chapter 5: growth in the west america spreads across the continent from sea to shining sea… 1800s...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 5: Growth in the West
America Spreads Across the Continent from Sea to Shining
Sea…
1800s America
Section 1: Miners, Ranchers, and Cowhands
Geography & Population of the West:
- not many lived in the Great Plains at first because they
thought it was empty and worthless
- Native Americans were there and most followed the buffalo herds along the plains (for food, shelter, etc)
- Railroads helped settle the West when they were built
Section 1: Miners, Ranchers, and Cowhands
Mining in the West:
prospectors hit “pay dirt” at the Comstock Lode in Nevada
Nearby Virginia City, Nevada, became a boom town
#miner probs-dust caused lung problems, and cave-ins often killed people
Mr. Pearce (just kidding! )
Baby Doe Tabor
Baby Doe rose from a simple life to become “The Silver Queen” of Colorado. Baby Doe was known for her beauty, outgoing personality, and drive to become famous.
Leadville, Colorado
The Matchless Mine
In 1877 she married Harvey Doe. They moved to Central City, Colorado where
her husband began mining for gold. The miners found Elizabeth so beautiful that they started calling her “Baby Doe,” and
the nickname stuck. After three years, her husband fell into debt and began drinking. Baby Doe sued him for a
divorce. She soon met the ‘Silver King,’ Horace Tabor. They fell in love, but Tabor was married at the time. After his divorce,
Baby Doe and Horace got married.
Horace Tabor's 1st Wife
http://www.explore-old-west-colorado.com/baby-doe-tabor.html
http://www.explore-old-west-colorado.com/baby-doe-tabor.html
Baby Doe's Last Home
In early March of 1935, her frozen body was discovered on the floor of her cabin, her arms peacefully crossed on her chest. After a particularly cold spell, she had apparently run out of wood for her stove.
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-tabor/Tabor-Baby_Does_Cabin_Interior3.1935.DenverPublicLibrary.jpg
Section 1: Miners, Ranchers, and Cowhands
The Rise of the Cattle Industry:
- the RR helped beef sales because they could ship them
- people would drive cattle across the plains to RR sites
- cattle would feed on the open range on the way (grassland)
Section 1: Miners, Ranchers, and Cowhands
Vaqueros and Cowhands:
- the first cowhands were Spanish in the southwest U.S. (1500s)
- they helped teach American cowhands how to work cattle
Cowhands of the West American
cowhands learned to rope and ride from the Mexican vaqueros, the first cowhands
they adapted the saddle, spurs, lariat, and chaps of the vaqueros
• How many cowhands were women? VERY FEW
- about 1 in 3 cowhands were Mexican or African-American
Open Range
Clip about cattle industry and cattle drives (intro section)
Section 1: The “Wild West”: Why did vigilante groups form? ~rapidly growing cow towns had no local governments ~ to protect themselves from outlaws like Billy
the Kid ~some Civil War veterans expressed their anger
about the war through crimeHow did vigilantes handle the law? ~vigilantes took the law into their own hands ~ caught suspected criminals and punished them
without a trial ~hung suspects from the nearest tree or shot
them on the spot.
Wyatt Earp
Tombstonetrailer
Section 1: Miners, Ranchers, and Cowhands
End of the Long Drives: -the cattle boom lasted about
20 years - in 1886, the boom came to an
end because of: 1) supply increased and the
price dropped severely 2) barbed wire was invented
and people fenced in the open range, making cattle drives nearly impossible
3) harsh winter of 1886-1887 led to many cattle deaths
Moving to Sec. 2 Okay, so a lot of people are moving out west
to move cattle, find gold, etc. They are also building railroads across the
plains (more on that later) The U.S. government is giving away free land
in the great plains as well (more on that later) What about the people already living in the
Great Plains? The Native Americans
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
Native American Life on the Plains
- many Plains Native Americans followed the buffalo herds
- it provided meat, skins for tepees, hides for clothing, bones and horns for tools & bowls, buffalo “chips” for fuel
-everything that was able to be used, was used by the Native Americans
- the buffalo was basically sacred to them
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
A Clash of Cultures: - the government made
treaties with Native Americans
- the treaties were broken when we wanted to move there
- some tribes fought against more treaties and relocation
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
A Clash of Cultures (con’t): - after Cheyenne warriors
attacked miners and soldiers in Colo., soldiers fired on a village in Colorado and killed 150+ men, women, and kids in the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864
- some Native Americans attacked white settlements after this, the U.S. signed the 2nd Treaty of Ft. Laramie, which gave the Native Americans land in the Black Hills, S.D. region
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
Battle of Little Bighorn: -white prospectors found gold
in the Black Hills, thousands of miners flooded Sioux land
-then, many Sioux united under the leadership of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull
- The U.S. 7th Cavalry, under leadership of George Custer
attacked them near the Little Bighorn River in Montana
Crazy Horse
Sitting Bull
George A. Custer
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
Battle of Little Bighorn (con’t): - Custer was over- confident and
attacked, even though they were severely outnumbered by the Native Americans
- In a short, decisive victory, the Native Americans defeated Custer’s army, killing all 211 soldiers in the regiment
- Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull later surrendered and the battle was the last major victory for Native Americans
Into the West
Battle of Little Bighorn clip (10)
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
Resistance in the Northwest and Southwest
- the Nez Perce tribe in Oregon and Idaho region was forced off their land
Chief Joseph, and his followers fled rather than move onto the reservation
- they were caught just before they got to Canada, and surrendered
Chief Joseph
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
Resistance in the Northwest and Southwest (continued)
-- In the southwest, the Navajo and Apache tribes were also forced off of their land by the U.S. soldiers
- after the U.S. burned crops and homes, about 8,000 Navajo had to walk to a reservation in New Mexico
- the Apache tribe was forced to settle on a reservation in Arizona
Geronimo-Geronimo and his followers also fled rather than moving onto a reservation.
-they escaped and survived by raiding settlers' homes. Geronimo was captured many times but always managed to escape.In 1886, he finally surrendured and was sent to prison.
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
A Way of Life Ends: - buffalo herds were nearly wiped
out by hunters who used mainly the skins, etc. for making $$$
- this severely hurt the Native American way of life, forcing many of them to surrender and go to reservations
- many fled the reservations to gather for the Ghost Dance spiritual gathering in the Pine Ridge (South Dakota) reservation to celebrate Wovoka’s vision of the buffalo return
Wovoka
Dances with Wolves Buffalo death scene…Next slide
Youtube Ghost Dance
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
A Way of Life Ends (continued):
- the U.S. soldiers thought they were gathering to prepare for war. This resulted in:
- the U.S. sent the army to gather up the Native Americans
- as the Sioux were giving up their weapons, a shot was fired, leading to U.S. troops opening fire and killing about 300 men, women, and children in the Wounded Knee Massacre
text p. 164
Youtube Wounded Knee
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
The Dawes Act Fails - Some white Americans had been
calling for better treatment and better policy toward Native Americans
- many felt that assimilation was necessary to make it work
- they felt that Native Americans needed to be “ American-ized”
- the Dawes Act was passed that divided reservations into segments for them to farm, then sold leftover land to settlers
Section 2: Native Americans Fight To Survive
The Dawes Act Fails (continued)
- because most Natives didn’t want to give up their traditional ways or become farmers
- another attempt to “Americanize” the Native Americans was using special schools for children to teach them American values, etc.
- this also was a sad chapter of U.S. history as we tried to “erase” their culture
Moving to Ch. 5, Sec. 3“Life in the West”
The legend of the “wild west” has been in movies, songs, paintings, etc. for many years
But what was life really like in the west? We’ll see in this section…
Women’s Suffrage in the West Abigail Scott founded the Oregon Equal
Suffrage Association Wyoming agreed to join the Union only if
women could vote. By 1900, women in WY, CO, UT and ID
could vote
Section 3: Life in the WestWomen’s Roles in the West: Women worked hard and
faced loneliness on homesteads
Women were family doctors (set bones, delivered babies) cooked,etc
- most held traditional jobs of teaching, sewing, laundry, etc.
- a few were outlaws, ran hotels, some gambled, etc
- Women were so respected in WY that WY only agreed to join the Union if women could vote.
Section 3: Life in the West
The Rise of Western Cities - Cities seemed to grow overnight
due to population booms - different things led to the rise of
cities over time - San Francisco, CA: the gold
rush brought many people in search of “instant” riches
- Denver, CO: mining and railroads drew people to move there
- Omaha, NE: the cattle yards there and meatpacking plants brought work and people
- Portland, OR: fishing, grain, and lumber markets drew people there
Section 3: Life in the West
Mexicanos in the Southwest:
- New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California were under Spanish control before the U.S.
- After 1840s, white settlers began arriving for farming, etc.
- Many Mexicanos lost land and power when U.S. courts did not recognize previous land grants
Section 3: Life in the West
The Myth of the Old West: - in the 1890s, the myth of the
west grew, becoming a “fantasy” of heroes, gunfights, Indians, etc.
- spread through the use of dime novels, etc.
- stories were exaggerations or just plain fiction
- Buffalo Bill Cody’s “Wild West Show” was a huge production that traveled to cities, showing what the “Wild West” was like (but it wasn’t! It was exaggerated)Youtube
Disney’s WWS
Some Myths/Legends of the “Wild West”
Annie Oakley - female gunslinger, Bio.com video
Billy the Kid - famous outlaw
(American Experience short clip) Buffalo Bill Cody - Wild West Show (lived in
North Platte - Wild West Show (lived in North Platte, NE) (Disney)
Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday- famous lawman (Tombstone trailer)
Section 3: Life in the West
The Real West - Many people who really helped
in the West were ignored - vaqueros were Spanish
cowhands who helped a lot - “Buffalo soldiers” (African
Amer.) fought for the army - Legends often told of Native
American attacks on settlers, but ignored the breaking of treaties and massacres by US
- the governments role of helping people in settling the West was often downplayed
Moving to Section 4
Farming and Populism How did many of the farms of today in
Nebraska get started during this era? How did the U.S. government get
people to move to the Great Plains region?
Section 4: Farming and Populism U.S. Government Encourages Settlement the govt. gave millions of acres
of public land to the RRs to promote expansion. The RRs then sold much of the land to settlers. This affected Western Migration.
- in 1862, the Homestead Act was passed by Congress and gave 160 acres of free land in the West to anyone who was willing to farm it for 5 years
- many people took advantage of this offer, including immigrants from Europe and African Americans (“exodusters”) trying to own their own land
Land in the West was advertised in Europe.
Section 4: Farming and Populism
Life on the Farming Frontier - life was not easy on the farm
- farmers had to adapt in many ways to make a living there
- had to make their house out of sod because of few trees
- had to dig deep wells to get to underground water
- had to use “cow pies” for fuel to heat, cook, etc.
Section 4: Farming and Populism
Life on the Farming Frontier (con’t)
- key inventions: steel plow for cutting
through the sod windmill to use wind to
pump water; barbed wire for fencing in
the land; reapers and threshers to
harvest crops faster/easier
Video Clip
Homestead Monument video
(12)
Section 4: Farming and Populism
Problems of Farmers: - more food grown = more supply - more supply = falling prices and
farm economic problems - machinery cost more $, and
railroads were over-charging - famers formed the Grange, which
helped meet the social and economic needs of farmers (help them work together)
- they started cooperatives, which are organizations owned and run by the members, which allowed them to store crops in their buildings and negotiate better prices for them
The Grange Cooperatives
Farmers demanded action from the government
Grangers were angry about high prices the RRs charged to transport and store their grain
Grangers asked states to regulate RR freight rates and storage charges
Section 4: Farming and Populism
The Rise of Populism - the Populist party was mainly farmers
In 1892, the Populist Party supported: free silver to expand the money supply, government ownership of RRs, and shorter working hours.
- they wanted a “free silver” policy that would have used silver instead of gold to back U.S. dollars
- this would raise prices by causing inflation (more dollars)
Why did Populists support free silver? Populists believed the unlimited coinage of silver would drive up the price of crops
Section 4: Farming and Populism
Closing the Frontier - in 1889, the Oklahoma land
rush signaled the “closing of the West” because the last “open” land in the U.S. was to be given away (it was meant to be for the Native Americans
- America was basically now completely settled, and the population of the U.S. was spread across the country
Youtube clipFrom “Far and Away”
“Sooners” story