Manifest Destiny Fulfilled: Westward Expansion, 1865 to 1900 Standard 12

Westward Expansion: Impact of the Railroad Industry The Railroad & the West Following the Civil War, thousands of Americans began migrating westwards Railroads would provide a fast, cheap way for people & goods to be transported to the west Explosion of the Railroad Government land grants Abundant natural resources Plenty of cheap labor American ingenuity Cornelius Vanderbilt Began buying local railroads & convincing other companies to link to his

Westward Expansion : Transcontinental Railroad The Transcontinental Railroad Linked the east to the west The first one was completed in 1869 There were 5 by 1900. Benefits Increased the size of markets Markets-Places to buy & sell goods Stimulated economy by spending on steel, coal, & timber Increased Efficiency Decreased travel United Americans from different regions

Westward Expansion: Impact of Technology on Migration The Steel Plow Invented by John Deere in 1837. It allowed the tough soil of the Great Plains to be tilled easier. Now a farmer could use a horse to pull a plow, instead of an ox. The Steel plow did not really sell well until after the Civil War, when so many migrated west. The plow itself would come in parts Farmers would assemble the plow upon receiving it.

Westward Expansion: The Plains Indians Native American Life in the Plains Tribes like the Sioux, followed Buffalo herds from place to place Buffalo were a hazard to trains, imagine one getting hit by a train! Railroad companies paid hunters to kill the animals Indians fought back, which led the U.S. Army to intervene.

Westward Expansion: The Rise of Sitting Bull Born in 1831 Member of the Lakota Sioux Indian tribe of the Great Plains Red Cloud’s War 1866 to 1868 Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) attack U.S. forces in modern day Montana. Sitting Bull led numerous war parties against American forts in the area in support of Red Cloud.

Westward Expansion: Reservation System Fort Laramie Treaty, 1868 Negotiated with the Lakota (Sioux) ending Red Cloud’s War. It established an Indian Reservation out of traditional Lakota lands in North Dakota, known as the Black Hills. The Reservation System Tribes were offered parts of territory by the U.S. government, to live on reservations of land Sitting Bull did not agree to the treaty. He continued hit and run attacks on American forts in the Great Plains

Westward Expansion: Conflict on the Great Plains The Battle of Little Bighorn Tribes did fight back, the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana, 1876; General George Armstrong Custer and 200 soldiers were killed

Westward Expansion: Cattle Ranching The Cattle Kingdom The open plains provided plentiful grasslands for herds of cattle. The western cattle industry was Mexican & Texan by ancestry. These people developed the practice of branding cattle, as well as the open-range system in which cattle were not fenced in, but ranchers knew their boundaries. Following the Civil War, northern markets began offering good money for cattle. The issue for ranchers was about how to get the cattle from their ranches to market. The railroad provided a solution.

Westward Expansion: Cattle Ranching “The Long Drive” Beginning in 1866, some ranchers began driving their cattle north to Sedalia, Missouri, where the cattle could be on loaded to the Missouri Pacific Railroad. As the process continued, areas in between like Kansas, developed natural rest points for ranchers. By the 1870s the long drive cattle ranchers were competing with another group of people for land, the Homesteaders.

Westward Expansion: Dawes Act Dawes Act of 1887 Inspired by Jackson’s Century of Dishonor. Designed to assimilate American Indians into the mainstream of American culture by dissolving tribes as legal entities & eliminating tribal ownership of land. Consequences Ignored the inherent reliance of traditional Indian culture on tribal lands By 1900, Indians had lost 50% of the 156 million acres previously claimed Forced assimilation doctrine of the Dawes Act became the cornerstone of American government policy for the next 50 years.

Westward Expansion: Wounded Knee Massacre at Wounded Knee Creek December 29, 1890. Sioux Indian Reservation Indians were practicing a self-mutilation ritual known as the Ghost Dance, which was thought to bring back the Buffalo, return land to Indians, & banish white men from earth. The U.S. Army had asked the tribe to stop performing this dance. (T) The U.S. Army attempted to confiscate weapons from Indians; shots were fired and the U.S. Army opened up with Gatling Guns. 150 unarmed Indians died. Railroads destroyed native American culture.