Westward Expansion 1865 1890 UNIT 1 1 Manifest

Westward Expansion 1865 -1890

UNIT 1. 1

“Manifest Destiny” • Manifest Destiny –the belief in the 1840 s and 1850 s that the U. S. should extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific • Mexican War (1846 -1848) • California Gold Rush (1849) • Gadsden Purchase (1853)

Territorial Expansion of the U. S.

Migration • Push Factor: negative conditions that cause a person to want to leave their current environment. • Pull Factor: Positive conditions that cause people to want to move to a place

Economics • Supply and Demand: dictate price in a market economy. As supply goes down and demand remains high, prices go higher. If demand is low and supply is high, then prices drop • Scarcity: rarity of a product; it generally increases the value of something • Natural Resources: materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain. • Labor Supply: the number of workers willing and able to work in a given occupation or industry for a given wage.

Two Regions of the West • Near West • Far West

Near West • Great Plains states: Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota • Economy: – Farming – Cattle – Grazing land

Great plains

Near West - Farming • Homestead Act (1862) • • providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. Title could also be acquired after only a 6 -month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1. 25 per acre. After the Civil War, Union soldiers could deduct the time they had served from the residency requirements. This act sparked the largest migration in U. S. history but only 10 percent of all farmers got their start under its terms (most farmers bought their land outright). – Railroads and speculators were able to cash in by selling land to farmers. • Farmers were willing to pay hefty prices.

• Homesteaders: farmers who acquired land for farming purposes in the old west – Homestead: Small family farm with basic buildings sufficient enough for survival – Sod busters: nickname for homesteaders in KS and NE who worked hard to break up the tough sod for planting and used sod for their homes – Exodusters: African Americans who left the Jim Crow South to homestead in Kansas and later Oklahoma

Life on the homestead • All members of the family chipped in with work – Men’s work tended to be seasonal. – Women’s activities were usually more routine. – Children worked running errands and completing chores by about age nine. • Community was an important part of life. – People depended on neighbors for help in times of need and for a break from the hard work and harsh climate. • Adapted to surroundings

Exodusters • 1879 about 6000 African Americans left the south for KS

Cattle industry • The other economic component of the near west • Rounding up wild cattle and driving them to middle markets to be sold. • Unbranded cattle were called mavericks, and could be claimed by anyone – Long Drives – Cow Towns

Long drives • Cattle were rounded up in texas, driven to middle markets along rail lines in Kansas • Several trails were used • The trails ran through mostly unoccupied lands through which anyone could travel fairly easily.

Chisholm Trail • The most widely used • Through “unassigned lands” in Indian Territory

Cow Towns • The drive ended at towns along the rail line such as Dodge City, KS and Wichita KS that served as middle markets • The main industry of these small communities was the sale and transportation of Cattle

Open Range • Grazing land used by anyone regardless of ownership. • Vast unoccupied spaces allowed for more cattle to graze freely.

Range Wars • Ranchers used brands to mark their “property” • They would often fight over rustled cattle or grazing land • These disputes were called range wars even though they were not actual wars between countries.

Joseph Glidden Ruins Christmas • Barbed wire: Invented by Joseph Glidden, barbed wire effectively ended the open range and the cattle drive industry • By fencing grazing land, ranchers protected their own cattle from rustlers but in turn that prevented any cattle drives from passing through their territory

Closing of the Frontier • 1890 Census: declared that there were no longer unsettled areas of the U. S, therefore there was no longer any more “frontiers” • Frederick Jackson Turner (Historian) – Wrote 1893 Significance of the Frontier in American History – Used the 1890 census data to declare the death of the “frontier” – tier shaped the American people

UNIT 2. 2

Far West • Rocky Mountains to the Coast: Colorado, Nevada, California – Economy • Mining

Mining Towns • Mining fostered western expansion. • Gold discoveries brought thousands of fortune seekers. • Most fortunes went to corporations that bought out the smaller claims. • Although some mine communities eventually became permanent settlements, most were short-lived boomtowns.

Far West - Mining • 1848 – Sutter’s Mill CA

Mining boom

1859 – Nevada’s Comstock Lode • Silver Ore in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range • Brought settlers in from California and the East • Boomtowns like Virginia City and Gold Hill • Resulted in economic growth in Nevada and San Francisco

Pike’s Peak Gold Rush • • • 1859 – 1861 North of Pike’s Peak Over 100, 000 people flocked to CO Slogan “Pike’s Peak or Bust” Brought first American settlers to Colorado Mining camps like Denver City and Boulder city later became major Colorado cities

Leadville, CO • 1876 -1893 • Brought Wealth and increased population to CO • Government purchase of Silver increased demand, which raised prices • High silver prices attracted more to the mines • Ended in 1893 when Gov’t stopped buying silver

Black Hills, SD gold rush 1874 -1877 Deadwood, SD Sioux Indian Lands Many Settlers flocked to Deadwood despite that it was on Indian lands • Led to conflicts with Natives in SD • •

Boomtowns • A community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth • Associated with gold or silver discoveries • Boomtowns are generally completely dependent on the resource that caused their growth • If the resource disappears, then the towns generally “died out” and became “ghost towns”

Hydraulic Mining • Used to rapidly displace soil and rock to sluice for gold • Resulted in increased production of gold • Negative environmental effects: sediment blocked waterways, raised riverbeds, and caused flooding in some towns

Race relations in California • Chinese: – 1868 Burlingame Treaty gave Chinese the right to imigrate – Came for mines, stayed for railroad – Few African Americans were in CA, racism directed toward Chinese – Dennis Kearney (Irish Teamster) leader of antichinese sentiment in CA

Chinese in CA cont. Kearney formed the Labor party Slogan “the Chinese must go!” Influenced demorats and republicans 1879 new California State Constitution contained anti-chinese provisions • 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act passed by Congress (10 year ban) • •

Mexican Borderland Communities • The Southwest saw a series of clashes between Anglos and Mexicanos over control of the land. • Some Mexicano elites continued to maintain wealth and power. • The majority of Mexicans found themselves trapped in poverty and turned to migratory work or moved to urban areas to work for wages. • Mexicanos maintained key elements of their traditional culture.

Hispanics in the Far West • Californios – Spanish speaking residents of California from before U. S. purchase • Barrios – concentrated neighborhoods of Spanish speaking Californians

Western Labor • The western labor movement emerged in this rough and often violent climate. • Unions refused membership to Chinese, Mexican, and Indian workers. • Unions were unable to stop owners from closing down mines when the ore ran out, leaving ghost towns and environmental blight.

UNIT 2. 3

Native Americans • Treaty Policy – The U. S. had historically treated tribes as independent nations – The negotiated treaties to arrange resettlement when Indian lands were desired by white settlers – Congress was first involved with the Indian Removal Act in 1830 (Andrew Jackson)

Treaty policy cont. • Indian Appropriations Act (1871) – Declared that treaties would no longer be used with native tribes – Declared that Natives were no longer independent nations

Indian Territory • Present day Oklahoma • Reservation land set aside for native tribes as part of the 1830 Indian Removal Act • A small portion in the middle was known as the “unassigned lands” because no tribe was given that land • Tribes had their own lands and their own boundaries

Oklahoma Land Rush • Created by act of Congress in 1889 • Settlers already living illegally in the area had to leave to register. (Boomers) • Extension of the homestead Act. • Had to register for land, then the land was opened up at noon on April, 22 1889 • All registrants lined up along the northern boundary of the unassigned lands • Cannon fire started the race for land

Land rush continued • Some settlers entered the territory before April, 22 (head start in the race) (Sooners) • The Oklahoma Land Run was the beginning of White settlement in Oklahoma and ultimately resulted in the end of Indian Territory.

Tribes • Apache – native to Arizona and New Mexico and violently resisted removal to reservations – Geronimo - Leader of the Apache tribe who led resistance efforts.

• Sioux – native to the Dakotas and violently resisted removal to reservations – Sitting Bull - Chief of the Sioux tribe that led his tribes resistance efforts. He was killed by U. S. agents in an attempt to arrest him. – Wovoka - Native religious leader who founded the "ghost dance" movement that led to troubles with the sioux and the U. S. government in Pine Ridge, SD.

• Nez Perce – native to Oregon and Idaho and peacefully resisted removal to reservations • Chief Joseph – Chief of the Nez Perce who tried to peacefully lead his people to Canada but was forced back to their reservation. His quote "i will fight no more, forever" exemplified the felling of hopelessness that indian resistance efforts were realizing.

• Ponca – native to Nebraska, but forcefully removed to Indian Territory • Standing Bear – Chief of the Ponca tribe who sued the government in Standing Bear v. Crooks. He won the right to return to Nebraska.

Indian Wars • George A. Custer – Successful civil war general who went on to lead U. S. forces in Indian Wars. He and his troops were killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn by Native Americans. • Colonel John Chivington – Leader of troops in Colorado Territory. Racist military leader who was especially cruel to Natives • Buffalo Soldiers – nickname given to the African-American Cavalry men who patrolled the Near west and fought in the Indian Wars.

Massacres • Sand Creek Massacre – U. S. Millitary attack of a peaceful camp of Cheyenne tribesmen in 1864 – led by Colonel John Chivington. – The attack incited retaliation by Natives on white settlers.

Massacres cont. • Wounded Knee – Near wounded knee creek – U. S. Millitary attack near the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1890 during which at least 150 Native Americans were killed when they were being disarmed after peacefully fleeing their reservation.

Reformers • Helen Hunt Jackson – Author A Century of Dishonor – Sympathetic to Native Americans – Exposed cruelties of the government and raised awareness of the treatment of natives • Assimilation: changing one's behavior and cultural practices to fit in with a larger group.

Assimilation cont. • Dawes Act – Passed by congress in 1887 – it was designed to divide Indian lands into individual plots and grant U. S. citizenship to those who accepted ownership of land allotments. – It also opened up unused tribal lands for sale to european americans.