The Plains Indians Chapter 18, Section 1

• The Great Plains (GP)– The GP are in the middle of the U.S. and stretch from Texas to

Canada.• The Plains Indians inhabited this region and relied on horses

and Buffalo for their survival.– The Spanish introduced horses to North America in the

late 1500s.» The Plains Indians used horse for transportation and

to follow the Buffalo herds.– The Plains Indians used Buffalo for food, shelter,

clothing, and tools.

The Plains Indians

19th Century Camouflage Riding at full gallop with no saddle

The Plains Indians

Buffalo Hunt Prepping Buffalo Hides

The Plains Indians• The Treaty of Fort Laramie – 1851

– By the mid 1800s miners and settlers began crossing the GP.• The U.S. government wanted to protect those travellers, so

they negotiated the TFL with the Plains Indians.– The treaty stated:

» The Indians owned most of the Great Plains.» Americans were allowed to build forts and roads and

travel through Indian lands.» The U.S. government would pay for damages to

Indian lands.

War on the Plains

• In 1858, gold was discovered in what is today Colorado.– Thousands of miners clashed with Indians and the

U.S. government created a new treaty.• The new treaty created reservations where the Indians

were forced to live.– Hunting Buffalo became very difficult.– Many tribes ignored the new treaty and continued to fight

U.S. westward expansion.

The U.S. War with the Sioux

• In 1874, gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South Dakota.– The U.S. government insisted that the Sioux sell

their reservation land in the Black Hill.• The Sioux under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse refused

that demand.– Fighting broke out between the U.S. Army and the Sioux.

The U.S. War with the Sioux• The Battle of the Little Bighorn – Montana:

– June 25, 1876 = U.S. 7th Cavalry vs. Sioux• Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led 264 cavalry

soldiers against 2000 Sioux warriors.– The 7th cavalry troopers were surrounded and all were

killed.» This action has become known as “Custer’s Last

Stand.”

The U.S. War with the Sioux• The Ghost Dance:

– As the Indian wars continued, many Indians turned to a religious movement known as the Ghost Dance (GD).• Indians who performed this dance felt that they would

return to a life free of suffering that included buffalo herds and no settlers.– The U.S. government felt that the GD would lead to a

mass Sioux uprising, and some Sioux leaders were arrested.

The U.S. War with the Sioux• The Massacre at Wounded Knee:

– The U.S. government increased its military presence and many Sioux left their reservations.• While the U.S. Army was on patrol, they found an “illegal”

Sioux camp near the Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota.– As the two groups faced each other, a shot rang out and

the Army troops killed about 150 Indians.» No one knows who fired the first shot.

Indians in the Southwest and Far West• Geronimo:

– By the 1880s most American Indians had stopped fighting and had reluctantly accepted reservation life.• However… the Apache of the Southwest continued to resist.

– The Apache were raiders and were known for their ability to survive in the desert.

– In the early 1880s, Geronimo and a small group of raiders left their reservation.• Eventually, the U.S. Army sent 5,000 soldiers and 500 Apache

scouts to capture Geronimo.– In 1886, Geronimo and 24 of his followers surrendered and

were sent by train to live in Florida as prisoners of war.

The Mining Booms Chapter 18, Section 2

• Gold was discovered:– In 1859 in western Nevada a large gold deposit was discovered

by a miner named Henry Comstock.• Over the next 20 years, the Comstock Lode produced over

$500 million worth of gold and silver. – Because mining required large equipment, big

businesses took over. The days of the single miner with a pick and shovel were over.

The Mining Booms• The Comstock Strike:

The Mining Booms

• The hazards of mining:– Corporate owned mines were typically much

deeper than privately owned ones.• Problems:

– Wall-less elevator platforms– Less oxygen and dust-filled air– Cave-ins and floods– High temperatures sometimes <130 degrees– Gun fights

Mining Towns

• Boomtowns:– Communities sprang up when mining booms were formed.

• These boomtowns often had:– General stores– Saloons– Boarding houses

• Because boomtowns sprang up quickly, they often lacked law enforcement and/or any other form of public service.

Linking East and West• The Pony Express:

– As Americans began to move west in large numbers, the need for goods and communication increased. • In 1860 the Pony Express was formed to meet that need.

– Messengers on horseback would carry mail between relay stations on the 2,000 mile-long route.

– The Telegraph eventually put the Pony Express out of business.

Linking East and West

• The Transcontinental Railroad:– Americans wanted to build a railroad that would connect the

East to the West.• Congress passed the Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864.

– These acts gave railroad companies:» Loans» land grants which could be sold to pay for

construction costs» In exchange for the loans and land grants the

railroad companies gave lower transportation costs for Union troops and mail.

The Great Race• The Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies:

– In 1863 the Central Pacific (CP)began building east from Sacramento, California and the Union Pacific (UP) started west from Omaha, Nebraska.• Congress required that the two lines meet at Promontory,

Utah.– May 10, 1869 the lines met and the golden spike was

driven joining the two tracks.

The Great Race

Promontory, Utah The Golden Spike

The Effects of the Railroads• An increase in economic and population

growth in the West. – Western timber and mining companies shipped

wood and metals east.– Eastern manufacturing companies shipped goods

west.– By 1890 about 199K miles of track were in

operation across the U.S.• RRs had become the country’s biggest business.

The Cattle Boom Chapter 18, Section 3

• After the Civil War, the expanding economy and population created a higher demand for beef.– The problem was trying to get western cattle to the

eastern markets.• Solution:–Abilene, Kansas and the Kansas Pacific RR.»Texas cattle ranchers could “drive” their

cattle to Abilene where they could be loaded on railcars and transported north and east.

The Cattle Boom

• Cattle Kingdom:– Cattle ranching became profitable so ranchers began to

expand their operations all over the Great Plains.• Ranches would eventually extend from Texas to

Canada.– The cattle on these ranches grazed on public land

known as the Open Range.» This land was once occupied by the Plains

Indians and buffalo herds.

The Cowboys and Cattle Drives• Cowboys:– The American Cowboys took many of their techniques

from their counterparts = Mexican Vaqueros.• Equipment such as:–Western saddle, lariat (lasso rope), leather chaps

(protecting legs from thorny brush), broad felt hat, bandana (protecting the face from dust and to act as a bandage and handkerchief)

The Cowboys and Cattle Drives

• The Roundup:– Each spring, the cowboys would gather the herd

and brand the young calves and horses. • The brand is a mark that identifies calves and horses as

belonging to a particular ranch.

The Cowboys and Cattle Drives

• Cattle Drives:– These were long, dangerous journeys in which

cowboys would herd cattle to northern markets or to the Plains for grazing.• The trips covered hundreds of miles and lasted for

many months.

The Cowboys and Cattle Drives

• The Chisholm Trail:– In the late 1860s, cowboy Jesse Chisholm blazed

(marked) a cattle drive route from San Antonio, TX to Abilene, KS.

New Lands for Settlement Chapter 18, Section 4

• The Homestead Act of 1862:– The U.S. Congress passed this act as a way of giving government-

owned land to small farmers.• In exchange for the land the farmers had to:

– pay a small registration fee– agree to live on the land for at least five years

New Lands for Settlement

• More and more people were moving west in search of a better life.– Farming became the predominate method of

earning a living.– The government wanted to encourage families to

move and the settlement of the West• The Homestead Act granted land to unmarried women.

New Lands for Settlement• Exodusters:

– African Americans who were living in the South were drawn by the promise of land in the West.• They created an exodus (mass departure) from the South.

– Exodusters were in search of the economic opportunities as well as equal rights that they weren’t getting in the South after Reconstruction.

Farming on the Plains

• The Great Plains posed many challenges for farmers.– Temperatures ranging from -40⁰ to 110⁰.– Blizzards and Tornadoes– Drier climate than the East and Southeast– Hard sod and soil that had never been cultivated.• John Deere’s steel plow helped to break up the sod.

Farming on the Plains

• Sodbusters:– Farmers on the Great Plains had to break through

the tough sod and soil in order to plant their crops.

Farming on the Plains• 1880’s Mechanical Farming:

– Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper and other mechanical farming equipment made farming more profitable. • Some farmers became very wealthy and bought large tracts

of land and hired hundreds of workers.– Their crops were harvested and then shipped east and

overseas.» The Great Plains became known as the Breadbasket

of the world because of the grain produced there.

Daily Life on the Plains• When a family moved to the Plains they had to start from scratch.

– Sod House:• There was very little available wood so most families built

their homes from bricks of sod they cut out of the ground.– Drinking Water:

• Farm families had to hand dig a well and then build a windmill pump to draw water out of the ground.

– Daily Chores:• Sewing, caring for farm animals and crops, repairing

machinery, washing clothes, preparing meals

Communities on the Great Plains• Many people who lived on the GP wanted to develop communities.

– The first two things that these pioneers established were churches and schools.• Churches were used as a way for families to meet.• Schools were built to educate children

– The teacher was usually an unmarried woman.– The school house held all different grade levels in one

class.– Schools were typically closed in the late spring and

throughout the summer to give children the opportunity to work on family farms.