Apush unit 6

Adapted from Exploring American Histories, Third Edition

Explain the factors contributing to western settlement.
Explain the effects of western settlement on American Indians living in those lands.
Explain the various ways in which the United States sought to forcibly assimilate American Indians.
Explain American Indian resistance to attempts to assimilate them into the United States.

Migration and Settlement
- Completion of the transcontinental railroad promoted large-scale migration of white settlers to the Great Plains and Far West.
- Military conquest and broken treaties led to the forced relocation of American Indians onto reservations.
- American Indians faced challenges in maintaining cultural identities amid pressures of assimilation policies.

Causation
- Analyze historical linkages between the causes and effects of western settlement.
- Focus on the roles of the federal government and private businesses in promoting settlement and the consequences for American Indians.

The mid-nineteenth-century western frontier was located on the Great Plains.
Prosperity required settlers to cultivate vast stretches of land (approximately 4 square miles, according to John Wesley Powell).
Despite challenges, an influx of settlers moved into the Great Plains.

The federal government played a significant role in facilitating western settlement.
- Legislation provided free or low-cost land to settlers and companies in mining, lumber, and rail industries.
- Subsidies were issued for transporting military supplies and postal services.
- European investment flowed into American mining and ranching ventures.

Illustrates the expansion and settlement facilitated by railroads, highlighting the federal government's land grants to railroads which opened pathways for migration.

Chinese Immigrant Contribution
- Chinese and other immigrant groups significantly contributed to railroad construction, particularly the transcontinental railroad.
Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
- Completed in May 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah. Central Pacific Company recruited many Chinese workers while Union Pacific mainly employed Irish laborers.
Corruption in Railroad Expansion
- The railroad boom led to increased optimism but also to corruption, exemplified by the Credit Mobilier scandal which involved bribery and misuse of government funds.

American Indian civilizations had established societies long before European settlers arrived.
By the Civil War's end, approximately 350,000 American Indians resided west of the Mississippi River, with some tribes forcibly relocated from the East.
The impact of settlers included environmental degradation, introduction of diseases, and conflicts of land ownership concepts between American Indians and settlers.

Initial treaties recognized the autonomy of American Indian nations; however, many settlers ignored this.
- Notable incidents include the Sand Creek Massacre and the Treaty of Medicine Lodge.
- The Lakota Sioux retaliated against the U.S. Army during the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Federal troops generally subjugated American Indian tribes as military aggression increased.

Helen Hunt Jackson's Work
- Jackson's book, A Century of Dishonor, highlighted the mistreatment of American Indians.
- Reformers believed assimilation was the solution, often leading to further oppression rather than protection of heritage.
The Dawes Act (1887)
- Attempted to promote assimilation by allotting individual homesteads to American Indians under threat of losing cultural identity.

Cultural Persistence and Resistance
- Despite pressures, American Indians maintained cultural practices and communicative traditions.
- The Ghost Dance, inspired by Paiute prophet Wovoka, symbolized spiritual renewal and resistance against assimilation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Explain specific causes of conflict between American Indians and settlers, government responses, and forms of resistance.

Explain the impact of industrialization on the West’s economy.
Discuss environmental effects of industrialization.
Explore similarities and differences among various peoples in the West, including their industrial experiences.

Economic opportunities in mining, lumber, ranching, and farming attracted migrants despite geographical obstacles.

Compare experiences of diverse groups in the West as they adapted to industrial realities, noting transitions from pioneers and farmers to wage workers for corporations.

The discovery of precious metals like gold (Comstock Lode) catalyzed a mining frenzy, predominantly involving foreign-born laborers who soon organized unions due to perilous working conditions.

Expansion of ranching utilized large-scale operations facilitated by railroads aiming at national beef markets, although economic fluctuations forced many ranchers into bankruptcy due to factors such as overproduction.

Women played crucial roles in various sectors including domestic service, but faced challenges and discrimination in high-paying jobs.

Farm families struggled against plummeting crop prices and rates of bankruptcy as reliance on cash crops became problematic.

Diverse groups faced unique challenges and hostilities, leading to cultural clashes and significant immigration legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.