Chapter 5: Cultures Clash on the Prairie

Remember: Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law passed in order to facilitate the relocation of American Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi River in the United States to lands further west. The Removal Act, part of a U.S. government policy known as Indian Removal, was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830.1

Remember: Indian Removal Act The Removal Act did not actually order the removal of any Native Americans. Rather, it authorized the President to negotiate land-exchange treaties with tribes living within the boundaries of existing U.S. states.

Remember: Louisiana Purchase In the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States had acquired a claim to a vast amount of land west of the Mississippi River.

The Culture of the Plains Indians Great Plains East: Osage & Iowa Tribes Small villages, hunted, planted crops West: Sioux and Cheyenne Tribes Hunted buffalo & gathered wild food The Horse and Buffalo Horses increased mobility…led to war between tribes Buffalo provided many basic needs and was central to life on the Plains

Plains Indians: Culture Family Life Small extended family groups Men trained to become hunters & warriors Killing enemies brought prestige & honor Believed powerful spirits controlled natural events No individual was allowed to dominate group in leadership role; leaders of a tribe ruled by counsel rather than force

Settlers Push Westward Native Americans did not believe people should own land Settlers believed that owning land, making a mining claim, or starting a business would give them stake in the country

Lure of Silver & Gold Discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858 Mining camps Brought Irish, German, Polish, Chinese, and African American men

Chapter 5 Study Guide Lecture Notes from last class Please take out: Chapter 5 Study Guide Lecture Notes from last class

The Government Restricts Native Americans 1834: fed gov’t passed an act = ENTIRE Great Plains = 1 enormous reservation or land set aside for Native American tribes. 1850’s: policy changed and created treaties that defined specific boundaries for every tribe. Result: Many tribes continued to hunt on their traditional lands, clashing with settlers and miners-with tragic result

Gov’t Restricts Native Americans Cont. Massacre at Sand Creek 1864: Turn to page 204 in your book and read about the Massacre at Sand Creek Death on the Bozeman Trail Bozeman Trail ran through Sioux hunting grounds in the Bighorn Mountains. 1866: Crazy Horse ambushed Captain William J. Fetterman and his company. 80+ soldiers killed

Results of the Deaths on the Bozeman Trail Treaty of Fort Laramie Sioux agreed to live on a reservation along the Missouri River (forced on Sioux) Sitting Bull Leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux…never signed treaty Treaty of Fort Laramie provided only temporary halt to warfare

Bloody Battles Continue Red River War 1874-1875 U.S. Army herded the people of friendly tribes onto reservations while opening fire on all others Gold Rush begins Custer’s Last Stand Conflict with Sioux & Cheyenne…Custer coming to attack Reached Little Bighorn River, Native Amer. Warriors ready for them Within an hour, Custer & all his men-dead

The Gov’t Supports Assimilation Assimilation = a plan under which Native Americans would give up their beliefs & their way of life to become part of the white culture Dawes Act 1887; aimed to “Americanize” Native Americans Broke up reservations & gave pieces of land to individual Native Americans

The Gov’t Supports Assimilation By 1932, whites had taken about 2/3 of territory that had previously been set aside for Native Americans

Cattle Become Big Business After the Civil War, demand for beef rose sharply in the growing Eastern cities. Cowboys led thousands of animals on the long drive to Kansas, which took about three months. 

Herds grew too large, and overgrazing and bad weather struck the Plains in the late 1880s. Ranchers began to use barbed wire to fence in their land. The era of the open range and cattle drives ended.  

Chapter 5/Section 2 Settling on the Great Plains Key Idea The promise of cheap, fertile land draws settlers westward seeking Their fortunes as farmers.     

Building the transcontinental railroad—stretching from East to West—helped promote settlement on the Plains. Irish and Chinese immigrants plus African Americans and Mexican Americans did much of the back-breaking work. In 1869, the two routes met in Utah, completing the first transcontinental track.

The railroads sold some of their land at low prices to farmers. Homestead Act: 160 acres to head of household On one day in 1889, 2 million acres were claimed in Oklahoma. The government also wanted to preserve some wilderness. Yellowstone National Park.

The new settlers had to endure many hardships.  people built homes as dugouts in the sides of hills or out of sod.  Homesteaders isolated and had to produce everything they needed. Women  worked in the fields alongside men Taught children before schools Made clothes Doctored family and animals Dug wells and hauled water  

Farmers Unite to Address Common Problems: The farmers were plagued by weather and debt.  Machines cost money, which they had to borrow.  When grain prices fell, they could not repay their loans. They also resented how much they had to pay railroads to ship their crops.  

Possible Answers to B. Extended Response Inventions increased farm productivity by decreasing the amount of time and effort needed to produce farm goods. In order to purchase new machinery, farmers went into debt, borrowing against the value of their land The new machinery encouraged farmers to buy more land to cultivate. The bigger farms grew, the more farmers’ debts increased.

Answers to the quiz B. People regarded paper money as worthless if it could not be turned in for gold or silver. Because gold was more valuable than silver, the gold standard would provide a more stable currency backed by both metals would be cheaper and more available. Farmers faced large debts and low crop prices. The gold standard would make it more expensive for them to repay their debts and would keep prices low. Bimetallism would make it cheaper for them to repay their debs and would help to raise prices on goods.