1. Changes in the West

2. The Indian Wars

3. Culture of the Plains Indians
Life on the Plains
Great Plains is the grasslands in western and central portions of the U.S.
East: Hunting, farming villages; west: nomadic hunting, gathering
The Horse and the Buffalo
The arrival of horses and guns lead most Plains tribes to adopt a nomadic lifestyle by mid-1700s
Trespassing others’ hunting lands caused war between tribes, leading to disunity among the various groups
Buffalo provides many basic needs:
Hides used for teepees, clothes, blankets
Meat used for jerky

4. Family Life
Native American family formed ties to other bands that spoke the same language
Traditional male roles included hunting and protection; women would butcher meat, prepare hides, and set up shelter
Believe in powerful spirits that control natural world (animism)
Men or women can become shamans
Children learn through myths, stories, games, and example
Life on the plains was very communal
Leaders rule by counsel
There was no sense of personal ownership of land

5. Settlers Push Westward
Clash of Cultures
Native Americans believed that land could not be owned while settlers wanted to own the land establish farms and homesteads
Settlers believed that natives forfeited land because did not build upon it
Since they consider land unsettled, migrants go west to claim it
The lure of Silver and Gold
1848 California gold rush lures thousands of men west
1858 discovery of gold in Colorado draws more
Mining camps and tiny frontier towns developed from filthy, ramshackle buildings
Fortune seekers, while mostly men, came from many different races, ethnicities, and social backgrounds

6. The Government Restricts Native Americans
Railroads Influence Government Policy
1834, government designates Great Plains as one huge reservation
1850s, treaties define specific boundaries for each tribe
However, soon the government begins to sell tracts of land to the railroads for the development of a transcontinental railway
Massacre at Sand Creek
On November 29, 1864, an American force of 700 men attacked and destroyed a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians in the Colorado Territory
An estimated 100 Indians were killed, including women and children

7. Death on the Bozeman Trail
Bozeman Trail crosses into Lakota hunting grounds
Red Cloud asks for end of settlements, but instead begins a war against those settling in Wyoming and Montana
Crazy Horse raids camps and attacks settlements
Treaty of Fort Laramie  1868, agreement between the U.S. and the various tribes of the Wyoming Territory guaranteeing the Lakota ownership of the Black Hills and hunting rights in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana
Sitting Bull, leader of Hunkpapa Lakota, does not sign treaty and continues to attack forts located in the northern region of Missouri

8. Bloody Battles Continue
Red River War
Starting in 1868, the Kiowa, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Comanche engage in 6 years of raiding
In 1874, the U.S. Army launched the Red River campaign begins to forcibly remove these tribes to Indian Territory (Oklahoma and northern Texas)
Eventually the resistance is crushed by 1875
Gold Rush
In 1874, General George A. Custer reports gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota
In violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, people stream into the region in hopes of getting rich
Battle of Little Bighorn
1876, Sitting Bull has vision of war at sun dance
Between June 25-26, Custer’s 700 men were defeated and Custer was killed
By late 1876, Sioux are defeated; some take refuge in Canada
People starving; Sitting Bull surrenders 1881

9. The Government Supports Assimilation
1881, Helen Hunt Jackson exposes the mistreatment of Indians in her book, A Century of Dishonor
The Dawes Act of 1887
Assimilation – natives to give up way of life, join white culture
1887, Dawes Act to “Americanize” natives, break up reservations
Gives land to individual Native Americans
Sell remainder of land to settlers
Money for farm implements for natives
In the end, Native Americans receive only 1/3 of land, no money

11. The Destruction of the Buffalo
Destruction of Buffalo most significant blow to tribal life
Tourists, fur traders shoot for sport, destroy buffalo population

12. The Battle of Wounded Knee
Ghost Dance – ritual to regain lost lands
Spreads among Lakota on the Dakota reservation
Dec. 1890, Sitting Bull is killed when police try to arrest him
Seventh Cavalry takes about 350 Lakota to Wounded Knee Creek
Battle of Wounded Knee – cavalry kill 300 unarmed Native Americans
Battle ends Indian wars, Lakota dream of regaining old life

13. The Wild West

14. Cattle Becomes Big Business
Vaqueros and Cowboys
American settlers learn to manage large herds from Mexican vaqueros
Adopt way of life, clothing, vocabulary
Texas longhorns – sturdy, short-tempered breed brought by Spanish
Cowboys not in demand until railroads reach Great Plains

15. Cattle Becomes Big Business
Growing Demand for Beef
After Civil War, demand for meat increases in rapidly growing cities
The Cow Town
Cattlemen establish shipping yards where trails and rail lines meet
Chisholm Trail becomes the major cattle route from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas

16. A Day in the Life of a Cowboy
A Day’s Work
, up to 55,000 cowboys on plains
25% African American, 12% Mexican
Cowboy works hours on ranch; 14 or more on trail
Cowboys had to be expert riders and ropers; alert for dangers that may harm, upset cattle
Roundup
During spring roundup, longhorns were found and then herded into corral
Cowboys would separate cattle marked with own ranch’s brand; brand calves

17. A Day in the Life of a Cowboy
The Long Drive
Herding of animals or long drive lasted about 3 months
Cowboys were required to be in the saddle from dawn to dusk; they would sleep on the ground and wash in the river
Legends of the West
Celebrities of the west included showmen like Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok
Lawmen and outlaws were also very famous; Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Doc Holiday, and Billy the Kid

18. The End of the Open Range
Changes in Ranching
Overgrazing, bad weather from 1883 to 1887 destroy whole herds
Ranchers begin to keep smaller herds that yield more meat per animal
Barbed wire, developed in 1867, was used to separate pastures on ranches

19. Government Support for Settlement
Exodusters – Southern freedmen who settled in Kansas
1862 – Homestead Act offers 160 acres free to any head of household
, up to 600,000 families settle
Railroad, state agents, speculators profit; 10% of land to families
Government strengthens act, passes new legislation for settlers

20. The Closing of the Frontier
In 1872, Yellowstone National Park, located in the Wyoming and Montana Territories became the first national park
Established to protect some of the wilderness that still existed in the west
1890s, no frontier left; some regret loss of unique American feature

21. Settlers Meet the Challenges of the Plains
Dugouts and Soddies
There are few trees on the Great Plains, so many settlers would dig homes into sides of ravines or hills
In plains, make soddy or sod home by stacking blocks of turf (dried grass)
Women’s Work
Homesteaders virtually alone, must be self-sufficient
Women were expected to do all of their traditional work as well as some of the more traditional work of men
Women would cook, clean, make soap, can fruits and vegetables, etc.

22. Farmers and the Populists

23. Farmers Face Many Issues
Between 1870 and 1895, farm prices plummeted
Cotton, which had previously sold for 15 cents a pound was only sold for 6 cents a pound in the 1890s
Soon, it was costing farmers more to produce corn than they could make selling it
They began to burn the corn and use it for fuel instead
To pay for new machinery, seed, livestock, and other needs, farmers went into debt
Farmers began to mortgage their farms and became tenant farmers

24. Big Business Hurts Farmers
Farmers blamed big business, in particular the railroads, for their problems
Since the railroads were monopolies, they could charge whatever price they wanted, hurting the average farmer
Farmers also felt betrayed on a political level since fewer and fewer politicians were coming from farm states or agricultural backgrounds

25. Farmers Unite to Address Common Problems
In 1867, Oliver H. Kelley, a farmer from Minnesota, created the Patronage of Husbandry, commonly known as the Grange
The goals of the Grange included providing education on new farming techniques, calling for the regulation of railroads, and grain elevator rates.
Starting in the mid-1870s, several states established laws that set maximum rates for shipping costs.

26. The Populist Party Platform
With the spread of the Farmers’ Alliances around the nation, the formation of the Populist Party began
Populists sought to build a new political party from the group up through grassroots movements around the nation
The Populists proposed the coinage of silver to combat low prices, government ownership of railroads to combat high costs, and advocated for women’s rights
Populists, although mostly made from people with agricultural backgrounds, worked to appeal to the urban poor by claiming that they had a common enemy, the industrial elite

27. Populists Achieve Some Success
In the election of 1892, the Populist presidential candidate, won more than one million votes
Populists were elected to three governorships, five Senate seats, and ten seats in the House of Representatives
By 1894, the Populists became so powerful that the major parties considered backing up their ideas

28. Silver or Gold?
Bimetallism  monetary standard or system based upon the use of two metals, traditionally gold and silver
Advocated in the United States as “free silver”
Gold Standard  monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold
William Jennings Bryan, a congressman from Nebraska, spoke out against the gold standard and attacked Grover Cleveland and all those who opposed the coinage of silver
This speech, known as the “Cross of Gold” worked to inspire and unify those struggling around the nation

29. Bryan and the Election of 1896
1896, Republicans commit to gold, select William McKinley as their candidate
Democrats favor “free silver” and chose to endorse William Jennings Bryan
Populists endorse Bryan, choose own VP to maintain party identity
The End of Populism
McKinley wins CA, OR, the Midwest, and Northeast; Bryan wins the South and Great Plains
McKinley elected president leading to eventual collapse of populism
Legacy: third parties can greatly influence the major parties in the United States