Looking WestCh 7

Westward MigrationWestward Migration

“Push” Factors (Away)•Civil War displaced Thousands

•Farmland became costly•Failed enterprises

•Religious repression•Sheltered outlaws on the run

“Pull” Factors (To)•Pacific Railway Acts

•Morrill Land-Grant Act•Homestead Act•Property rights

•Natural Resources

Pacific Railway Acts (1862 & 1864)• land grants given to RR

• 1 mile of track = 10 sq. miles land

• Railroad received over 175 mil. acres

• RR sold portions of land

Morrill Land-Grant Act (1862)• Gave state gov. millions of

acres of land to sell - “land-grant” colleges (A&M)

• Sold land to bankers and land speculators

• 160 acres – small fee

• Requirements:• 21 Years old or head of household• Amer. citizen or have filed for citizenship• Had to build a home (usually 12’X14’) on the land and

live there 6 months of the year• farm for 5 consecutive years

• Results– Over 372,000 farms– By 1900 there were 600,000

claims covering more than 80 million acres

Homestead Act (1862)

Pull Factor-Private Property •Legally enforceable transferrable•Measured, registered, deeded

• African Americans rode or walked westward to flee violence and exploitation (Exodusters)

Native American

s

Plains IndiansPlains Indians• Farmers, hunters and

gatherers

• Impact of horsesImpact of horses– Became nomadicBecame nomadic

– trading and raids

The NA ProblemThe NA Problem• Whites had little respect for the culture / lifestyle

– Considered an obstacle

– Different Different concept of landconcept of land..

– 1830s – Pres. Andrew Jackson moves all natives west of 1830s – Pres. Andrew Jackson moves all natives west of the Mississippithe Mississippi (reservations)

– Natives react with frustration and anger

Soldier’s Life

– $13 a month– Duties: build forts, escort the mail, protect

miners, stop gunfights and stagecoach robbery and….fight natives

– Settlers felt justified in taking land b/c they could make it productive

The Sand Creek Massacre, 1864• Gold Rush leads to Cheyenne raids wagon

trains and settlements

• Chief Black Kettle led a peace campaign with the Gov.– Promised protection - camp at Sand Creek, CO– Raised white flag & US flag

• Col. Chivington attacked anyway– Killed up to 500 Men and womenMen and women

BLACK KETTLE

COL. CHIVINGTON

Little Bighorn Little Bighorn , 1876• Build road thru Sioux land

– 2 year war– Ends w/treaty & no road

• 1874- gold in Black Hills – U.S. wants Black Hills

• Talks fail…– Sacred land– Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse led tribe off

reservation– Custer’s sent to round up the Sioux

• 2,000 Sioux warriors defeat 2,000 Sioux warriors defeat CusterCuster

• Troops flood area & force Sioux Troops flood area & force Sioux on Resvon Resv

CHIEF RED CLOUD

SITTING BULL

LT.COL. CUSTER

CRAZY HORSE

Wounded Knee Wounded Knee , 1890• prophecies spread.prophecies spread.

The The Ghost DanceGhost Dance..– Big circle of Indians, shaking / Big circle of Indians, shaking /

dancing.dancing.– Submission until Messiah delivers.Submission until Messiah delivers.

• This scares settlers This scares settlers • Chief Sitting Bull killed in Chief Sitting Bull killed in

attempted arrested.attempted arrested.• Sitting Bull’s followers Sitting Bull’s followers

surrender surrender – Rounded up at Wounded Rounded up at Wounded

Knee, SD.Knee, SD.

• During disarmament, shots During disarmament, shots are fired – are fired – MASSACREMASSACRE!!– 200 of 350 Indians are killed200 of 350 Indians are killed

• This was the last major This was the last major battle.battle.

AssimilateAssimilate

• one society becomes a part of another more dominant society.

• Give up their Give up their traditions learn traditions learn English, Christianity, English, Christianity, white dress & white dress & customs, learn a customs, learn a tradetrade

Dawes ActDawes Act of 1887 (p. 266) of 1887 (p. 266)– Breaks up reservation landBreaks up reservation land– Offers 160 acres to individual familiesOffers 160 acres to individual families– Granted US citizenship. Granted US citizenship.

– PROBLEM: Most reservation land was unsuitable for farming! Most natives had no interest or experience in farming• Some sold land or were swindled out of it by Some sold land or were swindled out of it by

speculatorsspeculators

Opening New Territory• April 22, 1889 - Oklahoma Land Rush:

Settlers rushed at the sound of a bugle to find a piece of land– Boomers: settlers who staked claims

– Sooners: people who sneaked by the government officials to stake their claim

Mining, Ranching

and FarmingCh. 7 sect. 3

Mining• Largest finds

– Comstock Load = $400m. in gold & silver

– Homestake Mine = billion $ worth in ore

• Types of mining1. Shallow pan – little saucer

2. Placer mining – shovel dirt into trough

3.3. Deep-shaft mining Deep-shaft mining– Drills, Hydraulic Pumps, and Dynamite

– ExpensiveExpensive– Wealthy investors requiredWealthy investors required

Boom Towns• Rich strikes created boom townsRich strikes created boom towns

– Gold runs out = ghost townsGold runs out = ghost towns

• Workers from around the world Workers from around the world – ½ foreign born½ foreign born

– Resentment among whitesResentment among whites

– Chinese Exclusion Act (Chinese Exclusion Act (18821882))• prohibited further Chinese immigration

Ranchers

• “Cow Towns”: built for receiving cattle

• From Kansas, railroads carried cattle to the East (Cattle bought for $7 each, sold for $60-70)

Texas Ranching5 million head of

cattle roam freely

• TX cattle business TX cattle business – – easy to entereasy to enter

FREE CATTLE!FREE CATTLE!

A Cowboy’s Life• Cattle Drives: Tx to Ks

– RR didn’t go into TX

• Chisholm Trail: – Texas –> Kansas

• Cowboys– 300-500 cattle p/p – $30 per month

Ranching Decline

• Over expansionOver expansion

• Price declinesPrice declines

• DiseaseDisease• Cold winters/dry Cold winters/dry

summerssummers

Farming

• Homesteaders- Farmed claims under the Homestead Act – Homestead Act of 1862Homestead Act of 1862

160 acres is yours after 5 years

• 500,000 Homestead families500,000 Homestead families2.5 million families had to buy land from the RR

• Homes “Soddies”: sod home; structure w/walls and roof made of blocks of sod-strips of grass with thick roots and earth attached (less than $10)

• Sodbusting – backbreaking labor • Could cost up to $1,000 to create a livable homestead• Settlers relied heavily on each other, for support, supplies, and

socialization

The Family• Many discover that 160 acres is Many discover that 160 acres is

not enough to survive. not enough to survive. 2 of 3 2 of 3 farms fail by 1900farms fail by 1900

• Everyone had to work in order Everyone had to work in order to surviveto survive– Men did heavy manual labor did heavy manual labor– Children collected wood & carried collected wood & carried

water, sometimes hired out to other water, sometimes hired out to other farmsfarms

– Women did chores around the house, did chores around the house, managed the money, raised the managed the money, raised the children, provided food (crops, butter, children, provided food (crops, butter, chickens, milk)chickens, milk)

New Farming Technology

• Mechanized Reaper, Barbed Wire, Dry Farming, Steel Plow, Harrow, Steel Windmill, Hybridization, Improved Communication, Grain Drill (know significance of each pg 274)

• Saved time and effort & Increased farm output• Bonanza Farms: operations controlled by large

businesses, managed by professionals, raised massive quantities of a cash crop– Supply rose fast than demand

• Prices fell, leading to producing more to makeup losses

Frontier Myths

• By 1890 the frontier had effectively ended• Turner’s Thesis- Frederick Jackson Turner –

claimed frontier had played a key role in forming the American character – he didn’t mention the massacre of Native

Americans or the giving away of land• Stereotypes: “American Cowboy;” romanticized

image of cowboy life, no mention of the hard life that they lived

• Entertainment: Dime novels, Wild West Show (Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull), Plays (Oklahoma), and Western Movies (John Wayne)

Populism ch. 7

section 4

Farmers’ Complaint - Tariffs• Farmers borrow $ to buy new equipment

• Depression hits in 1873– Banks call in loans / farmers can’t pay (foreclosures)

– Tariffs encourages the sale of goods produced at home

– Problem: • American firms raised their prices - (Machinery)• Europe retaliated by putting tariffs on US crops

Farmers Favor Inflation

• Inflation helps farmers because…– $ borrowed is worth less paid back (easier to pay)– it raises the prices of goods they sell

• Value of money linked to the Money Supply– Farmer’s wanted – “Free Silver”

Farmers Organize• The Grange

– Helped farmers form cooperatives, buy in large quantities at lower prices

– Pressured gov. to regulate businesses that the farmers depended on (RR)

• Peoples Party “Populists”– federal regulation of the railroads– more money in circulation– creation of state dept. of agriculture– 8 hour workday & Racial inclusion

Govt Response

• Interstate Commerce Act 1887– Regulated prices that RR’s charged to move freight

1896 Presidential Election• Democrat/Populist: William Jennings Bryan

– Free-silver platform– Powerful speaker – “Cross of Gold” Speech

• Republican: William McKinley– Gold-standard platform

• WJB could not carry industrial areas in Midwest and Northeast– Factory workers feared inflation– McKinley wins

Populist Legacy• 1900- gold in S. Africa, Yukon,

& Alaska return nation to gold standard

• Spirit of calling the government to help the little man in the face of growing problems around him (reforms)

• Sets the stage for independent 3rd parties to become involved in politics