Changes on the Western Frontier 1877 1900 Chapter

Changes on the Western Frontier 1877 – 1900 Chapter 13 – The Americans Mitten – CSHS AMAZ History Semester 1

Vocabulary • Great Plains • Treaty of Fort Laramie • Sitting Bull • George A. Custer • assimilation • Dawes Act • Battle of Wounded Knee • longhorn • Chisholm Trail • long drive

Cultures Clash on the Prairie • Life on the Plains • Great Plains – grasslands in west-central portion of the United States • East: hunting, farming villages • West: nomadic hunting, gathering • The Horse and the Buffalo • Horses, guns lead most Plains tribes to nomadic life • Buffalo provides many basic needs • hides used for teepees, clothes, blankets - meat staple of diet

The Culture of the Plains Indians • Family Life • Plains Indians form family groups • ties with other bands that speak the same language • Men are hunters, warriors; • women butcher meat, prepare hides • Belief in powerful spirits that control natural world • men or women can become shamans • Children learn through myths, stories, games, and by example • Communal life; leaders rule by counsel

Settlers Push Westward • Clash of Cultures • Native Americans: land cannot be owned; • settlers want to own the land • Settlers believe natives forfeited land • migrants head west to claim ‘unused’ land • Silver and Gold • 1858 discovery of gold in Colorado brings thousands • Mining camps, small frontier towns have filthy, rundown dwellings • Fortune seekers of different cultures, races; mostly men

Gov't Restricts Native Americans • Railroads Influence Government • 1834, government designates Great Plains as one huge reservation • 1850’s, treaties define more specific boundaries for each tribe • Massacre at Sand Creek • Troops kill over 150 Cheyenne, Arapaho at Sand Creek winter camp • Bozeman Trail Crosses Sioux Hunting Grounds • Crazy Horse ambushes troops • Treaty of Fort Laramie – U. S. closes trail; Sioux to reservation • Sitting Bull, leader of Hunkpapa Sioux, does not sign treaty

Bloody Battles • Red River War • 1868, Kiowa, Comanche engage in 6 years of raiding • 1874 – 1875, U. S. Army crushes resistance on Plains in Red River War • Gold Rush • 1874 George A. Custer reports gold in Black Hills • Custer’s Last Stand • 1876, Sitting Bull has vision of war at sun dance • Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Gall crush Custer’s troops • By late 1876, Sioux are defeated; some go to Canada • his people starving, Sitting Bull surrenders 1881

Gov't Supports Assimilation • Assimilation – natives to give up traditional way of life, join white culture • 1887, Dawes Act to “Americanize” natives, break up reservations • gives land to individual Native Americans • sell balance of land to settlers • money for farm equipment for natives • In the end, Native Americans receive only 1/3 rd of land – no money

Destruction of the Buffalo • Destruction of buffalo most significant blow to tribal life • Tourists, fur traders shoot for sport, destroy buffalo population

The Battle of Wounded Knee • Ghost Dance – ritual dance to regain way of life • spreads rapidly among Sioux on Dakota reservation • December 1890, Sitting Bull is killed • Seventh Cavalry takes 350 Sioux to Wounded Knee Creek • Battle (massacre) at Wounded Knee – cavalry kill 300 unarmed Indians • Ends Indian wars, Sioux are left to dream of regaining old life

Cattle Become Big Business • Vaqueros and Cowboys • Americans learn to manage large herds from Mexican vaqueros • adopt clothing, vocabulary, way of life • Texas longhorns – sturdy breeds brought by Spanish • Cowboys not in demand until railroads arrive • Growing Demand for Beef • After Civil War ends demand for meat increases in rapidly growing cities • The Cow Towns • Cattlemen establish shipping yards where trails and rail lines meet • Chisholm Trail becomes major cattle route from San Antonio TX. to Wichita, KS.

A Cowboy's Life • Cowboy Life • 1866 – 1885, up to 55, 000 cowboys on plains • 25% African American, 12% Mexican • 10 to 14 hour days; 14 or more on trail • Round up & Cattle Drives • Spring – cattle rounded up and branded • Herds of animals on long drives of up to 3 months • Legends of the West • Celebrities emerge – Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are two of the most popular

The End of the Open Range • Changes in Ranching • Overgrazing, bad weather from 1883 to 1887 destroys entire herds • Ranchers keep smaller herds – yield more meat per animal • Fence land with barbed wire; turns open range into separate ranches • Open range is no more