APUSH CH16 Notes

The region beyond the Mississippi River where millions of Anglo-Americans moved after the Civil War

Contained diverse landscapes including arid territories, lush areas, flat plains, high mountains, prairies, deserts, and forests

Home to many different peoples including Native Americans, Hispanic communities, and later Anglo-American settlers

Area west of the Mississippi (later Oklahoma) where eastern Native American nations like Cherokee and Creek were forcibly resettled before the Civil War

Opened to white settlement and granted territorial status in 1889-1890

One of the last territories to gain statehood

Southwest Native Americans who lived as farmers and established permanent settlements before Spanish settlers arrived

Grew corn, built adobe houses, practiced irrigation, and participated in trade

Formed an alliance with Spanish settlers against Apaches, Navajos, and Comanches

Complex social hierarchy in the Southwest created by interaction between Pueblos and Spanish settlers

Spanish/Mexican people were at the top, owning the largest estates and controlling trading centers

Pueblos were in the middle - subordinate but mostly free

Genizaros (Native Americans without tribes) were at the bottom

Native Americans without tribes who became part of Spanish society

Some were captured in war and enslaved for a fixed time

Others voluntarily left their tribal communities

People of mixed race ancestry in the Southwest

Part of the elaborate social hierarchy created by Spanish colonial rule

Had a specific place in the caste system alongside Spanish, Native Americans, and mulattoes

Most widespread Native American presence in the West, including diverse nations and language groups

Cultures based on close family networks and intimate relationship with nature

Some formed alliances with each other while others were in constant conflict

Tribes sometimes numbered several thousand people

Subdivided into "bands" of up to 500 men and women

Tasks were divided by gender - women handled domestic work and art, men worked as hunters, traders, and managed religious and military life

Each band had its own governing council

Used a decision-making process where most community members participated

Helped organize the band's activities and leadership

Became the most powerful nation in the Missouri River valley by early 19th century

Expanded west and south until they dominated much of the plains

Later formed a powerful alliance with Arapaho and Cheyenne that dominated the northern plains

Provided the economic basis for Plains Indians' way of life

Flesh was their main food source; skin supplied materials for clothing, shoes, tepees, and utensils

Every part had a use - chips for fuel, bones for tools, tendons for bow strings

One of the Plains Indian groups

Formed a powerful alliance with the Sioux and Cheyenne that dominated the northern plains

This alliance was one of the few examples of Native American groups overcoming divisions to unite effectively

Plains Indian nation that allied with Sioux and Arapaho

Part of the powerful northern plains alliance

Like other Plains Indians, their warriors were fierce and brave in battle

Center of Spanish-speaking society before U.S. acquisition

Had farming and trading communities established by Spanish in the 17th century

Population included Spanish descendants, Mexican migrants, Pueblo Indians, and American traders

General who commanded American troops in New Mexico during the Mexican War

Tried to establish a territorial government that excluded Mexican ruling class

Drew officials from Anglo-Americans while ignoring the Hispanic majority

Site of an Indian rebellion in 1847 against American rule

Rebels killed the new governor and other Anglo-American officials

Rebellion was eventually suppressed by U.S. Army forces

Circles of local Anglo businesspeople and politicians who controlled territorial governments for profit

In Santa Fe, the ring gained control of over 2 million acres of land

Took possession of much land that had belonged to original Mexican residents

Spanish settlement began in 18th century with Christian missions along the Pacific coast

After gold rush, saw massive influx of Anglo-American settlers

Hispanic residents (californios) gradually lost power and land as English-speaking population grew

Christian establishments along California's Pacific coast that gathered Native Americans

Created flourishing, self-sufficient economies using Native American labor

Had enormous herds of cattle and various craftsmen, but profits rarely went to workers

Name for Hispanic residents of California

Experienced a series of defeats as Anglo-American population grew

Many lost their lands through corrupt deals, seizure by courts, or occupation by squatters

Hispanic ranchers in California who initially profited from selling cattle to northern markets

Eventually lost influence due to reckless expansion, debt, and severe drought in 1860s

By 1880s, most of the Hispanic ranching culture had been devastated

Joined the United States in 1845 and was part of the Confederacy during the Civil War

Many Mexican landowners lost their land after U.S. acquisition

Mexican residents (nearly 75% of southern Texas population) became an impoverished working class

Mexican rancher who led an armed challenge to American power in 1859

Raided a jail in Brownsville and freed all Mexican prisoners

Continued to harass Anglo communities in Texas until 1875 when captured by Mexican government

Crossed Pacific seeking better lives than in poverty-stricken China

By 1880, over 200,000 had settled in United States, mostly in California

Initially welcomed as hardworking but quickly faced growing hostility and discrimination

Term for indentured Chinese servants whose condition was close to slavery

Many Chinese immigrated as coolies to various places including Hawaii and South America

Most Chinese who came to America, however, came as free laborers, not coolies

Enacted by California legislature in 1852 to exclude Chinese from gold mining

Also helped exclude Mexican miners

Part of a series of laws designed to discourage Chinese immigration

Completed in 1869, connecting eastern and western United States

Encouraged settlement of the West and construction of many subsidiary lines

Prompted the great wave of new settlers in the West after the Civil War

Western portion of the transcontinental railroad

Employed over 12,000 Chinese immigrants (90% of its labor force)

Preferred Chinese workers because they had no experience with labor organization

Occurred in spring of 1866 when 5,000 Chinese railroad workers demanded higher wages and shorter workday

Company isolated strikers, surrounded them with strikebreakers, and starved them

Strike failed and most workers returned to their jobs

Urban areas where Chinese immigrants concentrated, with San Francisco having the largest community

Center of Chinese community life throughout the West

Included elaborate festivals and celebrations that were important parts of Chinese American life

Leading Chinese merchants in San Francisco who worked together to advance community interests

Helped organize powerful organizations that functioned as benevolent societies

Served as employment brokers, unions, arbitrators, and defenders against persecution

Secret Chinese organizations, some of which were violent criminal groups

Involved in the opium trade and prostitution

Engaged in violent conflicts ("tong wars") with rival tongs, particularly in 1880s San Francisco

Business many Chinese immigrants established due to exclusion from other employment

Could be started with little capital and required limited English

By 1890s, Chinese constituted over two-thirds of all laundry workers in California

Emerged in 1860s and 1870s to oppose Chinese labor

Sought bans on employing Chinese immigrants and organized boycotts of Chinese-made products

Some attacked Chinese workers and were suspected of setting fires to Chinese-employing factories

Created in 1878 by Denis Kearney, an Irish immigrant

Gained significant political power based largely on anti-Chinese sentiment

Part of growing movement against Chinese immigrants that spread throughout the West

Irish immigrant who created the Workingmen's Party of California in 1878

Built political power through anti-Chinese rhetoric

Led movement that contributed to growing political pressure against Chinese immigration

Reformer and critic of capitalism who championed labor rights

Described Chinese as products of a failed civilization mired in barbarism

Argued Chinese were "unassimilable" and should be excluded from America

Passed by Congress in 1882 to ban Chinese immigration to United States

Barred Chinese immigrants already in country from becoming naturalized citizens

Renewed in 1892, made permanent in 1902, causing Chinese population to decline by 40% over next 40 years

Permitted settlers to buy 160-acre plots for a small fee if they occupied the land for five years

Intended to give free farms to Americans who needed them and create new agricultural markets

Unit size was too small for Great Plains farming, and many homesteaders abandoned their claims

Passed in 1873 to address problems with the Homestead Act

Permitted homesteaders to receive 160 additional acres if they planted 40 acres of trees

Part of government response to struggling western settlers

Enacted in 1877 to provide more land to western settlers

Allowed claimants to buy 640 acres at $1.25 per acre if they irrigated part within three years

Made it possible for individuals to acquire much more land at little cost

Passed in 1878 for nonarable land

Authorized sales at $2.50 an acre

Like other land acts, was subject to widespread fraud by lumber, mining, and cattle companies

Denied statehood until 1896

Congress required Mormon leaders to convince the government that polygamy had been abandoned

One of the last territories to gain admission to the Union

Formerly Indian Territory where eastern Native Americans were forcibly resettled

Opened to white settlement and granted territorial status in 1889-1890

One of the last three territories remaining outside the Union at the turn of the century

District where gold was discovered in 1858, just before the Civil War

Attracted 50,000 prospectors from California, the Mississippi Valley, and the East in 1859

Denver and other mining camps quickly grew into "cities" overnight

Area in Nevada where gold was found while the Colorado rush of 1859 was still happening

Later became known for the great Comstock Lode where the most valuable ore was silver

Californians dominated the settlement and development of this area

Henry Comstock discovered the famous Comstock Lode in 1858

This lode contained mostly silver rather than gold

From 1860 to 1880, the Nevada lodes yielded bullion worth $306 million

Important gold rush settlements and towns in Nevada

Remote desert communities that had to ship in all supplies from California

Centers of the Nevada mining boom where quartz mining was used to retrieve silver from deeper veins

Located in southwestern Dakota Territory where gold was discovered in 1874

Attracted many prospectors until surface resources faded and corporations took over

Eventually dominated by one enormous company called the Homestake

Launched the great Anaconda copper mine in 1881

This mine marked the beginning of an industry that would remain important to Montana for many decades

Represented the shift toward mining less glamorous but more economically sustainable resources

Outlaws and criminals attracted to mining communities by the presence of precious minerals

Operated as individuals or gangs in areas where law enforcement was minimal

Drawn to vague claim boundaries and gold shipments in boom towns

Members of the community who enforced their own laws when the criminal situation became intolerable

Formed vigilante committees, an unofficial system of social control used earlier in California

Some continued to operate as private "law" enforcers even after regular governments formed

Disabling disease of the lungs developed by many miners

Caused by inhaling lethal dusts in the stagnant air of poorly ventilated mines

One of many health hazards that made mining one of the most dangerous working environments

Vast grasslands of the public domain on the Great Plains

Areas where cattle raisers could graze their herds free of charge

Unrestricted by the boundaries of private farms until farmers and sheep breeders began competing for the land

Method of marking cattle to show ownership

Originally developed by Mexican ranchers before Americans moved to the Southwest

Essential technique for identifying animals during roundups when different owners' cattle mixed together

Route used in 1866 when Texas cattle ranchers drove their herds north to Sedalia, Missouri

Connected to the Missouri Pacific Railroad, creating a link to eastern markets

Despite heavy losses on this early trail, it proved cattle could be driven to distant markets

Movement of cattle from Texas ranches to distant markets

Began with the spring roundup where cattle from many owners were gathered

Usually involved 2,000 to 5,000 head of cattle accompanied by cowboys representing each major rancher

The expansive cattle industry that developed on the Great Plains after the Civil War

Originally based on Mexican and Texan ranching techniques and equipment

Created an economic boom that later attracted eastern, English, and Scottish capital

Abilene was a town on the Kansas Pacific Railroad that became the main railhead of the cattle kingdom

Between 1867 and 1871, nearly 1.5 million head of cattle were driven up the Chisholm Trail to Abilene

Known for its rowdiness when filled with cowboys at the end of a drive

Major cattle trail that connected Texas ranches to the railroad at Abilene, Kansas

Route used to drive nearly 1.5 million cattle between 1867 and 1871

Later replaced by other trails as agricultural development in western Kansas reduced open range land