1. CHANGES ON THE
WESTERN FRONTIER
Cultures Clash on the Prairie

2. SECTION 1
 Introduction
 Who might have moved into the West?
Why?
 How did Westward expansion impact the
Native inhabitants?

3. INTERACTIVE MAP OF U.S.
 Interactive Map of Early U.S.
 As the U.S. grew it expanded west into land inhabited by Native
American tribes. How would each of you feel if outsiders came into
your cities and told you to move; or follow their religious beliefs, learn
their language and their customs?

4. GREAT PLAINS INDIANS
 Distinctive and highly developed Native American ways of life
existed on the GREAT PLAINS.
 Great Plains: refers to the grassland extending through the west-
central portion of the United States.

5. GREAT PLAINS INDIANS
 Numerous tribes had thrived on the Great Plains for hundreds of
years prior to the arrival of settlers. Tribes such as Arapaho,
Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Pawnee, and Sioux.

6. HORSES AND BUFFALO
 In 1598 Spanish settlers brought horses into New Mexico
 Native Americans were able to trade for guns and horses using
these new animals and weapons to hunt and travel more efficiently.
 Increased mobility often led to war among competing tribes
• Wars parties
• Truces
• Buffalo hunted for meat, clothing, blankets

7. FAMILY LIFE
 Native Americans on the plains usually lived small extended family
groups with ties to other bands that spoke the same language.
 Plains Indian tribes believed that powerful spirits controlled events in
the natural world.
 Children learned proper behavior and culture through stories and
myths, games, and good examples.
 Tribes ruled by counsel rather than force, land in common for the use
of the whole tribe

8. SETTLERS PUSH WESTWARD
 Settlers versus Natives
 Native Americans didn’t believe land could be owned; white
settlers did.
 White settlers would mine the land, farm, or start businesses
 White settlers argued that Natives gave up their “rights” to the
land since they weren’t trying to “improve” the land like they were
through farming, mining, building, etc.

9. GOLD AND SILVER
 The discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858 led to tens of
thousands of miners to head West.
 Most mining camps and frontier towns were small, dirty, with
cramped living conditions
 People from all backgrounds sought out gold and silver, even a few
women too found work as laundresses, freight haulers, and even
miners.

10. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTS
NATIVES
 In 1834 the federal government has passed an act designating the
entire Great Plains as one reservation.
 In 1850s the act was revised to and created treaties that defined
specific boundaries for each tribe. Many Native tribes ignored the new
government treaties and continued to use their traditional lands
clashing with settlers.

11. MASSACRE AT SAND CREEK
 1864 the Cheyenne tribe returned to the Colorado Sand Creek
reserve for the winter
 General S. R. Curtis, U.S. Army commander in the West sent a
telegram to colonel John Chivington to make the Natives suffer
 Chivington and his troops descended on the Cheyenne and
Arapaho at Sand Creek. They had 200 warrior, and 500 women and
children. By dawn 150 were killed mostly women and children.

12. DEATH ON THE BOZEMAN
TRAIL
 Bozeman Trail ran directly through Sioux hunting grounds in the
Bighorn Mountains.
 The Sioux chief Red Cloud tried to stop white expansion into their
territory
 December 1866 the warrior Crazy Horse ambushed Captain
William J. Fetterman. 80 soldiers were killed.

13. TREATY TIME
 Numerous attacks continued until the government closed the
Bozeman Trail. In return for closing the trail the Sioux had to signed
a treaty.
 The Treaty of Fort Laramie: stated the Sioux agreed to live on
the reservation along the Missouri River in 1868.

14. SITTING BULL
 Sitting Bull: leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux, had never signed the
treaty. He refused to give into U.S.
 Video link: Sitting Bull video clip

15. BLOODY BATTLES
Red River War: 1868 war broke out between the Kiowa and the
Comanche after six years of raiding…their fighting led to the Red
River War 1874-1875. Friendly tribes were taken by U.S. troops to
reservations while all other tribes were fired upon.
Gold Rush: Miners stated searching the Black Hills for gold upsetting
the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.

16. GEORGE A. CUSTER
 1874 Colonel George A. Custer reported that the Black Hills was
filled with gold, prompting a gold rush.
 1876 When Colonel Custer and his troops
reached the Little Bighorn River,
the Native Americans were ready for them.

17. THE END FOR THE SIOUX
 The Sioux despite their victory at Little Bighorn, were defeated
later in the year 1876. Sitting Bull and few followers took refuge in
Canada until 1881.
 Eventually Sitting Bull was forced to surrender and was forced to
perform in William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show.
 Sitting Bull was killed by Native American Police at Standing Rock
Reservation in 1890.

18. ASSIMILATION
 Assimilation- was a plan in which Native Americans would give
up their beliefs and way of life and become part of the white culture.
 The Dawes Act of 1887 aimed to “Americanize” the Native
Americans. The act broke up the reservations and gave some of the
reservation land to individual Native Americans-160 acres to each
head of household and 80 acres to each unmarried adult.

19. BYE-BYE BUFFALO
 One of the most important changes to the tribal life was the
destruction of the buffalo for sport. Buffalo was a main source of
food, clothing, shelter and fuel. 1800 about 65 million buffalo-----by
1890 only 1000 remained!

20. BATTLE OF WOUNDED KNEE
 December 28, 1890 the Seventh Calvary- (Custer’s old crew)
rounded up about 350 starving, freezing Sioux and took them to a
camp at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota.
 The Next day the Sioux were slaughtered 300 out of 350 were
killed several of those killed were children.

21. CATTLE AND COWBOYS
 Vaqueros and cowboys: The cowboy’s clothes, food, and
vocabulary were heavily influenced by the Mexican vaquero.
 They worked with animals such as the Texas longhorns- a sturdy,
short tempered breed accustomed to the dry grasslands of southern
Spain.

22. COW TOWN
 Abilene, Kansas
 Joseph McCoy a major cattle dealer helped organize the building
of the cow town, and helped survey a major cattle trail the Chisholm
Trail; went from San Antonio Texas to Oklahoma and Kansas.
 The overland transport of cattle was known as a long drive.
 1 cowboy for every 250-300 cows, 1 cook, a wrangler, and trail
boss.

23. SECTION 2
Settlers moving Westward to Farm
The transcontinental railroad lines made the rapid
settlement of the West possible.

24. QUOTE:
A Personal Voice Quote From Esther Clark
Hill A Pioneer Woman

25. RAILROADS
 1850-1871: the federal government made huge land grants
to the railroads-170 million acres, worth half a billion dollars
for laying track in the West.

26. RAILROADS
 2 railroad companies Central Pacific moved eastward from
Sacramento, and Union Pacific moved westward from
Omaha.
 Who built the railroad?
• Civil War Veterans
• Irish/Chinese immigrants
• African Americans and Mexican Americans

27. SETTLEMENT
 1862 Homestead Act passed-offering 160 acres of land fee to any
citizen or intended citizen who was head of household.
 1862-1900 up to 600,000 families took advantage of the
government’s offer.

28. SETTLEMENT FOR ALL?
 Several thousand settlers were exodusters- African Americans
who moved from the post-Reconstruction South to Kansas.
 Private speculators and railroad and government agents used the
law for their own gain.
 10% of land was actually settled by families.

29. PROTECT THE WEST
 In 1872 Yellowstone National Park was created.
 By 1890 all the government owed land had been bought up, and
the Census Bureau declared that there was no more frontier.

30. CHALLENGES OF THE
PLAINS
 Droughts, floods, fires, blizzards, locust plagues, and raids by
outlaws and Native Americans.

31. DUGOUT AND SODDIES
 With scare resources most settlers built their homes from the land
itself.
 Soddy- A dugout, a sod home, was warm in the winter and cool in
the summer. Soddies were small and had little light, and often had
snakes, insects and other pests. They were fireproof but leaked.

32. WOMEN’S WORK
 Women worked beside the men in the fields, plowing the land and
planting and harvesting wheat.
 Sheared sheep, carded wool to make clothes
 Hauling water from wells that they had to dig, make soap, candles
 Can fruits and vegetables
 They sponsored schools and churches to build strong communities

33. TECH SUPPORT
 1837 John Deere invented a steel plow that could slice through
heavy soil
 1841 the grain drill to plant the seed
 1847 Cyrus McCormick mass produced a reaping machine

34. MORE TECH SUPPORT
 1869 spring-tooth harrow to prepare soil
 1874 barbed wire fence
 1878 corn binder
 By 1900 there were 900 manufacturers of farm equipment

35. FARM SCHOOLING
 Morrill Act of 1862 and 1890: gave federal land to the states to
help finance agricultural colleges.
 The Hatch Act 1887 established agricultural experiment stations
to inform farmers of new developments.

36. FARMERS DEBT
 The new technology was expensive so farmers borrowed money to
buy it.
 Prices of crops impacted farmers ability to pay loans.
 Bonanza farms- enormous single crop spreads of 15,000-50,000
acres.

37. SECTION 3