Conflicts and Conquests - c1876-c1895

What was Dry farming?

• Hardy Webster Campbell

• 1879

• Dry farming aimed to conserve the amount of water trapped in the soil: for example, by ploughing the soil immediately after it rained.

• Agricultural experts promoted dry farming as the best farming method for homesteaders to use in growing wheat.

• Dry farming was the main method responsible for turning the Plains into America’s main wheat- producing regio

What were Wind pumps?

• Daniel Halliday

• Successful wind pumps in the West started with the development of a ‘self-regulating’ windmill: it turned automatically as the wind changed direction. It was invented in 1854, but it took years of development to become widespread.

• High steel towers, efficient gear mechanisms and large steel windmill blades were needed to generate enough power to pump water up from hundreds of metres underground.

• By the 1880s, powerful wind pumps had been developed that did not need constant repairing and oiling. These became widespread across the West

What was Barbed Wire?

• Barbed wire was first introduced in 1874 and became the ideal solution to the problem of the lack of wood for fences.

• However, when it was first introduced it was relatively expensive and broke too easily. Some types had long barbs that wounded cattle.

• By the 1880s, a coating had been applied to the wire to make it stronger, and new techniques had made it much cheaper.

• As well as being used by farmers, the cattle industry used barbed wire to fence off land. Railroads used it to fence off tracks.

What was mechanisation

• Dry Farming needed deep ploughing, so steel blades were used

• Seed drills were used to plant seeds at the right depth

• This made farming more profitable and efficient

What was The 'Great Die Up'?

• Winter of 1886-87

• Harsh temperatures falling as low as -55

• At least 15% open range cattle died

• Those that were left were weak and in poor condition- prices dropped again

• Many cattlemen went bankrupt

What happened as a result of overstocking

• Too many cattle As cattlemen made more money, they bought and bred more cattle.

• Overgrazing- There was too little grass, especially in the 1883 drought.

• Soil erosion- Overstocking put lots of pressure on the soil, damaging it, malign that when the drought arrived in 1883, the grass withered

• Prices dropped- An oversupply of beef meant prices dropped

• Less profit - Lower prices meant less profit. Some cattlemen sold up, others became bankrupt.

• Winter of 1886–87 Freezing temperatures and deep snow meant at least 15% of cattle died.

• More cattlemen went bankrupt

What happened as a result of the end of the Open Range

After the winter of 1886, those cattle ranchers who were still in business moved to smaller ranches with fenced-in pastures.

• Smaller herds were easier to manage and could be brought under shelter in bad winter weather.

• Smaller herds in fenced pastured were easier to guard against cattle rustlers.

• Ranchers brought in high-quality breeds that produced better meat. These animals were kept separate from other breeds so their calves would be high quality, too.

• Smaller numbers of cattle reduced the supply of beef, which helped raise prices for beef again.

• Ranchers now farmed the Aberdeen Angus, instead of the Texas Longhorn, which was better quality

• Higher quality beef could also be sold at higher prices. This meant the cattle industry could start to recover.

• Homesteaders often moved into farm areas that had been used for open-range ranching.

• This also led to demands for surviving cattle ranches to fence their land to stop their animals from eating homestead crops.

How did the lives of cowboys change after 1887

• Many cowboys also lost their lives in the winter of 1886–87, trying to find cattle in the deep snowdrifts of the open range.

• The end of the open range meant changes for cowboys, too.

• Cowboys now had much less adventurous lives: branding, de-horning and dipping cattle, looking after horses and calves, mending barbed wire fences, repairing buildings, inspecting the grass in the fenced-off fields and harvesting the hay used to feed the herd during winter.

• Cowboys lived in bunkhouses, which were often not very comfortable, with leaking roofs, thin walls and beds full of lice.

• There were schedules to keep to and rules to follow, which often included a ban on carrying firearms.

• The smaller ranches only employed a few cowboys, so cowboy numbers dropped

What was the Exoduster Movement?

• By the end of the Civil War in 1865, slavery had been abolished. Black Americans in the southern states were supposed to become socially, politically and economically equal to white people.

• However, many white southerners prevented this. Many former enslaved people continued to face violence and poverty in the South.

• Some migrated to the West in search of a better life. In 1879, a large number migrated to Kansas, and they became known as the ‘Exodusters’

• In 1879 a rumour spread that the Federal government had given the whole state of Kansas to those who had been enslaved – this wasn’t true but it was important in triggering the movement of 40 000 black Americans from the southern states to Kansas and other western state

• Ex-slave Benjamin Singleton

• Promoted Kansas as migration destination for ex slaves - a 'free state.;

• By 1879 40,000 ex slaves had headed to Kansas to settle

What were the consequences of the Exoduster Movement

• Problems with farming

  • Other settlers had already taken the best land.

  • Most Exodusters had no money for setting up farming.

  • Most Exoduster homesteaders found it very difficult to survive.

• Responses to Exodusters

  • Southern white people strongly opposed the migration.

  • White people in Kansas did not think Exodusters should be helped.

  • Kansas governor set up some help for migrants.

• Consequences

  • By 1880, mass migration ended: too many problems

  • By 1880, 43 000 black Americans settled in Kansas.

  • Exodusters typically stayed poorer than white migrants and had fewer rights

What was the Oklahoma Land Rush?

• Indian Territory had different sections for different tribes. In the middle was a section that wasn’t allocated to any one tribe.

• Indian Territory was not open to settlement. The US Army repeatedly had to move white settlers off the middle section.

• Then, in 1889, the US government opened up the middle section for settlement.

• At midday on 22 April 1889, thousands of white settlers rushed over the boundary to claim their 160-acre section: a land rush

• The 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush showed that the idea of separate Indian Territory was completely over, and in 1890 the US government declared that the ‘Indian Frontier’ was officially closed.

• There were seven Oklahoma land rushes in total. The first was in 1889, when 2 million acres were opened for settlement; the last was in 1895, when 88 000 acres opened for settlement.

• The largest Oklahoma Land Rush, the Cherokee Strip Land Rush, was in 1893, when 8 million acres were opened for settlement

Who was Billy the Kid?

• Billy grew up in poverty and was soon in trouble for stealing.

• In 1878, he became involved in a range war (Lincoln County War) between cattle baron John Chisum and smaller ranchers.

• Billy swore revenge when friends were killed.

• Billy’s gang caused chaos across New Mexico – local law officers were also caught up in the range war.

• Only when a new governor appointed a new sheriff, Pat Garrett, could the law be enforced.

• After escaping jail, Billy was tracked down and shot dead by Garrett in 1881.

Who was Pat Garrett?

• Hired by local authorities in New Mexico to bring Billy the Kid to justice

• Shot him dead at Fort Sumner 1881

• Famously said his ‘only choice was to kill the Kid’

Who was Wyatt Earp?

• Eararp first got into law enforcement after he was arrested for fighting in Wichita and then helped the deputy marshal deal with a rowdy bunch of cowboys.

• By 1879, he had moved to the mining town of Tombstone.

• Rich businessmen were fighting for control of the area with ranchers and cowboys led by the Clantons and McLaurys.

• In 1880, the businessmen hired Earp as deputy sheriff to end the fight in their favour.

• Earp and his brothers had a tough way of handling crime.

• Some said they increased lawlessness instead of reducing it.

• Earp’s rivalry with the Clantons and McLaureys led to a famous gunfight at the OK Corral in October 1881.

• After the gunfight, public opinion turned against the Earps. They were considered murderers, and they left Tombstone in 1882

• Wyatt Earp’s career brought attention to the lawlessness in the West.

• It showed how similar lawmen could be to the criminals – Wyatt Earp had been arrested nine times, and many other officers had criminal pasts

What happened at the OK Corral?

• Conflict over resources: Wyatt Earp and his brothers were involved in a war between businessmen and ranchers.

• Aggressive tactics: Earp and his brothers were given roles as lawmen in Tombstone. They became known for aggressive policing, and had several clashes with the Clantons and McLaurys.

• Gunfight at the OK Corral: Earp and his brothers were involved in a shootout with cowboys who supported the Clantons and McLaurys.

• Three cowboys died. Witnesses disagreed on whether it was self-defence or whether the Earps were guilty of murder. A judge found them innocent.

• The feud continues: In the months after the OK Corral, one of Wyatt’s brothers was killed and the other was maimed in the feud.

• Wyatt led a posse that killed three cowboys in return. People began to question Wyatt’s violent policing methods.

What happened leading up to the Johnson County war

• The growth of the cattle industry in Wyoming

  • Only 9000 US citizens lived in Wyoming Territory in the early 1870s.

  • Most of the land was public.

  • Huge cattle ranches developed, backed by foreign investment.

  • A few very rich men owned the cattle ranches. They controlled Wyoming.

• The impact of the winter of 1886–87

  • The harsh winter caused terrible losses to the open-range herds in Wyoming.

  • The power and influence of the big ranchers was shaken, some went bankrupt.

  • Smaller ranches did better as they could rescue more of the cattle.

  • The big ranchers believed the smaller ranchers stole cattle from them.

• Tensions between big and small ranchers

  • The population of Wyoming increased as more homesteaders and small ranchers moved there.

  • By 1884, 10 000 acres had been homesteaded. Their barbed wire fences were a problem for the big ranches

  • The newcomers disliked the way the big ranchers would not share political power.

  • In Johnson County, juries never convicted people accused of rustling big ranch cattle.

• The killing of Ella Watson and Jim Averill

  • Watson and Averill were homesteaders. Their 640 acre claim was to public land that rancher Albert Bothwell used for his cattle.

  • Jim Averill wrote rude letters about Bothwell to the local newspaper.

  • Ella Watson obtained a small herd of cows.

  • Bothwell accused her of rustling his cows.

  • Bothwell and his men hanged Watson and Averill and, soon after, took back the land.

What happened in the Johnson County War 1892?

• As a result of the killing of Ella Watson and Jim Averill, and three more murders, the small ranchers announced they would hold a spring round up of cattle earlier than the round up by the WSGA (Wyoming Stock Growers Association): the big ranchers.

• WSGA members were sure the small ranchers would use this round up to steal more cattle from them.

• The WSGA hired 22 gunmen from Texas to ‘invade’ Johnson County and kill 70 suspected rustlers.

• They raised $100 000: most of it would be used to pay for legal costs after the invasion.

• The invasion failed. The ‘invaders’ got held up in a shoot-out with Nate Champion.

• Word reached Sheriff Angus of Johnson County, and residents of the county’s main town, Buffalo.

• The invaders were surrounded and arrested

Who were the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA)?

Organisation used by the big ranchers during the Johnson County War to hire 22 gunmen to kill suspected rustlers

What happened as a consequence of the range wars

• The WSGA’s $100 000 was used to hire the best Chicago lawyers.

• The lawyers got the trial moved to Cheyenne. Juries here favoured the WSGA.

• The WSGA lawyers delayed the trial until Johnson County could no longer afford to keep the prisoners in jail.

• The state government, full of WSGA supporters, refused to help with the costs of the trial. The ‘invaders’ were set free

What happened after the OK corral and the range wars to establish law and order

By c1895, the expansion of the railroads, in conjunction with development of the telegraph, had made it easier for marshals to enforce laws and maintain links with the federal government resulting in a decrease in lawlessness.

What happened leading up the Battle of Little Big Horn

• In the second Fort Laramie Treaty (1868), the Sioux were given a large reservation in South Dakota and could roam freely in the Black Hills (sacred for the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Sioux).

• White people were not allowed to settle there or prospect for gold.

• As the Northern Pacific Railroad got closer to Sioux and, General George Custer led cavalrymen to protect the railroad builders and look for gold. He found it!

• Prospectors staked their claims to the land. The US government offered the Sioux $6 million for the Black Hills or $400 000 a year for the mineral rights.

• They refused both offers and many bands left the Sioux reservation.

• In December 1875, the Sioux were given 60 days to return to their reservation or be attacked.

• There was deep snow and it was impossible to travel.

• By spring, over 7000 Indigenous tribe members were ready for war.

What happened at the Little Big Horn in 1876?

• 1876 battle where the Sioux Nation defeated General

• Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and their people defeated General Crook at Rosebud River on 17 June 1876. They then travelled west towards Little Big Horn River.

• Custer and 600 cavalrymen of the US army

• On 25 June 1876, Custer attacked the Indigenous warriors at the Little Big Horn. Custer and his men were badly defeated – 225 men died and many were stripped, disfigured and scalped

• Pyrrhic victory - led to further repression.

In what way was Custer responsible for his army’s defeat

Some blame Custer for the army’s defeat at the Battle of the Little Big Horn because:

• He should have waited for back-up (but if the tribes had spotted them, then he might have had no choice but to attack)

• He only had 600 men and split them to attack

• This meant they were heavily outnumbered and easily overcome (defeated).

Explain the Conflict over the Black Hills

Prospectors headed to the Black Hills in pursuit of Gold
This broke the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty
Led to Battle of the Little Bighorn

Who was Crazy Horse?

Indian chief who led the attack at the Little Bighorn

What happened as a consequence of the Battle of Little Big Horn

• The massacre of General Custer and his men shocked and appalled most white Americans.

• Beforehand, public opinion favoured trying to reach agreement with Indigenous peoples.

• Afterwards, many white people wanted to destroy them, or at least their ways of life.

• In the short term the Battle of the Little Big Horn was a huge failure for the US Army. However, because of the way in which they were defeated, some historians argue that it was actually a long-term success because the defeat led to:

• two forts being built and 2500 army reinforcements sent west

• the pursuit of the Cheyenne and Sioux until most were in their reservations

• the capture of Crazy Horse, who was later killed trying to escape

• Sitting Bull moving his tribes to Canada; however, food shortages forced his return and surrender in 1881

• the Sioux being forced to sell the Black Hills and other land, give up their weapons and horses, and live under military rule.

• These outcomes made it harder for the Sioux to continue their resistance.

What happened at Wounded Knee in 1890?

• Snow and pneumonia slowed Big Foot’s band down and the army caught them.

• They were taken to Wounded Knee Creek where the army began to disarm them.

• The tribes started dancing and shooting broke out. After ten minutes, 250 tribe members (men, women and children) and 25 soldiers were dead.

• The massacre was a significant setback in Indigenous resistance.

What was the Ghost Dance?

• Started by Wovoka

• In 1890, Sioux rations were cut and a drought meant their crops failed.

• An Indigenous American had a vision that if they all kept dancing, the Great Spirit would bring back the dead and a great flood would carry white people away.

• More and more Indigenous Americans on reservations began to dance, which worried the Indigenous agents and white settlers.

• The army moved in to stop the dancing.

• Sitting Bull was killed when Sioux police tried to arrest him in case he led a new rebellion against the US control of his people.

• His followers fled south to join the band of Big Foot, who had also fled when the army moved in

What were the consequences of the Wounded Knee Massacre

• The last clash between the Sioux and the US Army.

• The massacre confirmed white views about the need to exterminate ‘hostile’ Indigenous Americans. White people thought it was justified.

• The end of the Ghost Dance: it had upset and worried white Americans, who saw it as a build up to trouble.

• The end to Sioux bands resisting Army control.

• Wounded Knee became a key symbol of oppression in the later fight for Indigenous Americans’ civil rights.

• The end of the 'Indian Frontier': nowhere within the USA now belonged to any other people or nation.
  

Who was Buffalo Bill

• William Cody was employed by the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company to clear buffalo from the tracks and supply workers with meat.

• He claimed to have killed about 4280 buffalo between 1867 and 1868 – hence his nickname.

How much did the Buffalo decline in numbers

• In 1840 there were around 13 million buffalo on the Great Plains.

• By 1885 just 200 survived. Buffalo provided Indigenous tribes with almost all they needed to survive.

• Their destruction meant the destruction of Indigenous ways of life

What happened to exterminate the buffalo?

• Their habitat was crossed by railroads. Railroad companies used hunters to kill them to feed construction workers.

• They were killed by tourists. Special excursion trains brought people onto the Plains to hunt them for sport.

• Their hides were made into quality leather goods. White hunters earned good money supplying them.

• The grassland they fed on was destroyed or eaten by other animals when settlers built houses, towns, trails and railroads.

• They also caught diseases spread by the settlers’ cattle and horses.

Why were the Buffalo destroyed

Some people suspected that the government encouraged the destruction of buffalo to control the Indigenous peoples of the Plains (Plains Indians).

• Early on, tribes could leave reservations to hunt, but this was banned in the late 1860s to encourage Indigenous peoples to live like white people

• Neither the government nor the army, did anything to stop the destruction. In fact, they seem to have encouraged it.

• White Americans enjoyed buffalo hunting and the wealth that hides brought them.

• Destroying the buffalo meant Indigenous peoples were less likely to protest about loss of their nomadic lifestyle.

How the Indigenous people's way of life was destroyed.

Forced onto reservations
1883 special courts took the chief's powers.
Children sent to schools off the reservations.
Henry Pratt "Kill the Indian to save the man".
Could no longer live a nomadic lifestyle or hunt the buffalo
Dependent on the government for food and clothing

What was life like on the reservations

Reservations cut down Indigenous lands into scraps of territory. Different methods were used to destroy the identities of Indigenous peoples of the Plains (Plains Indians), with the aim that they would stop resisting the spread of ‘civilisation’.

• Reservation land- Reservations were created on land that was least wanted by white Americans. It was not fertile, didn’t contain minerals and would make survival difficult.

• Indigenous agents- The government appointed Indigenous agents to look after the reservations, but they were often corrupt. Money or rations intended for the Indigenous Americans often disappeared.

• Living conditions- Rations were poor and crops often failed. Medical care was very poor. Diseases such as measles and flu were common.

• Many Indigenous Americans living on reservations died from them.

• Indian Agency Police- Some Indigenous Americans joined this force to control reservations. In return, they had better food, clothing and shelter than others on the reservation

What changes happened as a result of reservations

• Tribal chiefs lost their power- The government slowly removed the ability of chiefs to influence and guide their bands and tribes.

  • 1871: chiefs no longer signed treaties.

  • Early 1880s: chiefs no longer looked after reservations, councils did.

  • 1883: Indigenous Americans were judged and punished in special courts.

  • These were abolished in 1885 and replaced with US federal law courts.

• Indigenous’ beliefs were banned- Putting an end to feasts, dances and ceremonies reduced the power of medicine men, who were an important part of tribal life.

• Christian missionaries were sent in to ‘civilise’ the Indigenous Americans

• Indigenous peoples were not allowed to hunt- This affected their whole social structure and removed men’s traditional role. It also affected their clothing and lifestyle.

• Indigenous peoples were de-skilled- They were excellent horsemen, hunters and warriors. However, they had no horses on reservations, so they could not hunt buffalo or fight.

• Some Indigenous peoples refused to learn ‘white’ skills such as ploughing, sowing and reaping.

• Indigenous children were taught white American values-They were sent to schools where they were punished for using their own language and respecting their culture.

• They no longer fitted in with their families, but they weren’t accepted by the white people, either

What were government attitudes during the 1880s

The reservation system had been designed to help Indigenous peoples of the Plains (Plains Indians) assimilate into white America, as well as to prevent them from getting in the way of the white takeover of the West. However, by the 1880s, the reservation system was seen as encouraging Indigenous Americans to depend on government handouts.

• Pressure from white Americans wanting Indigenous land – for minerals and farming.

• Indigenous Americans should be protected from white Americans:

  • protected land

  • treaties

  • government support.

• Pressure from white people who thought Indigenous Americans were being given too much help

• Indigenous Americans should assimilate into white America:

  • become farmers

  • become Christians

  • settle in one place

What was the Dawes Act of 1887?

• Each Indigenous American family was allotted a 160-acre share of reservation land: a homestead plot.

• 80 acres were allotted to single Indigenous Americans; 40 acres to orphans under 18.

• Indigenous Americans who took their allotment and left the reservation could then become American citizens.

• Indigenous Americans could not sell their land allotments for 25 years.

• All the reservation land left over after the allotments could be sold to white Americans.

What did the Dawes Act aim to do

• Encourage individual Indigenous Americans to assimilate and become US citizens.

• Reduce the influence of chiefs and the tribal council.

• Reduce the cost of running the reservation system for the US government

• Encourage individualism instead of tribal identity.

• Encourage Indigenous American families to farm for themselves, not rely on the tribe.

• Free up more land for white settlers

What were the consequences of the Dawes Act

• The Act failed to improve conditions for Indigenous Americans.

• By 1890, Indigenous Americans had lost half the lands they had had in 1887 to white people.

• Indigenous Americans who took up allotments were not able to farm successfully: the land was too poor and they didn’t have enough land for the dry conditions.

• Most Indigenous Americans sold their land as soon as they could, and ended up landless.

• Many Indigenous Americans were cheated into selling their land.

What happened to close the so-called 'Indian Frontier'?

In 1890, the US census office, part of the US government, declared that there was no longer a frontier line between settled
and and ‘wilderness’ (Indigenous lands). The USA had complete control of the West.