Chapter 26

1865-1896

Due to white civilization, Indians had been forced to the Western plains which resulted in cultural changes

Apaches been displaced by the Comanches to upper Rio Grande valley in the 18th century

Mandans, Chippewas, Cheyenne had left the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers regions before the Civil War

Sioux displaced from the Great Lakes in the 18th century where they battled w/ the Crows, Kiowas, and Pawnees in the Great Plains

Horses had changed the Sioux and Cheyenne to where they lived in more permanent settlements & used to hunt buffalo

Disease again struck the Indians of the Plains as settlers entered the region

Whites also killed the buffalo for their own gains causing a near extinction of the species

The gov’t tried to make treaties but didn’t understand Native American society

By the 1860s, Indians were placed on smaller land area and only gave in when promised food, clothing & supplies

After the Civil War, Indians and the US Army fought

1/5 of the Army on the Plains were African Americans called Buffalo Soldiers by the Indians b/c they though blacks hair was like the fur on a buffalo

1866 Sioux war party tried to stop the construction of the Bozeman Trail & ambushed Cpt. Wm. J. Fetterman & 87 civilians at WY’s Bighorn Mts. (Fetterman Massacre)

Col. George Armstrong Custer, who fought in the Civil War led the crusade against the Indians

1874 Custer had went to Black Hills, Dakota, where he claimed gold was discovered but was located in the Sioux reservation causing many people searching for gold

The herd of white people enraged Sitting Bull of the Sioux Indians

Custer as a result attacked the Sioux Indians where Custer was defeated at Little Big Horn

Chief Joseph in 1877 of the Nez Perce Indians in OR was left for Canada where he met w/ Sitting Bull after the Battle of Little Big Horn

However, Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce were forced onto a reservation in KS where 40% died due to disease

Geronimo, leader of the Apache tribes of AZ & NM, had his tribe tracked down by the military who were dispersed into Mexico, FL and OK

Indians were forced onto reservations in which was done for the completion the transcontinental railroads

When white men 1st arrived to North America there were millions of buffalo

For the Native Americans, the buffalo provided food, fuel, clothing, lariats, and harnesses

The Kansas Pacific RR hired men like Buffalo Bill to kill the animals to insure that the railroad ran on time

Sportsmen also led to the almost extinction

By 1885 less than 1,000 buffalo remained on the plains

Helen Hunt Jackson of Massachusetts was writer of children’s literature and in 1881 published A Century of Dishonor and Ramona (1884) Hunt expressed how the gov’t was

unkind and ruthless to the Indians which gathered sympathy for the Indians

Some people felt that Indians needed to have better treatment while others wanted them contained and punished

Some Christian reformers would w/hold food in order to get Indians to assimilate into white culture and even had the Sun Dance outlawed

As a result the Indians used the “Ghost Dance” in 1890 in which they hoped to get rid of the white men

As a result in 1890 the Battle of Wounded Knee wiped out the Sioux and the Ghost Dance

Dawes Severalty Act 1887-dissolved the tribes as entities, took away ownership of land and established family heads w/ 160 acres and if they behaved they would get the title to their property and get citizenship in 25 years

Land that was no longer in the reservation system was sold to the railroads & the $ was used to educate the Indians 1879 Carlisle Indian School in PA was

established in which Indian children were taken from the reservations and taught English and white values and customs

1858-Gold discovered in CO causing “59ers” to rush to Pikes Peak 1859-Gold & silver (Comstock Lode) was discovered in NV causing NV to

enter into the Union by 1864 Smaller claims happened in Montana & Idaho where Boomtowns were

established Even though many people came to the west for gold/silver there were

many opportunities men and women Women gained voting rights in WY (1869), UT (1870), CO (1893) & ID

(1896)

Cattle was also raised on the Great Plains, especially TX

However, the cattle had to be transported by train which resulted in the “beef barons” (Swifts and Armours) controlling the industry in Chicago and Kansas City

As a result, cowboys would herd thousands of cattle across the plains to the nearest train (long drive) depot like Dodge City, Abilene, KS, Ogallala, NE, Cheyenne, WY

James B. (Wild Bill) Hickok became a famous gunman in Abilene in order to maintain the law Shot in 1876

Eventually, ranchers fenced in property and the RRs expanded causing the end of the Long Drive

Ranchers also learned to breed animals w/ more meat in order to not over produce

Homestead Act of 1862-settlers could claim 160 acres, live it on 5 yrs, pay a $30 fee and own the land

Living on the plains was difficult b/c of scarce rain

Railroad companies offered Americans and immigrants cheap land

With the creation of the steel plow, the prairie lands were great for growing corn & wheat

Adaptations were to crops as settlers established farms into Kansas and Colorado

Numerous states joined the Union between 1870-1890 CO (1876), ND, SD, MT,WA, ID, & WY

1896 UT finally entered the Union after polygamy was banned in 1890

OK was one of the last regions opened up to settlers (April 22, 1889) Became known as the “Sooner State” b/c within 1 year had massed the

population to enter into the Union

By 1890, all the territories were no longer unsettles

Frederick Jackson Turner-wrote “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” (1893); explains the settlement of the territories and the end of the frontier “American history has been in a large

degree the history of the colonization of the Great West” Turner

Yellowstone (1872), Yosemite (1890) & Sequoia (1890) were created as national parks to preserve the frontier

“Safety valve”-a theory where people could move from the city to the territories and establish farms during economic hardships; most people didn’t do this b/c they lacked $ to do so

However, the safety valve did attract immigrants to the frontier

The effects of western expansion led to the conflict w/ the Native Americans, introduction to Hispanic culture, rough environmental conditions caused struggle

In addition, it created a genre for writers like Mark Twain, Helen Hunt Jackson, Francis Parkman

The life of farmers were also changing w/ industrialization

Farmers concentrated on “cash crops” like wheat or corn and used profits to buy manufactured products instead of making their own

Aaron Montgomery Ward (1872) printed its 1st catalog

Big farmers were associated w/ the banks, RRs and businesses

The steam engine led to the creation of tractors and that was faster than the plow

1880s the reaper was created making it easier to harvest

New inventions in technology actually caused many to move to the cities to find jobs

Bonanza farms-primarily wheat, were extremely large and were like an outdoor grain factory Become the large farms that exist

today

Problem w/ cash crops-when demand was high, $ was good

1880s-1890s prices for grain fell due to Russia & Argentina

As a result, deflation occurred and farmers struggled to make payments on loans

In addition deflation caused a shortage of money

After 1890 most farmers lived in debt and many faced foreclosures

Farmers were falling into the Old World form of feudalism

Grange (National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry) was founded in 1867

Grange was led by Oliver H. Kelley who was a farmer from Minnesota

Kelley hoped to achieve the enhancement of farmers lives through social, educational and fraternal activities

Grange held picnics, concerts and lectures along with a hierarchy system Women-Maid to the Matron Men-Laborer of Husbandom

By 1875 the goal of the Grange was to break the trusts that controlled the stores, elevators and warehouses

Grange eventually went politically and fought for regulation of RR rates and storage fees (Granger Laws)

However, many of the Granger Laws were fought in the higher courts where many of them were reversed b/c the big businesses could aff0rd expensive lawyers Wabash decision (1886) from the

Supreme Court-individual states had no power to regulate interstate commerce

Farmers then turned to the Greenback Labor Party & in 1880 nominated James B. Weaver for president Gained 3% of the popular vote

Farmers’ Alliance (1870s)-was founded to try to break the monopoly of the RRs & manufactures The Alliance was weak b/c it didn’t

include tenant farmers, sharecroppers or blacks

Colored Farmers’ Alliance (1880s) was established to try to get whites & blacks to cooperate but didn’t work due to the racial division in the South

From the Farmers’ Alliance in the 1890s, the People’s Party (Populist Party) was established Mostly farmers who were frustrated

w/ the system Wanted nationalization of the RRs,

telephone, telegraph, a graduated income tax and a federal “sub treasury” in which famers w/ loans could store crops in gov’t owned warehouses until prices rose

Free & unlimited coinage of silver

William Hope Harvey wrote Financial School (1894) which supported the Populist Party & idea of free coinage of silver

Mary Elizabeth Lease (aka Kansas Pythoness)-demanded people not to produce corn but challenge the system causing the Northeastern states to complain that Kansas wasn’t civilized

1893 depression strengthened the Populist Party and allied with those who were unemployed

Jacob S. Coxey-OH quarry owner, went to Washington in 1894 to demand from the gov’t relief for the unemployed w/ a $500 million note from the treasury to create a public works program Coxey on his way to DC was followed

by supporters called Coxey’s Army & when they arrived they were arrested for stepping on the grass

Pullman strike of 1894-Eugene V. Debs, a labor leader of the American Railway Union, led a strike against a model town near Chicago

Employees had their wages cut but were still expected to pay for their rent

The Pullman strike resulted in employees stopping RR traffic

However, Gov. John Peter Altgeld didn’t think the strike was out of hand where as attorney general Richard Olney did & wanted federal troops to intervene

Olney believed that the strike was intervening w/ the delivery of the US mail & President Cleveland supported causing the strike to cease

Debs received 6 months jail This was the 1st time that the gov’t

was used to stop a strike and causing the Populist party to fade out

Election of 1896 William McKinley (OH) was the

Republican nomination & winner due to his record of being a Congressman

William Jennings Bryan (NE) was the Democratic candidate who supported coinage of silver

Bryan won the nomination after delivering his Cross of Gold speech which emphasized that the working class couldn’t be stopped and will be the martyrs for the cause

Bryan’s policy on silver, split the party with a group called the Gold Bugs-Democrats who believed in the gold system and tried to create their own nomination

Marcus Alonzo Hanna (businessman in iron) who helped McKinley win the presidency

Hanna stressed that the “function of gov’t was to aid big business.” & stressed the gold standard

Due to the split in the Democratic party, the “16 to 1” ratio caused the Populists to merge with the other Democrats to endorse Bryan

Hanna believed that the campaign could focus on the tariff but Bryan didn’t take the bite forcing free silver to be a main issue

Bryan became feared by the East (big business) causing McKinley to accepted as saving the US

Hanna used the fear against Bryan’s campaign

Employers threatened workers if Bryan was elected causing many workers to vote for McKinley

The election of 1896 was a huge victory for big business & parties realized that campaigns could be won in the cities not the rural communities

The era after McKinley was called “the fourth party system” because the issues would focus on industrial regulation and labor

McKinley was a cautious president and didn’t pursue reform which allowed big businesses to reign

Treasury was lacking funding b/c the Wilson Gorman law wasn’t bring in enough $

Dingley Tariff Bill was introduced in 1897 by Reed in which the tariff would increase rates but some didn’t think it was high enough

With the economy continuing to improve the silver issue faded

Gold Standard Act of 1900-allowed paper $ to redeemed in gold