The American West

Fifteenth Amendment and Its Afterlife

  • The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, granted black men the right to vote, but its impact extended beyond the immediate enfranchisement.
  • Promises of land redistribution in the South were often unfulfilled.

Sand Creek Massacre (November 29, 1864)

  • Background:
    • Occurred during the Civil War.
    • The Sand Creek Massacre site is now run by the National Park Service in Eastern Colorado.
    • In the 1850s, the land was formally recognized as belonging to the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations under the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851).
    • The formation of Colorado Territory led to pressure from settlers seeking gold, pushing for renegotiation of land treaties with the Cheyenne and Arapaho.
  • Treaties and Tensions:
    • In 1860, a new treaty limited Cheyenne and Arapaho land but retained most of Eastern Colorado, including the Sand Creek area.
    • Some Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders refused to recognize the new boundaries, leading to raids on white homes and violence.
    • In 1864, the murder of the Huncate family in Eastern Colorado escalated tensions.
  • Escalation and Violence:
    • Colorado Governor John Evans displayed the Huncate family's bodies in Denver, inciting panic among white settlers.
    • Calls arose for the extermination of native people, leading Evans to recruit volunteers for the Third Colorado Cavalry with the War Department's permission.
    • Evans aimed to "exterminate hostile native people," blurring the lines between friendly and hostile groups.
  • Black Kettle and White Antelope:
    • Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders Black Kettle and White Antelope sought peace with Governor Evans.
    • Evans, a Methodist minister and abolitionist, viewed native people as a threat to white settlers and led the Third Colorado Cavalry.
    • While Black Kettle and White Antelope were camped peacefully, Shimmington attacked their camp.
    • Black Kettle escaped.
  • Aftermath and Conflicting Narratives:
    • Three narratives emerged: Shimmington claiming it was a battle, others recognizing it as a massacre and genocidal campaign.
    • Witnesses described a scene of complete massacre and called for an official report.
    • The Sand Creek Massacre was a prelude for future violence and tensions in the West, shaping the narrative of continental expansion and power dynamics.

Manifest Destiny and Western Expansion

  • Manifest Destiny: The belief that Americans had a righteous project to occupy the entire continent.
  • Political and Economic Factors:
    • Western expansion aimed to create political democracy and economic mobility.
    • People moved west to find new land for farming and build new lives.
  • Government Policies:
    • The federal government created new organized territories and political governments to become states.

Diversity in the West

  • Geography and People:
    • The West was geographically diverse with a mix of people.
    • In the 1870s and 1890s, foreign-born immigrants accounted for about half the population.
  • Immigration:
    • California and Texas had been settled by the Spanish and Mexicans.
    • Immigrants from China, Italy, and Greece settled in cities like San Francisco and Seattle.
    • Europeans from Sweden and Germany moved from the Midwest.

Incentives for Western Settlement

  • Homestead Act: Offered land to people if they improved the plot over five years.
  • General Land Office: Dispersed 500,000,000 acres between 1860 and 1900, benefiting both people and railroads.
  • Railroads: Facilitated settlement by offering land and improving transportation.

Economic Activities

  • Cattle Country:
    • Texas, New Mexico, and parts of the Central Plains were central cattle country after 1870.
    • Families sought new freedoms and economic mobility.
  • Growth in the West:
    • Salt Lake City and Utah experienced huge growth.
    • The plain states of Kansas also saw significant growth.
    • In 1860, Kansas had 10,000 farms, which increased to 150,000 by 1880.

Perceptions of the West

  • Edenic Places:
    • The West was seen as a land of Eden, a garden waiting to be cultivated.
    • It represented new lands where people could build their own fortunes and start new lives.
  • Challenges:
    • The West was dry and hot, posing challenges to agriculture.

Federal Government Policies and Native People

  • Reconstruction Templates:
    • The federal government tried to use reconstruction templates to "pacify" native people.
  • Conflicts:
    • Clashes emerged between the federal government (through the army) and native people like the Comanche and Sioux.
  • Comanche Empire:
    • Historians now view the Comanches as having their own empire from Southern Colorado to Northern Mexico.
  • Forts:
    • A series of forts were established, some for trading and most for military purposes.

Bison and Native American Life

  • Bison Hunting Trade:
    • Bison were used for industrial purposes in the West
    • Native peoples used bison for various needs.
  • Pacification:
    • The government aimed to starve native people and impose a new way of life based on individual farms and agriculture.

Grant's Peace Policy and Reservations

  • Grant's Peace Policy (1869):
    • Established reservations, which were bounded acreages of land where native people were moved to release claim to wide expanses of former territory.
    • Reservations were generally established under executive order.
  • Military Involvement:
    • The military was required to confine native people and remove them from their homelands to reservations.
  • Chief Joseph:
    • Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe resisted being confined to a reservation and attempted to flee to Canada.
    • His speeches brought attention to the hypocrisy of constraining the freedom of native people after the Civil War.

Dawes Severalty Act of 1887

  • Context:
    • Part of Grant's larger peace policy.
  • Provisions:
    • Land was allotted to individual Native Americans:
      • One quarter of a section to each head of family.
      • One eighth of a section to each single person over 18 years of age.
      • One eighth of a section to each orphan child under 18 years of age.
      • One sixteenth of a section to each other single person under 18 years.
  • Purpose:
    • Aimed to break up tribal lands into individual parcels.
    • The remaining lands were opened to white settlers.
  • Citizenship:
    • Native Americans who adopted the habits of civilized life and took up residence separate from their tribe were declared citizens of the United States.
    • The act sought to eradicate what many white Americans saw as a disappearing race..

Cultural Assimilation

  • Loss of Identity:
    • Native Americans were encouraged to adopt white American clothing and hairstyles.
  • Hair: Cutting hair was significant as it was a symbol of cultural identity.

Scientific Racism

  • Army Medical Museum:
    • After events like the Sand Creek Massacre, the US Army collected bones and skulls of Native Americans for the Army Medical Museum.
    • The museum promoted theories about different-sized skulls and intelligence, which were based on flawed racial science.

Repatriation

  • Advocacy:
    • The Cheyenne and Arapaho nations advocated for the reclamation and repatriation of ancestral bones.
  • New Laws:
    • Advocacy and activism led to new laws regarding the protection and return of Native American remains and cultural items.