Chapter 11

Settling the West

Growth in the Mining Industry

Mining played a key role in settling the West.

1848- Gold Rush in California Wave after wave of prospectors moved

west to –”strike it rich”= forty-niners Demand for minerals increased during &

after the Civil War= America was moving from agricultural economy to industry

US Government Encouraged Settlement of the West *1862- Morrill Land Grant Act – Congress

gave large tracts of land & $65 million in loans to Railroads, sold public lands with minerals for less than value.

*1862 Homestead Act- $10 fee an individual could apply for a “homestead” & claim up to 160 acres- live there 5 years & own it.

*1862- Pacific Railway Act- Congress set aside money to build the 1st transcontinental Railroad.

Completed 1869- at *Promontory Point, Utah

Effects of Mining on the West

Helped bring settlers west-mostly men first; later women- worked as cooks etc.

Caused conflict with Indian tribes Damaged the environment Lawlessness= Vigilance Committees “Boom Towns” “Ghost Towns” -by 1930’s Virginia City

Nevada had only 500 residents.

Mining Techniques

“Placer mining”- panning for minerals close to the surface (“panning”).

Quartz Mining- used by big mining companies to reach minerals deep in the earth.

Hydraulic Mining – used when minerals near surface ran out.

The Comstock Lode

1859- Henry Comstock staked a claim near Virginia City, Nevada

Had trouble finding gold= sold his claim Blue clay made it hard to get to rich

silver ore below (he did not know) Miners flooded into Nevada= 1864

Nevada became 36th state Comstock Lode = $230 million Helped finance the Civil War

New States Created because of Mining Areas grew- Colorado, Arizona, the Dakotas, &

Montana 1858- Gold discovered near Pike’s Peak,

Colorado 1870’s Leadville Strike (Colorado)- silver;

yielded $1 billion in silver & gold. 1870’s Black Hills, Dakota territory- gold

discovered= conflict with Indians 1889- new states- North & South Dakota, &

Montana

Environmental Effects of Mining

Hydraulic Mining- most devastating Tons of sand, silt, & gravel washed into

river beds= floods. 1880’s Farmers sued mining companies 1884- judge stopped hydraulic mining 1893- Congress allowed hydraulic

mining if companies stored sediment

Ranching & Cattle Drives

Americans began raising & herding cattle 1860’s,1870’s,1880’s

Great Plains water scarce & grass was tough- cattle

from east could not survive. Texas Longhorn cattle-ideally suited =

1865, 5 million roamed the plains. Open Range (vast area of grassland on

the Great Plains)- ideal for cattle

Mexicans & Cowboys

Mexican vaqueros 1st introduced cattle ranching to West; used the Long Horn

Most American cowboys- were former Confederates, Hispanics, & African-American

Myth of the West- generated by “Dime Novels”; featured stories about Wyatt Earp , Doc Holiday etc.

The Great Plains

Territorial Growth 1860

The Long Cattle Drives Begin

Civil War gave ranchers incentive to herd & raise cattle

Introduction of RR’s to the west= transport cattle to the east (1860’s).

Rail lines- ended Abilene & Dodge City, Kansas & Sedalia, Miss.

After the war= beef prices went up. 1866- 260,000 cattle were “driven” to Sedalia,

Miss- 1st “long drive. 1867-1871- Cowboys drove 1.5 million cattle *Chisholm Trail- most popular trail (S. Texas to

Abilene, Kansas.)

Major Cattle drive Trails

The Range Wars

Some people bought cattle to est. ranches in Wyoming, Montana, & other territories.

Sheepherders & farmers moved west also= blocked cattle trails= “range wars”

Invention of “barbed wire” (Joseph Glidden)– ended the long cattle drives & range wars.

1880’s- oversupply of cattle= less price 1886-1887- blizzards decimated cattle herds Change- herds will be raised on fenced land

Farming & Settlement of the Great Plains

Manifest Destiny- idea that God had given the continent to us to take.

1862 Homestead Act- encouraged settlement- “rain follows the plow”

Railroad companies sold land along side of track cheap!Challenges of life on the Great PlainsFirst Called the Great American Desert- early explorers less than 20 inches of rain per year few trees- only around water nomadic Indian tribes & buffalo swarms of locusts Heat, cold Prairie fires

Farming the Great Plains-The Wheat Belt

Few trees= farmers built home of sod “sod houses”= “sodbusters”

New farming methods- “dry farming” (plant seeds deep in ground= more moisture)

New Farm Technology- plows (steel plow-John Deere), seed drills, steam tractors.

McCormick Reaper- Cyrus McCormick Large land owners could afford technology

The Wheat Belt 1880’s – farmers from Mid-West moved to

Great Plains Wheat Belt- ideal for growing wheat; eastern

edge of Great Plains & extended to Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska.

Some Wheat farms= 50,000 acres (Bonanza Farms)

1880’s –US leading exporter of wheat 1880’s-1890’s- farmers had tough times:

drought, competition from Europe, oversupply Farmers borrowed money based on value of

land to survive= “mortgaged land”

*The Oklahoma Land Rush & The Closing of the Frontier

Oklahoma Land Rush (1889) April 22, 1889- US government opened one of

the last territories for settlement. In a few hours- 10,000 people raced across to

stake a claim. 1890- Census Bureau stated that the frontier

was closed; no place left unsettled. Historian *Fredrick Jackson Turner- “Frontier

Thesis”; essay about how the frontier shaped American character.

Oklahoma Land Rush Photo

Effects of Settlement on the Great Plains (Environment)

settlers brought rats, foreign plants/weeds, pests

Grizzly Bear & wolf populations decimated

1880’s only 5,000 buffalo remained; out of millions years before.

Conflicts with Native American tribes

Native Americans 1865- 1890

The Great Plains Tribes

had lived on the Great Plains for centuries were nomadic- traveled distances & followed main food (buffalo). Characteristics Indian nations- divided into Bands ( up to 500 people). Governing Council- headed each Band- most members helped

make decisions. Extended Family groups- Believed in spirituality in nature• White settlers caused trouble- broke treaties, took land, forced

Indians onto reservations.• Violence between whites & Indians occurred

*Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)

Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho & other tribes make agreement with US

US promised ownership of Great Plains to Indians “as long as the river flows and eagle flies”

Indians allow US to build roads & RR on their land & promise not to attack Chisholm Trail.

The Dakota Sioux Uprising 1862-Minnesota

1st major clash between US & Indian tribes- Minnesota Dakota Sioux had agreed to live on a reservation in

exchange for yearly sum of money (annuities) Payments were infrequent= Dakota Sioux lived in

poverty near starvation. 1862- Chief Little Crow asked white traders for food on

credit= Whites said no. Dakota Sioux attacked & killed 100’s white settlers 307 Dakota sentenced to death- Lincoln pardoned all but

38. Other Dakota fled the reservation- moved to area

(Dakotas)

The Sand Creek Massacre (1864)

1860’s tensions began between gold & silver miners & Cheyenne & Arapaho in Colorado.

1864- Indian attacks= frozen trade routes, homes burned, 200 settlers killed.

Territorial Governor- ordered Indians to surrender at Fort Lyons.

Nov. 1864- Chief Black Kettle & 100’s of Cheyenne to negotiate a peace

Colonel John Chivington & US troops attacked Cheyenne camped along Sand Creek.

Red Cloud’s War 1866-1868

Lakota Sioux lived in Dakota territory Land extended from Black Hills to Big Horn Mountains Chiefs Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, & Sitting Bull were leaders 1866-1868- US was building forts along Bozeman Trail Fetterman’s Massacre- Dec. 1866- Crazy Horse lured

Captain William Fetterman & 80 soldiers into a fight= all US soldiers killed.

1868- US abandoned attempts to build posts on the Bozeman Trail.

Plans for Peace

1867- Indian Peace Commission- proposed creating 2 large reservations on Great Plains.

one for Sioux & one for other Plains Indians Bureau of Indian Affairs- federal government

agency; managed the reservations with agents. Reservations-encourage Indians to adopt white ways

(assimilation). Doomed to fail- could not ensure that chiefs would abide

by treaties, could not prevent settlers from violating treaties, reservations= poverty, corruption, despair.

Treaty of Fort Laramie -1868

Sioux Indians agreed to move to a reservation in the Black Hills (Dakotas).

** 1870’s many Indians left reservations on Great Plains

** Preferred to hunt buffalo & nomadic life

The Destruction of the Buffalo

Post Civil War– the buffalo were hunted for tongues & hides or sport.

Railroad companies hired professional-hunters

US Army encouraged killing of buffalo- to keep Indians on reservations.

Buffalo Skulls

Buffalo Hides-Dodge City

* The Battle of Little Big Horn

1876- gold prospectors flooded into the Black Hills (Dakotas) looking for gold.

Lakota Sioux- left the reservation to hunt near Big Horn Mountains, Montana; led by Chief Sitting Bull.

US Government sent Lt. Colonel George A. Custer & 7th Calvary to deal with the Lakota.

June 1876- Custer launched a 3 pronged attack against a larger Indian force.

Custer & 210 men killed- “Custer’s Last Stand” Lakota forced back onto reservation, Sitting Bull fled to

Canada.

Custer’s Last Stand

*Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce

Nez Perce- led by Chief Joseph refused to move to a reservation in Idaho in 1877.

US Army chased them 1,300 miles Oct. 1877- Chief Joseph & followers surrendered & were

sent to Oklahoma reservation. Chief Joseph : “Our chiefs are killed…The little children are

freezing to death. My people…have no blankets, no food…Hear me, my chiefs; I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever”.

*Battle of Wounded Knee (Wounded Knee Massacre)-- 1890

Sitting Bull had returned from Canada to the Lakota Lakota Sioux performed a ritual dance (the Ghost Dance) US Government banned the ritual dance- Lakota continued to

practice the dance. Police officers attempted to arrest Sitting Bull- fighting

occurred- Sitting Bull was Killed. A group of Lakota “Ghost Dancers” fled the reservation Dec. 29, 1890- US troops attacked the men, women, &

children camped along Wounded Knee Creek. 200 Lakota Killed; 25 US troops killed Significance- it’s the end of armed Native American

resistance

Wounded KneeMassacre

American attitudes and the Indians

Some Americans opposed harsh treatment of Native Americans.

1881- *Helen Hunt Jackson wrote “A Century of Dishonor”; told about the broken promises & poor treatment of Native Americans.

Some Americans encouraged assimilation of Native Americans= reservations= make farmers out of them.

*The Dawes Act 1887

Goal of this law was “Assimilation” Allotted each Indian head of household 160 acres of

reservation land to farm, hunt, fish single adults- 80 acres, children 40 acres land left over= sold to white settlers money left from sale of land to white= fund for Native

Americans to teach them English, est.. Schools. 1924 Congress made Native Americans US citizens 1934- Franklin Roosevelt ended forced assimilation=

restored Native American lands, gave Indians control.