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.