THE WILD, WILD WEST Ch 26 Issue # 1-The Indian Issue
1. In 1860, there were over 360,000 Native Americans. But as more Americans traveled west, that number declined as the newcomers introduced Indians to cholera, typhoid and smallpox.
2.Treaties negotiated between Indians and government officials established the reservation system with boundaries set up for each tribe. 3. In 1860 the Natives were pushed into even smaller areas and were promised that they would be left alone & given food, clothing, tools and supplies.
4.In Sand Creek, CO in 1864 Col. Chivington and his soldiers killed 400-500 Indians- men, women and children. 5.Then in 1866 a band of Sioux attacked whites, killing 81 in the Bighorn Mtns.
6.The Great Sioux Reservation located in the Black Hills of SD had been promised to the tribe with no encroachment by the white man. 7. When gold was found there, and all heck broke loose.
8.George Armstrong Custer with 264 soldiers from the 7 th Calvary rode into a band of 2500 Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho near the Little Bighorn River in Montana.
9. Every single member of Custer s group, including him, was killed on June 25, 1876-the government then vowed that all Indians would be sent to reservations.
10. The bison that numbered over 15MM in 1865 dropped to fewer than 1000 by 1885.
11.What to do with these Natives: A. Choices: 1.)Assimilation or 2.)Containment B. Either process used was intended to break their spirits and destroy their cultures. C.)By 1900, tribes had lost 50% of their 156MM acres. D.)By 1887, 243,000 Indians were left; in 2000 over 1.5MM claimed the heritage.
THERE S GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLS!!! 12. Gold was found in CO and NV in 1858 and 1859. From 1860 to 1890 over $340MM in gold and silver were mined. 13. Eventually, the independent miner was replaced by industrialization.
OH GIVE ME A HOME, WHERE THE CATTLE ROAM 14.Texas was home to millions of longhorn cattle and with the transcontinental RR they could now be shipped to stockyards in Kansas City and Chicago.
15.Between 1866-1888 over 4MM steers were transported. This would change with the arrival of the homesteaders who fenced off their farms with barbed wire. 16.The Homestead Act passed in 1862 granted a person 160 acres-conditionslive on the land for 5 years, improve the property and pay $30.
17.Farmers who took advantage of this swarmed westward where they built sod houses (no wood nearby), suffered through droughts and blizzards yet somehow produced crops. 18. They learned dry farming and planted crops like wheat that would thrive in the dry, cold climate.
19.As the population increased so did the number of western states: CO,ND, SD, MT,WA, ID and WY by 1890. 20. In 1890 the head of the census announced that there was no longer a frontier-no more free land.
21. The western frontier was the place where: a) Native Americans made their last stand, b) Anglo and Hispanic cultures collided, c) Asian immigrants made their homes d) the national government granted the most subsidies-rr & irrigation projects.
22. Farmers relied on single cash crops and survived as long as prices were high. 23. The stage was set for major financial disaster because they planted more acres to offset the low prices. 24. Mechanization appeared in the forms of steam-powered equipment for which loans had to be obtained.
25.To help their plight the Grange was organized as a social and educational outlet but branched into politics to fight the RR. 26.The Farmers Alliance started in Texas but ignored tenant farmers. 27. From this group a new political party formed, the People s or Populist party.
28.They called for: a) nationalizing the RR, telephones and telegraphs b) graduated income tax c) Unlimited and free coinage of silver. 29. In 1892 they nominated James Weaver for president who got 1MM votes.
30. The east was dealing with problems like labor unrest. 31. 1896 election saw William McKinley (R) run against William Jennings Bryan, east vs west; big business vs. agriculture.
32. Campaign chests-(r) $16MM (D) $ 1MM 33. McKinley represented the interests of business while Bryan took the side of the westerners with the silver issue. 34. McKinley won with 271 EV to 176.