Chapter 19 - The Settlement of the West
Archduke Maximilian
1863 - After being sent to Mexico, he antagonized Mexicans
Violated the Monroe Doctrine
Treaty of Washington
1871
Britain was granted $15.5 mil for Civil War damages
During international arbitration, non-biased nations judged conflicts
The last dispute between the US + UK
Alaska
Russia forming colonies in Alaska violated the Monroe Doctrine
1867 - US bought Alaska for $7.2 mil (Seward’s Folly)
Provided the US with vast mineral wealth
Indian Bureau
Used to manage the Native Americans
Christianized + assimilated Native Americans into US society
Corrupt agents benefitted from supplies
Reservation System
Federal gov’t set aside land for Native Americans
The crumbs of infertile land that weren’t settled by Americans
Native Americans forced to stay on allotted lands
Sioux Rebellion
1862
Dakota Sioux uprising against unfair Indian Bureau agents
Wide resistance + sporadic fighting
Hanged + separated to new reservations
Sand Creek Massacre
1864
John Chivington killed 200 Cheyenne Native Americans
Destroyed the Cheyenne power structure
Crazy Horse
Lakota Sioux chief
Tried to maintain long-standing Sioux traditions
Alliance between the Sioux + Cheyenne
Helped Sitting Bull defeat Custer
Geronimo
Apache chief
Resisted the Mexican + US gov’t
Led raids + escaped capture
Sitting Bull
Dakota Sioux medicine man + chief
Huge role at the Battle of Little Big Horn
Famous on Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show
Led the famous Native American ghost dances
George Armstrong Custer
Served on the Seventh Cavalry
Fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn
Miscalculated the Sioux + Cheyenne populations
Resulted in him being isolated + killed by Native Americans Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull
Battle of Little Big Horn
1876
Custer divided forces + didn’t properly scout the area
Resulted in a Native American victory
Proved Native Americans are savages + refuse to cooperate
Battle of Wounded Knee
The Dakota Sioux fought against the US Army
The Sioux were opposed to the Dawes Act
Buffalo/Bison
Provided sustenance for the Native Americans
White hunters killed them for hides
After almost hunting the buffalo to extinction, Native Americans were no longer able to rely on them
A Century of Dishonor
1881 - Written by Helen Hunt Jackson
Protested against the unfair treatment of Native Americans
Nez Perce War
Chief Joseph led 700 Native Americans to Canada
Lobbied Congress to have Native Americans removed from reservations and back on their own land
Dawes Severalty Act
1887
Assimilated Native Americans
Grant 160 acres to Native American families if they agreed to assimilate into the US population
Increased Native American resistance
Homestead Act
Passed by Congress in 1862
Encouraged settlement
White families were given 160 acres to work and settle
Land eventually sold to companies + land speculators
Frontier Thesis
1893 - Written by Frederick Jackson Turner
Believed that western settlement strengthened citizens + democracy
Spreading citizens around the US eased societal tension
Telegraph
1844 - Invented by Samuel F.B. Morse
1861 - Telegraph line reached San Francisco
Resulted in the communication revolution
Western Union Telegraph Company monopoly
Morse code
1866 - Transatlantic cable built between the US + UK
Telephone
1876 - Invented by Alexander Graham Bell
Contributed to the communication revolution
American Telephone and Telegraph Company monopoly
Boosted American economy
Transcontinental Railroad
1862-1869 - Completed at Promontory Point, Utah
Built by immigrants
Reduced travel time + able ship goods & people, helping the US economy
Decimated buffalo herds while building
Texas Longhorns
Free-ranging
Fed on Western Mississippi grasses
Shipped by cowboys to meat-packing plants in Chicago
Chicago
Home to many meat-packing plants
Provided meat to all citizens
The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair revealed the corruption and unsafe conditions inside these plants
Transportation hub
Rapid population growth
BIG PICTURE
1862-1890 - Settled vast lands
White encroachment on Native American land → Violent conflict
Free Western land → Human migration
Communication + transportation revolution
Untapped resources + railroad construction → Economic boom
Archduke Maximilian
1863 - After being sent to Mexico, he antagonized Mexicans
Violated the Monroe Doctrine
Treaty of Washington
1871
Britain was granted $15.5 mil for Civil War damages
During international arbitration, non-biased nations judged conflicts
The last dispute between the US + UK
Alaska
Russia forming colonies in Alaska violated the Monroe Doctrine
1867 - US bought Alaska for $7.2 mil (Seward’s Folly)
Provided the US with vast mineral wealth
Indian Bureau
Used to manage the Native Americans
Christianized + assimilated Native Americans into US society
Corrupt agents benefitted from supplies
Reservation System
Federal gov’t set aside land for Native Americans
The crumbs of infertile land that weren’t settled by Americans
Native Americans forced to stay on allotted lands
Sioux Rebellion
1862
Dakota Sioux uprising against unfair Indian Bureau agents
Wide resistance + sporadic fighting
Hanged + separated to new reservations
Sand Creek Massacre
1864
John Chivington killed 200 Cheyenne Native Americans
Destroyed the Cheyenne power structure
Crazy Horse
Lakota Sioux chief
Tried to maintain long-standing Sioux traditions
Alliance between the Sioux + Cheyenne
Helped Sitting Bull defeat Custer
Geronimo
Apache chief
Resisted the Mexican + US gov’t
Led raids + escaped capture
Sitting Bull
Dakota Sioux medicine man + chief
Huge role at the Battle of Little Big Horn
Famous on Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show
Led the famous Native American ghost dances
George Armstrong Custer
Served on the Seventh Cavalry
Fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn
Miscalculated the Sioux + Cheyenne populations
Resulted in him being isolated + killed by Native Americans Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull
Battle of Little Big Horn
1876
Custer divided forces + didn’t properly scout the area
Resulted in a Native American victory
Proved Native Americans are savages + refuse to cooperate
Battle of Wounded Knee
The Dakota Sioux fought against the US Army
The Sioux were opposed to the Dawes Act
Buffalo/Bison
Provided sustenance for the Native Americans
White hunters killed them for hides
After almost hunting the buffalo to extinction, Native Americans were no longer able to rely on them
A Century of Dishonor
1881 - Written by Helen Hunt Jackson
Protested against the unfair treatment of Native Americans
Nez Perce War
Chief Joseph led 700 Native Americans to Canada
Lobbied Congress to have Native Americans removed from reservations and back on their own land
Dawes Severalty Act
1887
Assimilated Native Americans
Grant 160 acres to Native American families if they agreed to assimilate into the US population
Increased Native American resistance
Homestead Act
Passed by Congress in 1862
Encouraged settlement
White families were given 160 acres to work and settle
Land eventually sold to companies + land speculators
Frontier Thesis
1893 - Written by Frederick Jackson Turner
Believed that western settlement strengthened citizens + democracy
Spreading citizens around the US eased societal tension
Telegraph
1844 - Invented by Samuel F.B. Morse
1861 - Telegraph line reached San Francisco
Resulted in the communication revolution
Western Union Telegraph Company monopoly
Morse code
1866 - Transatlantic cable built between the US + UK
Telephone
1876 - Invented by Alexander Graham Bell
Contributed to the communication revolution
American Telephone and Telegraph Company monopoly
Boosted American economy
Transcontinental Railroad
1862-1869 - Completed at Promontory Point, Utah
Built by immigrants
Reduced travel time + able ship goods & people, helping the US economy
Decimated buffalo herds while building
Texas Longhorns
Free-ranging
Fed on Western Mississippi grasses
Shipped by cowboys to meat-packing plants in Chicago
Chicago
Home to many meat-packing plants
Provided meat to all citizens
The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair revealed the corruption and unsafe conditions inside these plants
Transportation hub
Rapid population growth
BIG PICTURE
1862-1890 - Settled vast lands
White encroachment on Native American land → Violent conflict
Free Western land → Human migration
Communication + transportation revolution
Untapped resources + railroad construction → Economic boom