The American Yawp Chapter 17: The West

The West

western United States

The Allure of Land

main reason new migrants traveled west

The Homestead Act

1862 - Provided free land in the West to anyone willing to settle there and develop it. Encouraged westward migration.

Independent Indians

Jefferson's wish for Native Americans- he wanted them to live isolated in the West before expansion began

The Dakota War (Sioux Uprising)

Clash between Dakota Sioux and Minnesota white settlers- new farms caused starvation and enrages Sioux, leading to war. Indian resistance eventually lost after many ambushes on the settlers.

The Sand Creek Massacre

1864 incident in which Colorado militia killed a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians- caused by settlers, in search of gold, intruding in Indian land

The Long Walk & The Treaty of Bosque Redondo

-Forced removal (ethnic cleansing effort) of Navajo people to the Bosque Redondo reservation

-Treaty signed by Navajo allowing them to return to their land after General Sherman's visit to the reservation (believed it wasn't cost-effective)

Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce

Led a group of Indians on a trek trying to escape to Canada, eventually surrendered: "I will fight no more forever." group were forced to move to a reservation in OK

Railroads in the West

helped connect the continent, created jobs and new industries, contribute to the rise of big buisness for people and goods to be transported easily

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad connecting the west and east coasts of the continental US

The Rise of Chicago

became the most important city in the West, hub for slaughter of cattle brought from TX

The Cattle Drives

This refers to the forced migration of massive numbers of cattle to the railroads where they could be shipped to the East.

Dawes Act

1887 law that distributed reservation land to individual Native American owners- an effort to civilize Natives

The Ghost Dance

a religious dance of Natives looking for communication with the dead to solve problems like droughts, buffalo hunting and white settlers

Wounded Knee

the massacre by U.S. soldiers of 300 unarmed Native Americans at Wounded Knee Creek, SD- ended Native resistance

The West in Pop Culture

cowboys, rodeos, stories of train robbers & indians, etc.

Wild West Shows

traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that used music, dance, comedy, trained animals, and more to tell romanticized stories of the Wild West

Buffalo Bill

United States showman famous for his Wild West Show (1846-1917)

Annie Oakley

United States sharpshooter who was featured in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (1860-1926)

Homestead Act

Congressional law passed in 1862 which permitted male citizens to lay claim to 160-acre parcels of land in the West in the expectation that they would "improve" the land and pave the way for American settlement.

The Dakota War (Sioux Uprising)

Military engagement in 1862 between the Dakota Sioux and the US military over the growing encroachment of American settlers into Sioux hunting territory. Resulted in the removal of the Dakota Sioux to smaller reservations further west, as well as the deaths of hundreds of Native people including women and children.

Sand Creek Massacre

Ruthless massacre of two hundred Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women, and children in 1864 under the direction of US Army Colonel John Chivington. This massacre was part of a series of military engagements collectively known as the Colorado War, and reflected the growing antagonisms between Native peoples and US citizens as more white immigrants flooded into the West.

Chief Joseph

Leader of a branch of the Nez Percé who refused to be moved to a reservation and led his people on a thousand mile trek to escape to Canada. Though they ultimately failed, the flight of the Nez Percé captured the attention of the nation.

The Transcontinental Railroad

The largest economic enterprise of the West, it connected the West Coast with the rail networks of the eastern United States and, with its completion in 1869, made possible the integration of western resources and eastern capital.

The Dawes Act

Passed by Congress in 1887, this act divided Native American reservations into individual family parcels and, although designed to "uplift" Native peoples, resulted in the overthrow of traditional practices and ultimately revoked American Indian land sovereignty.

Wounded Knee

1890 massacre of as many as 300 Lakota Sioux men, women, and children by the US Army in South Dakota. It is considered the end of widespread resistance of American Indians in the West, as well as the apex of violence perpetrated by the federal government to Native peoples.

Wild West Shows

One of the most popular forms of entertainment at the turn of the century, these events featured stock "characters" of the West (cowboys, Indians, etc) and brought men like William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody to national prominence. They reflected the popularity of the mythical (and misrepresented) West to Americans.

Annie Oakley

Female sharpshooter recruited to Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in an effort to attract female audiences. Female performers like her potentially challenged Victorian gender roles but were careful to maintain their feminine identity.

The Frontier Thesis

Theory of American development that argued that the central facets of American character—especially its democratic tendencies—were forged through the long process of civilizing the frontier. Echoed the racist and ethnocentric views of white Americans by either erasing nonwhite peoples from history or implicitly suggesting that Anglo-Saxon civilization would necessarily triumph over the culture of "inferior" peoples.