Social and Cultural Effects of Westward Expansion

Westward Expansion: Social and Cultural Effects

Overview of Westward Migration

  • Title Confirmation: The discussion still focuses on the effects of westward expansion but emphasizes social and cultural aspects, particularly concerning conflicts with existing populations.

  • Motivations for Migration:

    • Desire for self-sufficiency and independence.

    • Seen as the realization of Thomas Jefferson's vision for an agrarian America populated by independent farmers.

    • Government Involvement: The large-scale migration was significantly supported by government actions, including land giveaways and funding initiatives.

    • The westward migration was facilitated by a rapidly expanding railroad network connecting the East and West.

Groups of Migrants

  • Exodusters:

    • Migrated during Reconstruction amidst increasing marginalization and violence against black Americans in the South by groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

    • Formed a significant community of black farmers in Kansas, numbering about 40,000 who sought homesteads away from oppressive conditions in the South.

    • Their movement triggered a critical geographic reorganization of black communities from the South to the West.

  • Homesteaders:

    • Responded to the Homestead Acts of 1862, which granted 160 acres of free land to individuals who would improve it and inhabit it for 5 years.

    • Viewed westward migration as an avenue to achieve independence and self-sufficiency.

Conflicts Stemming from Westward Movement

  • Perceptions of the Frontier:

    • The western frontier was idealized as open land waiting for American habitation, ignoring the fact that many people, including American Indian groups and Mexican-Americans, already inhabited the region.

    • Increased migration led to fierce competition for land and heightened tensions among white settlers, American Indians, and Mexican-Americans.

Tensions with Mexican-Americans

  • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848):

    • Concluded the Mexican-American War and granted U.S. citizenship to Mexicans in the newly acquired territories.

    • Many became landowners but faced encroachment by white settlers leading to conflict.

  • Judicial Disadvantages:

    • Courts often sided with white settlers, exacerbating the loss of land for Mexican-Americans.

  • Resistance:

    • Groups like Las Gorras Blancas (translated as White Hats) formed to resist land incursions. They engaged in acts of vandalism against white settlers' properties.

Tensions with American Indians

  • Land Pressure:

    • American Indian nations were pressured to vacate desirable lands due to white settlement aspirations.

  • Treaty Violations:

    • The U.S. government regularly broke treaties, notably the Treaty of Fort Laramie, which initially recognized certain lands as off-limits to settlers.

  • Desire for Land:

    • White settlers’ discovery of mineral resources on indigenous lands led to blatant encroachments, disregarding the treaties.

  • Violent Conflicts:

    • Two significant examples illustrate the US-Indigenous conflicts:

    • Sand Creek Massacre (1864):

      • Chief Black Kettle sought safety assurances for his people by settling at Sand Creek. Instead, they were attacked by the Colorado militia, resulting in the massacre of over 100 women and children.

      • The Cheyenne and allied Sioux retaliated, initiating the Sioux Wars, culminating in conflicts until 1890 when indigenous resistance was largely quashed.

Policy Responses to Conflict

  • Assimilation Strategies:

    • Reform-minded American policymakers sought to assimilate American Indians into American society as a conflict resolution strategy.

    • This view was predicated on the belief that American Indians misused their land and needed guidance.

    • DAW Act (1887):

    • Ended federal recognition of Indigenous land sovereignty.

    • Land was divided into 160 acre plots allocated to heads of households for farming.

    • Offered citizenship after 25 years under the condition of abandoning their cultural practices and assimilating fully into white American culture.

    • Boarding Schools:

    • Established to forcibly educate children in American culture, leading to cultural eradication.

    • For example, Carlisle Indian Industrial School emphasized the motto, "Kill the Indian, save the man," targeting the complete assimilation of children, who were subjected to cultural and physical abuses.

    • Many died in these institutions, ending up in unmarked graves, highlighting the severe consequences of assimilation policies.

Spiritual and Cultural Resistance

  • Ghost Dance Movement:

    • Originated in 1888 with prophet Wovoka, promoting a spiritual resurgence among American Indians through the Ghost Dance. The movement promised the return of their dead ancestors to help expel settlers and restore traditional ways.

    • Gained momentum particularly among the Lakota Sioux.

  • Wounded Knee Massacre (1890):

    • U.S. military misinterpreted the Ghost Dance as a growing rebellion and attacked a group of Sioux dancers, resulting in the death of around 250 Sioux, including many women and children.

    • Marked the last significant resistance effort from American Indians to the forces of westward expansion and assimilation.

Conclusion

  • By 1890, Congress officially deemed the frontier settled, often disregarding the profound losses and implications for indigenous peoples in the U.S.

  • The settlement of the West occurred at a tremendous cost to both the cultural fabric of American Indian societies and the integrity of historical treaties between Indigenous nations and the United States government.