Chapter 17

COLLEGE PHYSICS Chapter

Introduction

  • Title: Go West Young Man!

  • Time Frame: Westward Expansion, 1840-1900

  • Context: U.S. History

Manifest Destiny

  • Definition: A phrase coined by magazine editor John O’Sullivan in 1845. It describes the belief and justification for westward expansion in the United States.

  • Support: Federal government policies endorsed this expansion and settlement.

  • Scope: Territorial expansion also implied political and cultural expansion, with a prevailing assumption that the West was unoccupied.

Western Mythologies

  • Themes of Western Culture:

    • Rugged individualism

    • Masculinity

    • The archetype of Cowboys and Indians

    • Suggestion of Lawlessness, epitomized by John Wayne's character in "Rio Bravo" (1959).

Migration West

  • Demographics Pre-Civil War: White Americans moved in small numbers.

  • Post-Civil War Migration: Massive migrations began in the 1860s, significantly stimulated by government support.

  • Statistics: By 1900, one-third of Americans lived west of the Mississippi River.

  • Cultural Impact: The West became a vital part of American identity, associated with figures like “Wild Bill” Hickok and “Buffalo Bill” Cody.

Trajectories of Migration

  • Trails: Major trails included:

    • Oregon Trail

    • Santa Fe Trail

    • Mormon Trail

    • California Trail

  • Map Information: The existing maps illustrated routes and settlements during this period, signaling a strategic expansion westward.

Government Aid for Settlement

  • Land Surveys: Federal surveyors mapped land for grants and sales to settlers.

  • Treaties with Native Americans: Frequently involved land concessions.

  • Military Support: Army forts built to protect settlers also evolved into trade hubs.

  • Buffalo Soldiers: The first peacetime all-Black regiments in U.S. army (established 1866) offered protection to settlers from Native American attacks, also serving as early national park rangers.

Legislative Acts Supporting Expansion

  • Homestead Act (1862):

    • Adults were eligible for 160 acres of federal land, contingent on improvements made.

    • 270 million acres were transferred to citizens.

  • Pacific Railway Act (1862):

    • Facilitated the construction of Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, with land grants of 200 ft on either side of tracks laid and loans to railroad companies.

Who Migrated West?

  • Social Class:

    • 1840s-1860s: Mostly moderately wealthy individuals.

    • 1865-1900: Shift to modest means and poor populations.

  • Demographics by Race/Origin:

    • 1840s-1860s: Predominantly white U.S. citizens.

    • 1865-1900: Increased presence of immigrants and African Americans, who constituted 45 percent of North Dakota's population in 1890.

  • Gender Distribution: Predominantly male, with women constituting about 1/4 of this demographic.

Making a Living in the West

  • **Common Occupations:

    • Farming (the most prevalent)

    • Bison hunting

    • Cattle driving and ranching

    • Prospecting and mining.

Homesteaders

  • Characteristics: Also known as sodbusters, primarily engaged in farming and ranching.

  • Crops Raised: Wheat, corn, and livestock such as cattle and pigs.

  • Government Assistance: Acquired land that was often free or inexpensive but subsequently faced hardships with loans and freight rates.

  • Debt Issues: Many fell into debt due to low crop prices and reliance on women's labor in homes and farms for economic survival.

Living Conditions for New Settlers

  • Sod Houses: Common structures due to the scarcity of lumber; constructed from mud, which made them vulnerable to the elements and pests, challenging settlers’ lives.

Mining Rushes

  • Gold and Silver Rushes: Key events included:

    • California Gold Rush (1849)

    • Colorado Gold Rush (1858)

    • Nevada's Comstock Lode (1859).

  • Business Evolution: Initially involved individual prospectors, but evolved into big business requiring substantial investment, leading to the employment of miners in depths requiring greater resources.

Boomtowns to Ghost Towns

  • Economic Cycle: Areas would flourish when mining yielded riches but would decline as resources were exhausted, evident in places like Bodie, California.

    • Bodie had a peak population of 8,000 and 2,000 structures between 1877-1881.

Impact on Bison Populations

  • Bison Hunts: Provided materials for industrial needs but drastically reduced bison numbers from an estimated 10 million in 1850 to a few hundred by 1880, altering the Plains Indians' way of life.

Cattle Industry

  • Cattle Driving: Predominant in the 1860s and 1870s; cattle herding from Texas to rail stockyards along the Chisholm Trail included over 40,000 cowboys, a third of whom were African American or Hispanic.

  • Ranching Developments: The invention of barbed wire in 1873 altered cattle driving, shifting towards a more regulated ranching model.

The Wild West:

  • Social Conditions: Characterized by violence primarily in mining towns and during conflicts related to ranching; lack of law enforcement and competition fueled tensions.

Women's Roles in the West

  • Home and Labor Contributions: Women often took on significant roles in both household and agricultural work, leading to greater independence.

  • Social Dynamics: Although contributing significantly, women's opportunities were limited; they often became teachers or, at times, worked as sex workers in boom towns.

Pre-existing Populations in the West

  • Native Tribes: Included Cheyenne, Lakota-Sioux, Comanche in the Plains and Navajo, Apache in the Southwest, adversely impacted by encroaching settlers.

  • Hispanic Groups: Tejanos, Californios, and other Mexican settlers faced land dispossession and discrimination.

Territorial Losses and Conflict

  • Native American Policies: Included reservations and violent confrontations as settlers encroached on lands leading to conflicts like the Dakota War (1862) and the Sand Creek Massacre (1864), among others.

  • Key Events: Documents numerous battles, massacres, and significant territorial losses from 1850-1890.

Americanization Efforts

  • Cultural Assimilation: Attempts included removal of Native children to conformed boarding schools through legislative endeavors such as the Dawes Act (1887) that privatized tribal lands and encouraged assimilation into American society, leading to significant land loss by Native tribes.

Racial Dynamics in the West

  • Hispanic Communities: Despite accepting U.S. citizenship post-Mexican War, they faced systematic inequalities, leading to movements like Las Gorras Blancas that protested against land privations by white ranchers.

  • Chinese Immigrants: Initially drawn for labor in mining and railroad construction, faced severe discrimination post-1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.