Post-Civil War US: South, West, & Women's Movements

Post-Civil War Southern states.
Attempted industrialization, but largely remained an agricultural society by choice due to cultural values.
Vestiges of rural identity endure, contrasting with urban centers.

Ida B. Wells: Black journalist, fearlessly crusaded against lynching with writings like Southern Horrors.
Lynchings: Vigilante mobs executing accused individuals (often black men) without judicial process.
Purpose: Performative acts to assert white dominance and racial hierarchy, not solely for specific crimes.
Characteristics: Often brutal, public spectacles (carnival-like atmosphere), documented via postcards.
Accusations: Primarily black men accused of raping white women; Wells challenged narratives, suggesting consensual relationships deemed as rape to maintain racial control.
Occurred most frequently in former Confederate states, but also elsewhere.
Peaked in the $1890s$ and early $1900s$ , continued into the $1950s$ .

Defining "The West": Primarily west of the Mississippi River in this context, moving westward over time.
Existing Populations: Native American tribes, Mexican, and Russian immigrants already occupied these lands.
Diversity of Tribes: Vast cultural, linguistic, and lifestyle differences (e.g., agricultural, nomadic).
Matrilineal Societies: Family heritage traced through the mother; men often joined the woman's family upon marriage.
Reciprocity: A core cultural concept; maintained a balanced, give-and-take relationship with the environment.
- Natives used the land (hunting, farming, burning prairies) with spiritual reverence and mindfulness of balance.
- Contrasted with Western view of human dominance over nature, land as property.

"Indian Problem": U.S. policy aimed to move or control Native Americans for land acquisition.
Reservation Policy: Confined tribes to specific land chunks, allowing internal sovereignty but limiting traditional movements.
Assimilation Policy: Advocated converting natives into American citizens.
- Helen Hunt Jackson's A Century of Dishonor ( $1881$ ): Criticized U.S. treatment of natives, advocated for citizenship as a solution.
- Indian Boarding Schools: Forced assimilation by stripping native children of language, culture, and dress.
Dawes Act ( $1887$ ): Aimed to end the reservation system by allotting individual plots of land ( $80$ acres for farmers, $160$ for ranchers) to Native American heads of households.
- Often disrespected matrilineal structures by assuming male heads of household.
- Result: Large-scale land loss for Native Americans as leftover land was opened to others, and many allottees lost property due to lack of tools or inability to farm.

Challenges: Inter-tribal rivalries and vast distances hindered coordinated resistance.
Sioux Resistance: Notable for effective, albeit temporary, resistance.
- Battle of Little Bighorn ( $1876$ ) / Custer's Last Stand: Sioux (led by Sitting Bull) annihilated Custer's cavalry ( $5,000$ warriors vs. $200$ soldiers).
  - Context: Custer sent to move Sioux from Black Hills due to gold discovery.
  - Significance: Fuelled anti-Indian sentiment in the East, portraying natives as savage.
- Ghost Dance: Spiritual movement giving hope for a return to traditional ways without white presence.
  - U.S. government viewed it as rebellion, leading to military intervention.
- Wounded Knee Massacre ( $1890$ ): U.S. cavalry killed hundreds of Sioux, including women and children, attempting to suppress the Ghost Dance and resistance.
  - Marked the end of major Plains Indian armed resistance.

Transcontinental Railroad (completed $1869$ ): Built by Irish/German (westward) and Chinese (eastward) immigrants, connecting East and West.
- Facilitated greater American settlement and economic integration.
- Railroad companies received land grants, which they sold for profit, influencing town development.
Mythology vs. Reality of the West: Depicted as lawless and romanticized (gunfights, cowboys).
- Reality: Hard work, cowboys were diverse (Mexican, Native American, African American).
- Example: "Deadwood Dick" (Nat Love, a black cowboy) was often whitewashed in popular literature, creating a false image.

Participants: Primarily middle-class white women in Northeast/Midwest.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony: Key leaders advocating for women's rights.
- Origins: Stanton sparked by exclusion at an abolitionist conference in London ( $1840s$ ).
- Post-Civil War: Outraged by the 15th Amendment (black male suffrage) while women were denied the vote, viewing it as a greater injustice than slavery.
- Movement Split ( $1869$ ): Stanton/Anthony formed NAWSA (National Woman Suffrage Association) advocating for immediate, full equality. Another group (Lucy Stone) pursued gradual change.
Strategic Debate: Radical, immediate change vs. incremental progress defined the movement.

Frances Willard & WCTU (Woman's Christian Temperance Union):
- Focused on temperance, viewing male alcoholism as detrimental to families.
- Used public shaming and moral appeals; less direct lobbying for legislative change.
- Gender Roles: Pushed social boundaries (public protest) while maintaining expected female roles (addressing moral, not overtly political, issues).

Victorianism: Societal rules and norms (late $1800s$ ) associated with Queen Victoria, impacting middle-class behavior.
Bicycles ( $1890s$ ): Popular fad, but women's attire (dresses vs. bloomers) sparked controversy.
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