
- result of Kiowa and Comanche raiding for 6
years.
- US responded by putting members of
friendly tribes on reservations and opened
fire on the rest of the tribes.

18. Gave orders “ to
destroy their villages
and ponies, to kill and
hang all warriors, and
to bring back all
women and children.”
This crushed the
resistance on the
southern plains.

19.  Miners began searching for gold in the Black
Hills.
 Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho protested to
no avail.

21.  When Colonel Custer and his troops reached
the Little Bighorn River, the NativeAmericans
were ready for them.
 The attack was led by Crazy Horse, Sitting
Bull, and Gall.
 Custer and all his men were dead within an
hour.

23.  By 1876 the Sioux were beaten.
 Sitting Bull and few followers took refuge in
Canada, where they remained until 1881.
 He was forced to surrender to keep his people
from starving.

24.  Personal Voice
 Gall, Hunkpapa Sioux
“We have been taught to hunt and live on the game.
You tell us that we must learn to farm, live in one
house, and take on your ways. Suppose the
people living beyond the great sea should come
and tell you that you must stop farming, and kill
your cattle, and take your houses and lands, what
would you do? Would you not fight them?"

25. assimilation – the plan in which Native
Americans would give up their beliefs and
way of life and become part of the white
culture.

26.  1887 – broke up the reservations and gave
some of the reservation land to individual
NativeAmericans.
 160 acres to each head of household
 80 acres to each unmarried adult
 The govt. would sell the remainder of the
land to settlers.
 The income would be used to help Native
Americans buy farm implements.

28.  The most significant blow to tribal life on the
plains was the destruction of the buffalo.
 Tourists and fur traders shot them for sport

29.  1800 – 65 millions buffalo roamed the plains.
 1890 – fewer than 1000 remained.
 1900 – only a single wild herd remained.

30.  Sioux continued to suffer poverty and
disease.
 They were told by a Paiute prophet that if
they performed a ritual called the Ghost
Dance, their lands and way of life would be
restored.

31.  The movement spread
quickly among the
25,000 Sioux on the
Dakota reservation.
 Military officials were
scared and ordered the
arrest of Sitting Bull.

32.  40 Native American
police were sent to
arrest Sitting Bull.
 One of them was shot
by Catch-the-Bear.
 Sitting Bull was killed.
 Chief Big Foot led the
tribe away.

33.  12/28/1890
 7th cavalry rounded up
about 350 starving
Sioux and took them
to a camp atWounded
Knee in S. Dakota.
 They demanded that
the Natives give up all
their weapons.
 A shot was fired and
the soldiers opened fire
with a deadly cannon.
 300 unarmed Natives
were killed and their
bodies were left to
freeze on the ground.

36.  As buffalo decreased on the plains, the
number of horses and cattle increased.
Ranching fromTexas to Kansas became a
profitable investment.

38.  Settlers learned from their Mexican
neighbors how to manage large herds on the
open range.
 The animals themselves were called…

40.  They were sturdy, and were accustomed to
the dry grasslands of southern Spain.
 They were used for food and horses were
used for work and transportation.

42.  The first to wear spurs.
 Wore chaparreras, or leather overalls, later
known as chaps.
 Ate jerky
 Their wild horse or the “bronco caballo”,
became known as a bronc.
 The Mexican rancho became the American
ranch.
 Completely influenced the cowboy way of
life.

43.  Were not in great demand until the railroads
reached the Great Plains.
 Prior to this time, ranchers stayed on their
ranches with their cattle.

44.  After the CivilWar, the demand increased for
beef.
 Early transportation and cattle drives had
their problems.

46.  Joseph McCoy asked several towns to make
plans for a shipping yard where the trails and
the rail lines came together.
 He built cattle pens, a 3 story hotel, and
helped survey the ChisholmTrail.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06P-
ERCA17M&feature=fvsr

47.  The major cattle route from SanAntonio,TX,
through OK to Kansas.
 35,000 cattle were shipped out of the yard in
Abilene during its first year in operation.
 The next year business doubled to 75,000
head.

48.  Hours – 10-14 hrs/day
 Age – 15-30’s
 Roundup – spring round-up began the season
 They herded all the longhorns they could find
on the open range into a large corral.
 Branded cattle and prepared for the drive.

49.  Lasted about 3 months
 1 cowboy:250-300 cattle
 A cook also went along and drove the chuck
wagon.
 Wrangler cared for the horses.
 Trail boss earned $100.00/month.

50. JAMES BUTLER
“WILD BILL HICKOCK”
 Served as a scout and spy
during the Civil War.
 Was a marshal in Abilene,
Kansas.
 Violent man
 http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=q_Mld6QbfR4

51. MARTHA JANE BURKE
CALAMITY JANE
Expert sharpshooter
Dressed like a man
May have been a scout for
Custer.
http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=ytwkHN94vkE

52.  Causes:
 Overgrazing the land
 Extended bad weather
 Invention of barbed wire (Joseph Glidden)

54.  Railroads Open theWest
 1850-1871 – the govt. gave railroads 170 million
acres.
 The Central Pacific railroad and the Union Pacific
Railroad were in a race to lay track
 CP – from Sacramento moving eastward
 UP – westward from Omaha

55. Grueling labor was
done by :
CivilWar veterans
Chinese immigrants
Irish immigrants
AfricanAmericans
MexicanAmericans

56.  Both companies reached Utah by spring of
1869, linking the east and west coast.
 “The two sets of railroad tracks were joined
and the continent united with elaborate
ceremony at Promontory, Utah on May 10,
1869.The impact was immediate and
dramatic.Travel time betweenAmerica's east
and west coasts was reduced from months to
less than a week. “

57.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDeu1uuruhg&feature
=related
 “The ceremony at Promontory culminated with Governor
Stanford of California (representing the Central Pacific
Railroad) andThomas Durant (president of the Union
Pacific Railroad) taking turns pounding a Golden Spike into
the final tie that united the railroad's east and west
sections. As the spike was struck, telegraph signals
simultaneously alerted San Francisco and NewYork City,
igniting a celebratory cacophony of tolling bells and
cannon fire in each city.”
 AlexanderToponce witnessed the event:

58.  Homestead Act
 Offered 160 acres of
land free to any citizen
who was head of the
household.

59. From 1862-1900 –
600,000 settlers took
advantage of the
government’s offer.
Many were exodusters –
African Americans who
moved from the post-
Reconstruction South
to Kansas.

60.  Speculators used the
land for their own gain.
 Cattlemen would
sometimes fence open
lands.
 Miners and wood-
cutters would claim
national resources.
 1869 a massive land
give away in what is
now Oklahoma
attracted thousands of
people.

61.  Henry D. Washburn
and Nathaniel P.
Langford asked
Congress to help
protect the wilderness
from settlement.
 1872Yellowstone
National Park was
created.

62.  1879 – railroads were forced to give up
landholdings.
 1890 the Census Bureau declared that there
was no longer a Frontier.

63.  Dugouts and Soddies
 Homes were dug into
the sides of hills if no
timber was available.
 Some homes were made
of prairie turf.

64.  Worked beside men in
the fields. Plowing,
planting, and
harvesting wheat.
 Hauled water
 Made soap and candies
 Canned fruits and
vegetables.
 Skilled in doctoring
 Sponsored schools and
churches in an effort to
build strong
communities.

65.  1837 John Deere invented a steel plow
 1847 Cyrus McCormick began to produce a
reaping machine.
 By 1890 there were more than 900
manufacturers of farm equipment.
 These inventions made more grain available
for a wider market.

66.  The govt. financedAg education.
 The Morrill Act of 1862 and 1890 gave federal
land to the states to help finance agricultural
colleges.
 HatchAct – 1887- established ag
experimental stations to inform farmers of
new developments.

67.  Ag researchers helped prairie farmers
develop grains for arid soil and dry farming.
 The eastern plains became the “breadbasket
of the nation.”

68.  Farmers had to borrow money for machinery
 When wheat prices were high they could pay
it back quickly.
 When prices fell it was hard for them to make
ends meet.

69.  New type of farming in
1870’s
 Created by railroad
companies and
investors.
 Single crop spreads of
15,000-50,000 acres.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=SLg8tZkW71k&feature=relat
ed

70.  Farmers borrowed more money
 Farms grew larger
 A drought caused most of the bonanza farms
to go bankrupt.
 Western farmers were charged steep prices
for shipping grain.

72.  1800s crop prices were falling
 Good farming land was scarce
 Banks were foreclosing on farmers
 Railroads were taking advantage of them by
charging excessive prices for shipping and
storage.

73.  Paper money was called greenbacks
 Greenbacks could not be traded for silver or
gold and were not worth as much.
 After the war greenbacks were taken out of
circulation.
 Results – increased the value of $ in circulation

74.  Problem?
 Farmers had to pay back loans with money that
was worth more than what they were loaned.
 1867-1887 – the price of a bushel of wheat fell
from $2.00 to .68.
 The farmers wanted the government to issue
more money into circulation.

75.  Required the govt. to buy and coin at least $2
- 4 million worth of silver each month. It
wasn’t enough for the farmers.

76.  Railroads could set high prices for crop
transportation and grain storage.
 Why?
 Farmers were forced to purchase items on
credit and were often charged more for doing
so.

77.  1867- Oliver Hudson Kelley – started the
Patrons of Husbandry
 Organization for farmers
 Later known as the Grange
 Purpose – to provide a social outlet and
educational forum for farmers.

78.  The members of the Grange spent more time
fighting railroads.
 It was supposed to teach members how to
organize, set up farmers co-ops, and how to
sponsor state legislation to regulate railroads.

79.  Sent lecturers from town to town to educate
people.

80.  Populism – the movement of the people
▪ -Populist or People’s Party
▪ Founded in 1892
▪ July 2, 1892 a Populist convention was held in Omaha ,
Nebraska
▪ People wanted:
 reforms to lift the burden of debt from the farmers
 to give people a greater voice in their government

81.  Wanted increase in money supply
 A graduated income tax
 A federal loan program
 The election of US senators by popular vote
 Single terms for president andVP
 A secret ballot to end voting fraud
 8 hour work day
 Restrictions on immigration

82.  The Populists’ programs eventually became
the platform of the Democratic Party.
 They believe the government is responsible
for reforming social injustices.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHWAXu
VZrys

84.  Farmers were over extended with debts
 Railroads expanded faster than markets
 Some of them went bankrupt
 Govt. gold supply had worn thin

85.  People panicked and traded paper money for
gold
 It also spread toWall Street where the prices
of stocks fell rapidly.
 The price of silver plunged and silver mines
closed.

86.  Investments declined
 Consumer purchases, wages, and prices also
fell.
 3 million people lost their jobs.
 Many farmers suffered hunger and
unemployment.

87.  Republicans – located in Northeast
 Democrats – farmers, laborers of the South
andWest.
 Central issue of the political campaign was
which metal was to become the basis of the
monetary system.

88.  Silverites favored
 Bimetallism – gold or silver could be
exchanged for paper money.
 PresidentCleveland and the “gold bugs” were
on the other side calling for the gold
standard.
 Gold standard – backing of US Dollars solely with
gold.

89. Republicans nominatedWilliam McKinley
Democrats wanted combined gold and silver
w/unlimited amount of silver
William Jennings Bryan spoke a the Democratic
Convention

90. William Jennings
Bryan
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=HeTkT5-
w5RA&feature=related
He won the
Democratic
nomination
People did not like
the Democratic
VP candidate –
Arthur Sewall.

91.  Bryan faced problems:
 Gold bug democrats nominated their own
candidate.
 Weakened support in cities where people did not
want higher prices.
 Not enough campaign funds.
 McKinley was elected and Populism collapsed.

92.  1. a message that the downtrodden could
organize and have a political impact.
 2. an agenda of reforms