Changes on the Western Frontier

CHANGES ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER 1865-1900

CULTURES CLASH ON THE PLAINS

  • The Great Plains are the western central portion of the U.S.
  • Native Americans saw themselves as part of nature and viewed nature as sacred.
    • Horn used for bowls and spoons.
    • Bones used for tools.
    • Hoofs used for glue.
    • Hide used for clothing, tepees, & shields.
    • Meat used for food.
  • White settlers often killed buffalo just for sport, leaving many corpses to rot.
  • Buffalo were killed just for hides or no reason, eliminating a vast food supply for Native Americans.
  • Native Americans believed that no one owned the land.
  • White people viewed land as a resource to produce wealth leading to conflict.
  • Buffalo Soldiers – African American soldiers sent west to fight Native Americans.
  • In 1910, the Department of the Interior sold allotted Indian land under sealed bids.
    • Colorado: 5,211.21 acres, Average Price per Acre: 7.27
    • Idaho: 34,664.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 19.14
    • Kansas: 17,013.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 24.85
    • Montana: 1,684.50 acres, Average Price per Acre: 33.45
    • Nebraska: 11,034.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 9.86
    • North Dakota: 5,641.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 36.65
    • Oklahoma: 120,445.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 16.53
    • Oregon: 1,020.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 15.43
    • South Dakota: 4,879.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 41.37
    • Washington: 1,069.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 17.00
    • Wisconsin: 22,610.70 acres, Average Price per Acre: 9.93
    • Wyoming: 865.00 acres, Average Price per Acre: 20.64
  • Estimated 350,000 acres offered for sale in 1911.
  • Originally, all of the Great Plains was one giant reservation, but the government changed its mind.
  • Sand Creek Massacre: Attack at dawn on Nov. 29th, 1864.
    • Native Americans attacked settlers on the Bozeman Trail.
    • U.S. troops killed 150 Native Americans (mostly women and children).
  • Treaty of Fort Laramie: Gave Native Americans another reservation.
  • Some tribes went to reservations, while others went to war (Red River War).
  • Many Native Americans became frustrated with the U.S. government because of broken treaties.
  • The lure of gold led to the end of the Plain Indians.
  • Battle of Little Bighorn:
    • Black Hills (owned by Native Americans) filled with gold.
    • Gen. Custer led 250 men ahead of the U.S. cavalry.
    • Custer ran into Crazy Horse and his 2,000 warriors.
    • Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull led the Sioux against the U.S. Army.
    • Gen. Custer and all of his men were killed.
  • Assimilation: To be absorbed into the main culture of a society.
  • Helen Hunt Jackson wrote “A Century of Dishonor” about how the U.S. went back on hundreds of promises and treaties.
  • Wounded Knee:
    • Native American response to the loss of their leaders was to dance (Ghost Dance).
    • Ghost Dance: Belief that the ritual would banish white settlers and restore buffalo to the plains.
    • Sitting Bull was to be arrested but refused and was shot and killed.
    • On Dec. 28th, 1890, the 7th Calvary rounded up 350 Native Americans.
    • They ordered the Indians to give up all weapons, but a shot was fired.
    • The Calvary opened fire on the Indians.
  • Wounded Knee:
    • Seen as revenge by Calvary for the loss at Little Big Horn?
    • Called the Battle of Wounded Knee, but could be renamed the Massacre at Wounded Knee.
  • The
  • Battle of Wounded Knee was the end of the Indian Wars for the Great Plains.

Settling on the Great Plains

  • Railroad companies and the government wanted people to settle out west.
  • Railroad companies sold land to farmers for cheap.
  • 1862-1900 Millions of people move west.
  • Homestead Act: Gave 160 acres of land to anyone who would farm it for 5 years.
  • Exodusters: African Americans who moved from the South to Kansas.
  • Sooners: People who illegally claimed land in Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush.
  • Dugouts and Soddies:
    • Because trees were scarce, many settlers built homes into the sides of ravines or hills (Dugouts).
    • Soddies were homes made of prairie turf.
  • New Technology Helps Farmers:
    • Barbed Wire: Used to fence in land and keep cattle away from crops.
    • Steel Plow: Made it easier to break up the tough prairie sod.
    • Spring Tooth Harrow: Used to prepare soil for planting.
    • Grain Drill: Used to plant seeds.
    • Corn Binder: Used to harvest corn.
  • Farmers faced many challenges:
    • Droughts
    • Floods
    • Fires
    • Blizzards
    • Locust plagues
    • Raids by Native Americans
  • Farmers had to become self-sufficient.

FARMERS AND THE POPULIST MOVEMENT

  • Crop prices fell after the Civil War.
  • Railroads charged high prices for shipping.
  • Farmers were often in debt.
  • Oliver Hudson Kelley started the Grange.
  • Grange: Social and educational organization for farmers.
  • Grange tried to fight the railroads.
  • Farmers' Alliances: Groups of farmers who pooled their resources to buy supplies and equipment.
  • Populism: Political movement that sought to advance the interests of farmers and laborers.
  • Populist Party:
    • Founded in 1892.
    • Wanted