Lecture Notes: The Last West, Gilded Age, and Native American Policy
The course content synthesizes information from lectures and the required textbook, American History. Students should prioritize lecture material, cross-referencing with the textbook for details. The first exam will cover the initial four lectures and the first four chapters of the book.
Course Structure, Timeline, and Key Concepts
The first section of the course spans from the end of the Civil War (year ) to the turn of the 20th century (around ).
The era is termed the Gilded Age, characterized by:
Surface appearances of rapid progress, marked by industrialization, manufacturing growth, and intercontinental railroad expansion.
Beneath this facade, significant underlying problems existed, such as poor wages for workers, lack of profit sharing, and negative labor conditions.
The term “Gilded Age” reflects an outward show of wealth and progress that concealed inner social and economic issues.
The lecture emphasizes a historical shift from an agrarian society to a manufacturing economy, a transition significantly aided by mining wealth and the expansion of railways.
The “Last West” concept refers to the final major land expansion in North America, encompassing the region roughly from the Missouri River to the Pacific, including the Great Plains, the Southwest, and the Northwest.
The Great Plains region is a vast, open prairie landscape with relatively sparse trees and few mountains east of the Rockies. It is the ancestral homeland of many Plains Native Americans.
The Great Plains dimension spans approximately east-west and over north-south.
The term “last West” describes this land space as it was settled and transformed by the end of the 19th century.
Great Plains Indians are characterized as nomadic, horse-using hunters who lived in tribes and practiced communal lifestyles.
Southwest Native American groups include the Hopi, Zuni, and Pueblo peoples, who exhibited both agricultural and sometimes nomadic elements in their lifestyles.
The Northwest Native American groups primarily engaged in fishing and hunting, with Chief Joseph being a notable leader. The region’s population was heavily reliant on a fishing culture.
Post-European contact population estimates in the Last West region ranged roughly from to Native Americans, a dramatic decline from pre-contact levels due to disease, conflict, and displacement.
The horse, introduced by the Spanish, played a transformative role for Plains Indians, enhancing their hunting capabilities and mobility.
The buffalo (bison) was central to Plains life; every part of the animal was utilized for meat, hides, teepees, clothing, tools, fertilizers, and fuel for fires. The decimation of the buffalo directly impacted Plains Indian livelihoods.
Indian policy involved assimilation or migration: Native Americans were pressured to assimilate into American society or relocate further west to undeveloped lands.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), established in the 1820s, is the federal government agency responsible for managing Native American affairs.
The BIA’s 19th-century history is marked by corruption, often resulting in land being taken without fair compensation.
The Reservation system, beginning around the mid-19th century (circa ), confined tribes to designated lands; leaving these reservations was considered an act of hostility.
Native American Groups and Key Concepts by Region
Great Plains Indians:
Characterized as nomadic hunters, with warfare facilitated by horses.
Major tribes include the Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, and Comanche; the Sioux and Cheyenne are particularly emphasized for exams.
Notable chiefs include Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
Their environment fostered mobility, leading to winter migration south and summer migration north.
Southwest Native Americans:
Groups include the Hopi, Zuni, and Pueblo peoples.
Some groups practiced nomadism, while others settled in farming communities.
Northwest Native Americans:
Economies were primarily centered on fishing and hunting.
Chief Joseph is a notable leader from this region.
Demographic and cultural points:
Population estimates for Native Americans in the Last West post-Civil War period were between .
The Great Plains economy was based on buffalo and horses, while Puebloan and other Southwest cultures integrated farming and village life.
The Northwest region was characterized by fishing and river-based economies.
Major Conflicts and Milestones in Native American-Western Relations
1862: Sioux War on the Minnesota frontier during the Civil War, where U.S. troops were deployed to suppress hostilities affecting both white settlers and Native Americans.
1864: Sand Creek Massacre (Colorado Territory) – Colonel John Chivington’s militia attacked a peaceful Cheyenne encampment, resulting in the killing of many women and children. This event is a defining atrocity in U.S.–Native American relations.
1876: Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer’s Last Stand) – General George Armstrong Custer’s command of fewer than U.S. troops attacked a Sioux-Cheyenne group estimated at approximately warriors; all of Custer’s command were killed. This battle is viewed as a turning point in public opinion and national policy toward Native Americans.
1890: Wounded Knee Massacre – The U.S. Cavalry attacked Native Americans led by Chief Bigfoot, resulting in the killing of approximately Native Americans, including many women. It stands as a tragic symbol of the final major military engagements of the Indian Wars.
After 1860s-1870s: U.S. policy shifted toward more aggressive suppression of Native resistance and stricter enforcement of assimilation and land seizure.
Ghost Dance movement (late 1880s) and peyote usage:
Native Americans practiced the Ghost Dance as a ritual expressing hope for revival and the return of ancestral lands.
U.S. forces perceived the movement as a potential threat, which contributed to the Wounded Knee crackdown.
Reformers and Literature on Native American Policy
Helen Hunt Jackson (a New England reformer):
Authored A Century of Dishonor, a critical historical account documenting repeated broken treaties and failed policies toward Native Americans.
Her work was instrumental in drawing attention to the need for reform in U.S. government policy toward Native peoples.
A Century of Dishonor (1881 edition and subsequent reprints) is considered a foundational critique of federal Indian policy.
The Dawes Act of 1887 (General Allotment Act):
Aim: To dismantle tribal lands and facilitate the assimilation of Native Americans into landownership and farming.
Policy provisions:
Indian lands could be allotted as parcels to individual families.
These parcels could eventually be owned by Native Americans as private property.
Native American families were required to reside on and cultivate the allotted land for years before formal ownership could be claimed.
The Act aimed to replace tribal allegiance and collective landholding with private land ownership, integrating Native Americans into American landowning society.
Outcomes: The Act often led to the misallocation of land to speculators rather than Native American families; many parcels were sold or lost to non-Native buyers.
Goal: The Dawes Act sought the abandonment of tribal leadership and allegiance over an extended period from the 1880s into the 1920s.
Indian Boarding Schools (Dawes Act era): Native American children were removed from their families and sent to eastern Indian Schools for assimilation, receiving English language instruction and experiencing suppression of their native languages and cultures.
The Dawes Act is characterized as a policy intended to dismantle tribal lands and facilitate the assimilation of Native Americans into landownership and farming, ultimately seeking the abandonment of tribal leadership and allegiance over an extended period from the 1880s into the 1920s.