USH 3: The Wild West-----The Gilded Age

The end of the 1800s (19th century) and the beginning of the 1900s (20th century)

Known as the turn of the century

Homesteaders

Established farms and miners searched for mineral resources such as gold, silver, copper, and zinc

The US Government promoted westward expansion by:

• Dividing tribal lands into settlement plots to force Indians to assimilate

• Allowing the US Army to wage war against Native Americans

• Using the Reservation System to free up western lands for settlements

The Homestead Act of 1862 and government subsidies for…

Transcontinental railroad encouraged settlement west of the Mississippi River

New immigrants (Scandinavian)

Moved west

Swedes emigrated due to push factors:

• Crop failures

• Religious exile from the Lutheran Church

Central Europeans

Made up the majority of immigrants coming to America between 1870 & 1920

Exodusters

African Americans who left the South due to harsh laws which oppressed them

Buffalo soldiers

African Americans who served in the Army and helped protect settlers moving West against Native American attacks. Jim Crow laws kept whites and blacks segregated

The Pacific Railway Act of 1862

Subsidized the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Government subsidies (loans) paid for railroads

The US Government:

• Attempted to assimilate Native Americans into American culture

• Used the army to push Native Americans westward

  • Forced Native Americans onto Reservations

Native Americans on the Great Plains:

• Found it difficult to hunt

• Dealt with a population increase due to railroads transporting people

• Dealt with controversies over land use

The Battle of Little Bighorn

Where General Custer was killed by the Sioux

The Wounded Knee Massacre

Ended the Ghost Dance Movement. The US Army slaughtered hundreds of Sioux men, women, and children which marked the end of violent Native American resistance to white settlers.

The Federal government supported economic development by using:

• Protective tariffs

• Subsides for railroads

  • Open immigration

The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887

Forced Native Americans children to attend boarding schools to learn English and assimilate. It also redistributed Indian lands from tribal to private ownership to help assimilate Native Americans into the US population

Environmental conservation

Led to the protection of natural resources including wildlife (bison)

Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

Granted automatic citizenship to Native Americans born in the US