The WILD WILD WEST 202

Indian wars

  • Conflcits with us army

  • Economi-corporate expansion

  • Cultural changes to native way

Native american options

  • relocate

  • assimilate

  • fight

Economic wars

  • railroads extremely important

  • needed workers for everything

Trans-continental

  • Pacific railroad act 1862

    • Construction

      • west to east - central pacific

      • central to west - union pacific

    • Completion

      • Connected at promontory point, utah

    • Conquest

      • national market, economy, society

      • brought settlers to west which destroyed natives

Land Rush

  • Homestead act

    • males can claim federal land

    • improve land to own land

    • “Homesteaders”

Cattle ranching

  • ranches drove cattle north to railroad centers

  • cattle trampled native lands

Cowboys

  • white, black, mexican men lead cattle drives

  • poor pay, long hours, extreme weather

  • lifestyle symbolized American freedom

Barbed wire invented by joseph glidden in 1874

  • enclosed ranches

  • protected and increased herds

  • known as the devils rope as it ruined native lifestyle

Mining and lumber booms

  • gold and silver rushes

    • deep shaft corporate mining

    • created boom towns

    • sawmills along pacific coast

Buffalo slaughter

  • millions of bison killed for sport and hides

  • repplaced by cattle

  • wrecked native american societies

Military wars

  • Sioux resistance

    • 1868 treaty sioux reservation

    • black hills gold rush 1874

  • Little bighorn

    • 7th calvalry led by george custer wiped out by sitting bull and crazy horse

    • crazy horse surrendered

    • sitting bull came to reservation

    • beginning of end for natives

Culture Wars

  • end of treaty system 1871

    • had negotiated as if natives were other countrys

    • white settlers demanded more land claiming “reservations were too large”

  • Dawes General Alottment act 1967

    • applied homestead act to natives

American view - turned natives from savagery and raise living standerds

Native view - destroyed lifestyle and denied soverighnty

Native government, laws, and customs replaced by us laws

assimilation and citizenship

  • bureau of indian affairs boarding schools

    • tried to make them white

  • Us gov offered citizenship

  • congress made all indians citizens 1924

Ghost dance to return to natural ways

  • us calvalry tried to disarm lakotas led by chief spotted ellk

  • Led to wounded knee massacre

    • us soldiers killed 150-300 natives

Marked end between us and natives

Population of native americans never recovered due to loss of west

The wild west was fantasy land

  • Rodeos cemented idea of American Cowboy

Wild West shows

  • william buffalo bill and cody pawnee bill

  • traveling shows combined to create extravaganza shows

Native american culture fascinating to everyone

  • was a way for native americans to make a lviing

Westerns lasted for years on TV