1. Gimme 5 How were the Plains Indians able to live on the Great Plains?
American West
To get top marks on the non-source questions, you need to give at least two reasons and explain them for any given question. Below are a selection of reasons and explanations which should match some of the most common questions. In each section, 1 is the reason and A is the explanation
How were the Plains Indians able to live on the Great Plains?
1) They were nomadic
A: They followed the buffalo which provided everything that they needed ie food, clothes, shelter.
2)They had a strong sense of community
A: Men, women and children all had set roles within the tribe which made it easier to live on the Plains because everyone knew what to do and how to do it.
3) They were very self-sufficient and only took what they needed from their environment.
A: By only killing the buffalo that they needed, the herd numbers remained high so their food source was always plentiful. This in turn made Indians more healthy and their numbers grew.
4)They made the most of the resources they had.
A: By making the most of every bit of the buffalo from bones to brains and meat to hooves, they had very little impact on their surroundings. This in turn conserved their resources.
5) Their belief in the Great Spirit gave them a strong respect for the land.
A: This meant that they treated it well. As they believed that no-one could own the land, a major source of conflict between tribe members was removed.
NOTE: You could also be asked about a specific part of the lifestyle i.e. Why were tipis ideally suited to the Plains? or Why was the buffalo so important to the Plains Indians?

2. How were the Plains Indians viewed by the settlers?
They were wasteful
A: Indians did not settle in one place and make the most of it.
2) They were primitive
A: Indians did not have the wheel and only the most basic of tools.
3) Sinful
A: Because the Indians took more than one wife.
4) Uncivilised
A: Because children were allowed to run free, did not go to school and did not seem to be punished for being naughty.
5) Savages
A: Because they did not wear “proper” clothes and wore feathers.
Why did the first settlers travel West in the 1840s and 1850s?
To escape from poverty.
A: People who had failed to get a good life in the cities of the East Coast left for a new life in the West where they thought they would be better off.
2) Good farmland
A: People believed they could become farmers and enjoy a better standard of living with their families.
3) Religious persecution.
A: The Mormons for example went West to set up a Mormon-only community away from the jealousy (because they did well) and the hatred (because of polygamy) they had faced in the East.
4) Business opportunities.
A: Some businessmen saw opportunities with this migration Westwards and travelled West to set up stores etc. Others took part in the Gold Rush of 1848 in California.
5) Better environment
A: They believed the West offered a better climate, was healthier, and had less disease.

3. What dangers did the first travellers face?
The weather
A: Travelling west could take several months. If they were delayed for any reason, they could find themselves stranded in early snows in Winter, like the Donner party. Flash floods were also a problem.
2) Indian attacks
A: Although not as widespread as films may have you believe, some settlers were attacked as they tried to cross Indian land, especially if they were disturbing the buffalo.
3) Unpredictable environment.
A: While trails were becoming established, it was easy to get lost or follow a trail that did not exist. This could lead travellers into dangerous or impassable terrain. They would then be delayed which would cause further problems ie running out of supplies.
4) The length of the journey and morale
A: In a large group of people travelling together, there may be some that did not get on. This would cause problems if important decisions such as which route to take, had to be made. Ill-feeling sometimes spilled over into violence.
5) Supplies
A: Settlers had to make sure they had enough food to survive on. However, if they were delayed or careless, these supplies could run out.
Why did people dislike the Mormons?
They stuck together
A: The sense of community in the Mormons made them a very strong group who did things together. They also tended to look down on Non-Mormons. This made non-Mormons wary of them.
2) They were very successful
A: Because of their strong sense of community, Mormon settlements tended to be very successful. This often made people jealous of them.
Polygamy
A: Mormons practised polygamy in order to grow their numbers. This was totally wrong for Christians
4) Treatment of others
A: The Mormons treated the Indians with respect and were against slavery – both ideas which went against the mainstream opinion.

4. Why did people dislike the Mormons?
They stuck together
A: The sense of community in the Mormons made them a very strong group who did things together. They also tended to look down on Non-Mormons. This made non-Mormons wary of them.
2) They were very successful
A: Because of their strong sense of community, Mormon settlements tended to be very successful. This often made people jealous of them.
Polygamy
A: Mormons practised polygamy in order to grow their numbers. This was totally wrong for Christians
4) Treatment of others
A: The Mormons treated the Indians with respect and were against slavery – both ideas which went against the mainstream opinion.
Mormons continued.
5) Bank failure
A: Joseph Smith, leader of the Mormons set up a bank which then failed and lots of people lost money
Why did the Open Range end?
1) Falling profits
By 1882, profits from cattle ranching began to fall because there was too much meat around.
2) Harsh weather
A: A freezing winter in was followed by a summer so hot the grass withered. The following winter saw temperatures drop to -68. Thousands of longhorn cattle died.
Barbed wire
This enabled people to fence off their land and their water supplies. Cattlemen tried to fight it but lost so open range disappeared as land was fenced in.
4) Water
A: Windpumps meant cattlemen did not have to drive their cattle miles for water, they could just get the water where they wanted it. So cattle could eat and drink in one place.

5. Why was the West such a lawless place?
Isolation
A: The West was hard to get to so law men could not move around quickly to enforce the law.
2) Mining and Cow towns sprang up quickly
A: The government did not have enough fully trained law officers to cope and were slow to pay out on training new officers.
3) Different groups, different aims
A) The West attracted many different types of people, often with directly opposed aims in life like homesteaders/cattlemen cowboys/townspeople etc
4) Racial mix
A: Huge immigration meant people from many different cultures were mixing like blacks, Chinese, East Coast Americans, Europeans. Each had their own world view, values and aspirations which sometimes clashed
5) Macho mind set
A: You had to be tough to settle the West. People who went usually were tough (such as ex-Civil War soldiers). They carried guns and sorted out their own problems.
Common crimes in the West
Cattle rustling 2) Horse stealing 3) Claim jumping 4) Bank robbery 5) trail robbery 6) Train robbery 7) Assault (racial attacks). 8) Murder.
What problems did railroad companies face in building the railroads?
Money
A: Building railroads was expensive so government gave companies land which they could then sell on.
2) Difficult land
A: Mountains and deserts are not easy to build on but they did it with the help of skilled Chinese immigrants going through the Rocky mountains.
3) Indians
A: Surveyors and railroad workers faced outbreaks of attacks by Indians as they built through Indian land. This building disturbed the buffalo.

6. What impact did the railways have?
1) Massive source of jobs
Building required immense workforce
2) Demand for goods
A: The need for iron, steel and timber also gave a massive boost to the economy.
Easier communication
The government could now easily send out law and other officials to restore order and create a UNITED States. It also made the journey much easier for the settlers no only to get there but also to buy the land that the railway companies were selling off.
4) Economic boost
A: Companies could now easily trade with the Far East like China and Japan. The opening up of new markets also boosted the cattle industry.
5) More supplies for the West
East Coast companies were quick to recognise the benefits of using railroads to get their products out to the West and vice versa.
6) Indians
A: Railroads went through Indian lands prompting Indian attacks which in turn led to government enforcing treaties which forced Indians into smaller and smaller reservations. They also destroyed buffalo migration routes and so the Indians’ way of life was disrupted.

7. How were problems of Homesteaders solved?
New machinery
A: Sodbuster plough was tough enough to break soil. New technology became cheaper so reapers, binders and threshers could be used.
2) Wind pumps
A: These were able to draw water up from deep below the surface.
Size of homesteads
A: 1873, Government passed Timber Act which gave homesteaders another 160 acres if they planted trees on half of it.
4) New techniques and crops
Dry farming ensured the maximum possible water was kept in the soil. The introduction of Turkey wheat was a huge success.
5) Fencing
A: Introduction of barbed wire made fencing easier (but brought homesteaders into conflict with open range).

8. What problems did homesteaders face?
1) Ploughing and sowing
A: Never farmed before, the plains had thick grass with 10 cm roots which made the ground really difficult to break up
2) Water
A: Crops often failed because only 38cm of rain fell on the Great Plains annually and that was in the summer when it would soon dry up. Droughts were common such as in Kansas and Nebraska in
3) Size of homesteads
A: Government gave them 160 acres, not enough to support a family.
4) Crops
Traditional farming crops could not grow in the conditions on the Plains, too hot, too cold, not enough water.
5) Fencing
A: Homesteaders needed to fence their land but there was no timber to do it.
6) Fire and grasshoppers
A: Both were common and devastating. Grasshoppers destroyed everything in their way in
How were problems of Homesteaders solved?
New machinery
A: Sodbuster plough was tough enough to break soil. New technology became cheaper so reapers, binders and threshers could be used.
2) Wind pumps
A: These were able to draw water up from deep below the surface.
Size of homesteads
A: 1873, Government passed Timber Act which gave homesteaders another 160 acres if they planted trees on half of it.
4) New techniques and crops
Dry farming ensured the maximum possible water was kept in the soil. The introduction of Turkey wheat was a huge success.
A: Introduction of barbed wire made fencing easier (but brought homesteaders into conflict with open range).

9. Why did the Indians win the Battle of Little Big Horn?
Tactics
A: Crazy Horse was a military genius who split the warriors into two groups. One attacked the US army and the other defended the women and children – the first time this had been done. Knowing the vulnerable were protected meant the braves could concentrate on the fighting.
2) Better weapons
A: The Indians had been supplied with repeat fire rifles whereas the US army only had guns that could fire once and then had to be reloaded. This gave the Indians a time and firepower advantage.
3) Morale
A: The Indians were well rested, unlike the US army who had been trailing them for weeks and had marched 10-miles through the night before the battle. Sitting Bull had foretold both the battle and the Indians’ victory so Indian morale and self-belief was at an all-time high.
4) Numbers
A: The Indians vastly outnumbered the soldiers that were attacking them. The many bands of the Sioux had been joined by Cheyenne and Arapaho.
5) Custer’s personality
A: Custer was arrogant and completely believed he could destroy the Sioux almost single-handedly. He wore his men out on a long march to the camp, refused re-inforcements and Gatling guns and attacked the Indian camp at its strongest poing. By splitting up his forces, Custer left himself weak and exposed and Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull’s warriors were easily able to cut him and his men off and destroy them.

10. What problems did the Indians encounter on the reservations?
Corruption
A: Government officials were often corrupt on the reservations. They took bribes, sold off rations meant for the Indians, and failed to hand over money that the Indians had been promised.
2) Attack on culture
A: After the Battle of Little Big Horn, the government introduced a series of policies designed to alienate and annihilate Indian culture. Indian children had to choose Christian names and attend school. Indians were also told to convert to Christianity and learn to speak English.
3) Dismantling of tribal bonds
A: The authority of tribal chiefs was undermined on reservations so the Indians had no real leader to rally round. The Dawes Act of 1887 saw all tribally-held land abolished and given to individuals, effectively destroying tribal allegiance.
4) Making Indians farm
A: Many tribes had no idea how to own land and farm as they had been nomadic. Not all of them made the transition from wanderer to arable farmer successfully. Failure could mean starvation
5) Disease
A: Many Indians, especially children, died from diseases caught because of contact with the whites as they had no immunity. Living in such close proximity to each other also meant disease spread more quickly and more seriously.