The Last West and the New South (1865-1900)

The Last West and the New South (1865-1900)

Post War Expansion

  • Regions of Settlement

    • Great Plains

    • Rocky Mountains

    • Western Plateau

    • “Great American Desert”

    • Notable characteristic: Less than 15 inches of rainfall annually

  • Impact on American Indians

    • Loss of land leading to significant changes in lifestyle and culture.

    • The buffalo, a crucial resource for many tribes, faced drastic population decline due to hunting and settlement.

Essential Questions

  • How did the natural environment shape Westward development and the lives of people there, particularly beyond the Mississippi?

  • What other factors played an important role in this development?

  • In what ways did technology, government policy, and economic conditions alter the American frontier between 1865 and 1900?

The Mining Frontier

  • Significant Events

    • Pike’s Peak, Colorado Discovery (1859)

    • Comstock Lode (1859)

    • Estimated $340 million worth of gold and silver extracted.

  • Boom Towns

    • Example: Virginia City, Nevada

    • By early 1860s, all easily extractable resources had been exhausted, leading to a shift in settlement.

  • Ghost Towns

    • Cities like San Francisco, Sacramento, and Denver remained as major urban centers.

    • Characteristic of boom to bust cycles due to mining shortages.

  • Industrialization and Big Business

    • Dynamite introduced in the 1870s revolutionized mining techniques.

  • Social Impact

    • Rise of nativism in response to immigrant labor influx.

  • Political Impact

    • Enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act reflecting prejudice against Asian immigrants.

  • Economic Considerations

    • Debate over gold versus silver standards, inflation issues leading to the rise of the Populist Movement.

The Cattle Frontier

  • Texas as the Model

    • Utilization of Mexican cattle ranching tools and clothing styles.

    • Longhorn cattle thrived on Texas’s dry, grassy plains.

    • Emergence of beef trusts due to urban demand.

  • Factors Influencing Cattle Industry

    • Disappearance of buffalo leading to ecological changes.

    • Invention of refrigerated rail cars skyrocketed demand for beef from cities like Chicago and St. Louis.

    • Price evolution:

    • Antebellum period: $3-$5 per cattle.

    • Postbellum period: $30-$50 per cattle.

  • Key Trails & Drives

    • Abilene, Kansas became key transit point for cattle drives (e.g., Chisholm and Goodnight-Loving trails).

    • Notable mention: The “Long Drive” across open ranges.

  • Open Range Dynamics

    • Approximately 2/5 of Texas allocated for cattle grazing.

    • Branding practices established for cattle identity.

  • Decline of Cattle Ranching

    • Invention of barbed wire created fencing that limited grazing.

    • Harsh winter of 1885-1886 resulted in 85% cattle loss.

    • Persistent drought during 1886 and subsequent winter increased cattle ranching problems.

The Farming Frontier

  • Homestead Act (1862)

    • Provided 160 free acres of land to families under conditions:

    • Land must be farmed actively for 5 years.

    • Residency requirement of at least 6 months.

    • More than 500,000 families settled on homesteads.

  • Challenges and Innovations

    • Severe weather, water scarcity, cold climate, and higher rates of pestilence/disease presented obstacles to farming.

    • Notable inventions:

    • Barbed wire for fencing

    • Windmills to pump water

    • “Soddies” (sodded homes) for shelter

    • Dry-farming techniques suitable for scarce rainfall conditions

    • Dams and irrigation systems to improve cultivation.

  • Economic Issues

    • Falling crop prices coupled with rising operational costs led to widespread farming failures.

The Closing of the Frontier

  • Opening of Oklahoma Territory (1889)

    • Land rush characterized by settlement of lands by “boomers” and “sooners.”

  • End of the Frontier Era

    • Turner’s Frontier Thesis (1893) proposed that the existence of a frontier shaped American Democracy.

    • Critiques and reactions to this thesis discussed the implications of American exceptionalism.

    • Lasting impacts on American identity and settlement patterns.

American Indians in the West

  • Demographics

    • Approximately 2/3 of remaining western tribes resided in the Great Plains.

  • Cultural Changes

    • Impact of horse usage transformed tribal lifestyles.

    • Strong reliance on the buffalo for sustenance and materials.

  • Policies and Conflicts

    • Reservation policy initiated, leading to conflicts known as the Indian Wars.

    • Notable conflicts:

    • Sand Creek Massacre

    • Fetterman Massacre

    • Battle of Little Big Horn

  • Key Figures

    • Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce led significant resistance movements.

    • The Wounded Knee massacre finalizes many conflicts.

  • Assimilation Policies

    • “A Century of Dishonor” authored by Helen Hunt Jackson (1881) highlighted the injustices faced by Native Americans.

    • Dawes Severalty Act (1887) redistributed 47 million acres of tribal land to individuals, undermining communal tribal systems.

The Conservation Movement

  • Growth Initiatives

    • Establishment of state parks and creation of national parks, including:

    • Yellowstone National Park (1872)

    • Yosemite National Park (1890)

  • Federal Actions

    • Creation of forest reserves and the Federal Forest Service initiated under President Schurz.

    • Approximately 33 million acres protected under Harrison and Cleveland administrations due to the Forest Reserve Act of 1891.

  • Leadership and Advocacy

    • John Muir played a critical role in the conservation movement alongside the founding of the Sierra Club (1892).

The New South

  • Economic Developments

    • Notable progress in:

    • Steel production (Alabama)

    • Lumber (Tennessee)

    • Tobacco (Virginia)

    • Textiles (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina).

  • Challenges of Growth

    • Continued economic poverty for many regions despite some advancements.

    • Growth heavily influenced by Northern financing and investment.

    • Education deficits leading to limited skill development in the population.

  • Agricultural Issues

    • Lack of diversification within Southern agriculture persisted with a focus on traditional crops.

    • Introduction of new crop rotation techniques featuring peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans (notably advocated by G.W. Carver).

  • Social Conditions

    • Growing plight of poor farmers characterized by economic instability.

    • Rise of Southern Farmers’ Alliances (segregated groups).

Segregation & The Rise of Jim Crow

  • Effects of Redeemer Governments

    • Introduction of discriminatory practices and legislation post-Reconstruction.

    • Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment resulting in “dual citizenship.”

  • Key Legal Cases

    • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) established the doctrine of “Separate but Equal” reinforcing segregation laws.

    • Led to rise of Jim Crow laws which institutionalized racial discrimination.

  • Civil Rights Erosion

    • Significant loss of civil rights for African Americans following these rulings.

    • Practices like literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses were implemented to disenfranchise black voters.

  • Violence and Vigilantism

    • Vigilante justice became prevalent leading to lynching incidents as a method to enforce racial control.

  • Responses to Segregation

    • Prominent leaders emerged addressing injustices:

    • Ida B. Wells focused on anti-lynching campaigns.

    • Booker T. Washington emphasized vocational education with works like Up From Slavery.

    • W.E.B. Du Bois, founder of the NAACP, promoted immediate civil rights and cultural advancement through the concept of the “Talented Tenth” advocated in Souls of Black Folk.

Farm Problems: North, South, and West

  • Agricultural Shifts

    • Industrialization made its entrance into farming, impacting market dynamics.

  • Economic Challenges

    • Falling agricultural prices made farming less profitable.

    • Competition from abroad intensified market pressures.

  • Impact on Loans & Mortgages

    • Rising costs associated with farming created burdens on loans and mortgages, affecting farmers across regions.

Fighting Back

  • National Grange Movement

    • Founded by Oliver Kelley in 1868 aimed to unite farmers.

    • Formation of farmer cooperatives to negotiate better prices and treatment from suppliers and railroads.

  • Legislation and Advocacy

    • Push for “Granger Laws” aimed at regulating railroads using farm alliances.

    • Interstate Commerce Act (1886) established regulations on interstate trade practices.

  • Judicial Outcomes

    • Key cases like Wabash v. Illinois overturned previous support for state regulation of railroads, asserting federal authority instead.

  • Formation of the ICC

    • The Interstate Commerce Commission was created to help regulate fair practices in transportation.

  • Growth of Alliances

    • Farmers’ Alliances grew to over one million members by 1890.

  • Political Platforms

    • Ocala Platform (1890) emerged with demands including:

    • Direct election of Senators.

    • Lower tariff rates.

    • Graduated income tax.

    • Federal banking system.

    • These ideas later evolved into components of the Omaha Platform and the Populist movement.