The West Transformed

Westward Expansion & American Indians

Cultures Under Pressure

The Great Plains are the central portion of the U.S. Native Americans shared a common thread – they saw themselves as part of and viewed nature as .

How did each culture use the Buffalo, an important resource?

Native Americans /

Whites

1.Horn used for and .
2.Bones used for tools.
3.Hoofs used for .
4.Hide used for clothing, tepees, shields.
5.Meat used for . / White settlers often killed buffalo just for
. Many buffalo corpses were just left to .
Buffalo would be killed for just their hides, or for no reason at all. This a vast supply of food for Native Americans.

Buffalo Soldiers –

New Settlers & Native Americans Clash

Originally all of the Great Plains was one giant , but the government its mind.

The Sand Creek Massacre was an attack at dawn on Nov. 29, 1864. U.S. troops killed Native Americans, which consisted mostly of and . Native Americans attacked settlers on the Bozeman Trail. The government signed the Treaty of Fort

, which gave the Native Americans another reservation.

The End of the Indian Wars

Some tribes went to reservations, while all others went to . Many Native Americans became extremely frustrated with the US government

because of all of the broken treaties. Many young warriors turned to violence and ended up losing their .

It was the lure of that did the last of the Plain Indians in. The Black Hills which were owned by the Native Americans

were filled with .

Crazy Horse and led the Sioux against the US

Army. General Custer wanted Little Big Horn and he led his 250

men ahead of the rest of the US cavalry. Custer ran into Crazy Horse

and his 2,000 warriors. Gen. Custer and all of his men were .

The Native American response to the loss of their

leaders was to .

Ghost Dance –

Sitting Bull was to be , but refused and a confrontation occurred and

he was shot and killed. On Dec. 28, 1890 the 7 Calvary rounded up

350 N.A.’s. They ordered the Indians to give up all , but all of a

sudden a was fired so the Calvary opened fire on the Indians.

Historical Significance: The “ ” at Wounded Knee brought about an

to the Indian era.

The Government Promotes Assimilation

Assimilation –

Helen Hunt wrote the book “A Century of Dishonor,” which was about how the United States went back on hundreds of

and .

Dawes Act –

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The West Transformed

Transforming the West

Railroads Open the West

In the 1860s there were 2 major companies, the Central Pacific and

Union Pacific Railroads. The government supported construction in

the form of and .

Central Pacific: 90% of workers were immigrants.

Union Pacific: Used mainly immigrants for workers.

The Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads were connected in Promontory Point, Utah in 1869. Even back then there were tree huggers. Early groups formed.

Government Opens the West

The government supported settlement out west.

1. Homestead Act – of land in the

West would be given to any head of household if

he would cultivate the land for years.

2. Exodusters – who migrated from the

South to the after the Civil War.

3. Sooners – Land given away in Oklahoma by the government for free. Literally, the one got there, the one got their share of land.

Ranchers Build the Cattle Kingdom

Demand for after the Civil War rose

dramatically (in part because there was no more

). This led to the Trail.

Open Range –

Towns were created as

for the cowboys working the Chisholm Trail.

55,000 people worked as ( were African Americans).

Cowboys worked long hours (10-14 hours when at the and 14 hours on the ). Cowboys tended to be both young an

old.

On the long drives, there was usually only cowboy for every 250-300 cattle.

The open range system ended because of the following reasons:

1. 2. 3. .

Farmers Settle on Homesteads

Settlers on the prairie lived in and

Technical support for farmers develops

with help from John (steel plow) and
Cyrus (Mechanical Reaper).

The West Transformed

Farmers And Populism

Farmers Face Many Problems

The government also opened the west by setting aside land for

agricultural education. The Act

of 1862 and 1890 allowed for agriculture colleges to be established.

Farmers were in debt because of several factors.

1. Bonanza Farms – Farms that in just crop.

2. Railroads – Charged farmers prices to transport their goods.

Farmers were in a vicious cycle of . The government is trying to determine whether or not the country should continue using

or not?

Farmers wanted more in circulation because that would make their debt decrease in value. Wheat prices were decreasing and the railroads were charging than ever before. Farmers needed to to make a change.

Farmers Organize and Seek Change

Oliver Hudson Kelley formed the Patrons of Husbandry, which later became known as .

The goals of the Grange included:

1. Providing on new farming techniques.

2. Calling for the regulation of rates.

Eventually this led to the , which was not just farmers, but others who wanted to help out. Membership climbed to million people.

African Americans formed the Farmers’ Alliance, which never became too effective because of racial tensions.

Populist Party Demands Reforms

The country was going through difficult times. Farmers were

in too much debt and the railroads went .

People traded their money for silver and gold.

This caused investments to go up; including the price of .

By December 1894 unemployment rose to percent.

What the Populist Party wanted:

Economic Crisis & Populism Decline

The country is politically. The North voted for the Republicans, while the South voted for the Democrats and Populists. The biggest issue in the 1896 election was how to back up our .

Gold / Silver & Gold
“ ” / “ ”
Bankers and Business / Farmers and Workers
Value of $ would . / Value of $ would .

Election of 1896: William McKinley (R) vs. William Jennings Bryan (D) (P)

**Bryan gives his famous Speech during this election.

Bryan is known as a… Bimetalist!!

McKinley won the North and Bryan won the South and West. McKinley won his reelection bid in 1900 over Bryan and the Party began to fall apart. Most returned to the Dem. Party.