CHANGES ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER Chapter 5
CULTURES CLASH ON THE PRAIRIE SECTION 1
THE GREAT PLAINS The grasslands in the west-central portion of the U.S. Life centered on the horse and buffalo Great Plains Indians lived in small extended family groups. Men hunted for food Women helped butcher the game and prepare buffalo hides.
WHITE SETTLERS After the Civil War, many white settlers moved to the Great Plains. Some were looking for gold; others wanted to own land.
Settlers & Native Americans Clash over Land & Resources
2 Major Battles : Battle of Sand Creek: Army attacked & killed about 200 Cheyenne in Colorado. Little Bighorn River: Sioux leader, Sitting Bull, defeated George A. Custer and army troops in 1876. 6 months later, Army defeats Sioux
Sitting Bull & George A. Custer
Assimilation- U.S. government s plan in which Native Americans would give up their beliefs & culture & become part of white culture.
DAWES ACT OF 1887 Act broke up reservations & gave some land to each Native American family for farming. Plan failed b/c cheap land. Also, by 1900, nearly all buffalo dead Sioux performed Ghost Dance hoping to bring buffalo back
Sioux Ghost Dance Ghost Dance Shirt & Music
Battle of Wounded Knee Army made nervous about Ghost Dance. 1890, rounded up group of Sioux, including Sitting Bull. Tried to take Sioux s weapons and fighting broke out. Army troops killed 300 unarmed Sioux.
Chief Big Foot lies dead. Native Americans buried in mass grave.
What was it like to be a Cowboy?
Cattle Ranching was BIG Business! Ranchers raised Longhorns, a sturdy breed 1 st brought to Americas by Spanish American cowboys learned from Vaqueros.Vaqueros were Mexicans who worked on Spanish ranches in Mexico!
Chisholm Trail Growing cities spurred demand for beef Cattle ranchers drove cattle over the Chisholm Trail from San Antonio, Tx. To Kansas. Called Long Drive From there, cattle shipped by rail to Chicago
Map of Chisholm Trail & Cattleman
Long Drives didn t last long Bad weather in the 1880 s Invention of barbed wire
Settling on the Great Plains Section 2
3 Main groups went West: 1. Settlers who bought land from railroad companies at low prices & willing to farm it. 2. Homesteaders: Homestead Act of 1862 where government offered 160 acres of free land to anyone who would farm it for 5 yrs. 3. Exodusters: African Americans who moved from the post- Reconstruction South to Kansas.
Homesteaders
Exodusters
YELLOWSTONE PARK est. 1872 Government sets aside land in Wyoming to create Yellowstone National Park. Millions of acres more were set aside later.
What was life like for Western Settlers? Few trees, homes made of sod Soddys Isolated from each other.. Made most everything they needed. Women worked in fields too. Farming Great Plains difficult work, but soon, inventions will help. (steel plow, reaper)
Government helps to improve farming techniques: Morrill Act of 1862 & 1890 helped est. agricultural colleges. Est. experiment station on Great Plains to develop new types of crops and new growing techniques. Justin Morrill pictured right.
Huge single crop farms. Resulted b/c farmers were in debt with purchase of new farming machinery & crop prices falling. Bonanza farms helped them to make more $ by raising more crops.
Bonanza Farming Folds! Drought hits the Plains b/w 1885 & 1890 Couldn t compete w/ smaller farmers, who had more flexibility in crops grown. Also, high price of shipping crops also added to their debt.
FARMERS & THE POPULIST MOVEMENT Section 3
FARMERS ON THE BRINK OF RUIN! Government refused to increase $ supply to Civil War levels Farmers paid high prices to transport grain. They wanted REFORM!!
Oliver Hudson Farmer who started the GRANGE organization in 1867.
The GRANGE Organization: Purpose was to provide a place for farm families to discuss social & educational issues. By 1870 s, Grange members spent most of their time & energy fighting the railroads.
FARMERS ALLIANCES Another organization that included teachers, preachers, and newspaper editors who sympathized with farmers. Alliance members traveled throughout the Great Plains educating farmers about how to obtain lower interest rates; ways to protest the railroads, etc.
The Rise & Fall of Populism Populist Party or People s Party created in 1892 by Alliance leaders who realized they needed political power to make farreaching changes.
Beginnings of POPULISM: The Populist Party was the beginning of Populism. This was a movement to gain more political & economic power for common people. Party appealed to farmers and laborers.
PANIC!!!!!! Starting in 1880 s, many companies went bankrupt b/c not able to pay back loans. Many people lost jobs!
Panic continues into Presidential election of 1896! Important issue: Whether the country s paper money should be backed w/both gold & silver.
2 Sides of Election of 1896: Silverites - Favored bimetallism a monetary system in which government would give people either gold or silver in exchange for paper currency or checks.(would make more dollars available therefore prices & wages would rise) gold bugs - Favored the gold standard backing dollars solely with gold. (keep prices from rising)
Republicans & Democrats: REPUBLICANS Were gold bugs. Nominated : William McKinley for president. DEMOCRATS Democrats & Populists favored bimetallism. Nominated : William Jennings Bryan for President.
MCKINLEY WINS!!!!! Brings an end to Populism
Although McKinley won, the movement left 2 powerful legacies: Message that poor people & less powerful groups in society could organize & have a political impact An agenda of reforms many of which would be enacted in the 20 th century.