Chapter 11 The Contested West, 1815–1860

Map 11-1 p314

I. West in American Imagination Defining the West  Physically “West” = west of Appalachians Frontier Literature  Frontier lit (Boone, Crockett) form myths:  West offer economic opportunities/prosperity  freedom for hard-working whites

II. Expansion and Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West Deciding Where to Move  Some return east  Many move/settle with friends and relatives  Slavery key:  supporters head to Old Southwest  opponents (often racist) head to “Midwest”

II. Expansion & Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West (cont.) Deciding Where to Move  Midwest pass “black laws” (1850s):  exclude all African Americans (slave and free)  Midwest grow faster than rest of West:  cause fears for southerners (Congress) Indian Removal  US government force many Indians west of MS River (*Indian Removal Act – 1830) Black Hawk War (1832)  crush resistance by Sauks and Fox tribes

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III. The Federal Government and Westward Expansion The Fur Trade  Fur trade = an international business  J.J. Astor = richest American, 1830s  “Rendezvous” = annual meetings of many different people involved  1840s: trade decline (over-hunting, fashion)

Map 11-3 p322

III. The Federal Government and Westward Expansion (cont’d.) A Military Presence  1850s: 90% of US military in West  Big help to white settlers  Office of Indian Affairs (1824):  work with military in removal Public Lands  US government help settlement by:  reducing land prices and acreage minimums  eventually accepting preemption  Most settlers use loans to buy land

IV. The Southwestern Borderlands The Texas Frontier  TX:  warfare over resources  displaced eastern Indians war with western Indians (Comanches) over land and game  Tejanos = distinct group of TX Hispanics

Map 11-4 p327

IV. The Southwestern Borderlands American Empresarios  First Spain, then Mexico encourage settlement from USA (empresario)  S. Austin paid land to bring in Americans:  breaks pledge not to allow slavery  Cheap land attract white Americans  Mexico want settlers to assimilate:  whites from US South resist  soon outnumber Tejanos  1826 = first attempt at TX independence

IV. The Southwestern Borderlands (cont’d.) Texas Politics  1830s, Mexico tries to:  assert control over TX  ban entry of more slaves The Lone Star Republic  TX whites resist; break with Mexico (1836)  New government: legalizes slavery, bans free blacks, uses Rangers to terrorize Indians/open new lands to whites and slavery  Disease/over-hunting weaken Comanches

V. Cultural Frontiers in the Far West Western Missionaries  Late 1830s, many migrate to CA and UT  Areas controlled by Mexico  Most seek farm land  Missionaries (Catholic and Protestant) try to convert Indians Mormons  1847, Mormons seek sanctuary in UT:  tensions develop with Indians  and with non-Mormons  fighting between Mormons and US Army ( )

V. Cultural Frontiers in the Far West (cont’d.) Oregon and California Trails  : ¼ to ½ million make 7-month trip  Dangerous (Donner Party, )  Mormon Cow Incident (1854):  clash between Lakotas and US Army  result = violence for next 20 years

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V. Cultural Frontiers in the Far West (cont’d.) Indian Treaties  Office of Indian Affairs negotiates treaties to facilitate settler migration  Offers aid in return for Indians, ending intertribal warfare, not bothering settlers  Treaties = source of tension as neither side fully lives up to terms Ecological Consequences of Cultural Cont.  Other sources of tension:  buffalo decline (over-hunting)  disease  prairie fires

V. Cultural Frontiers in the Far West (cont’d.) Gold Rush and Mining Settlements  1848 find greatly increase CA settlement  Large numbers stimulate development:  agrarian  urban (San Francisco)  commercial  Free state (1850), allow Indian slaves

Summary: Discuss Links to the World and Legacy  CA gold as global event?  Global movement of news and people  CA, 1850:  40% foreign born  most non-European  Latinos in USA as legacy of this era?  In southwest, USA come to Latino settlers, not them coming to USA?  Conversos in Spanish migrants to NM?