AQA GCSE History Paper 1: America, expansion and consolidation 1840-1895

1

Paper 1: America 1840-1895: Expansion and consolidation

What should you know?

Part one: • The geography of North America: attitudes to the Great American Desert; the belief in ‘Manifest Destiny’. • Why the early settlers went west and the challenges they faced: Brigham Young and the Mormons; the pioneer migrant farmers, the journey west; the miners. • Dealing with a different culture: the Plains Indians’ way of life; early American Government policy towards the Plains Indians; the Permanent Indian Frontier; a changing relationship with the Plains Indians. Part two: • Increasing conflict on the Plains: the Fort Laramie Treaty (1851) and the failure of the policy of concentration; the Indian Wars (1862–1867): reasons for and consequences of the Wars; Sand Creek Massacre; Fetterman's Trap. • The background to the American Civil War: differences between North and South, issues of slavery, westward expansion and free states abolitionism; breakdown of the Missouri Compromise, John Brown, the roles of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis; the social and economic impact of the American Civil War on civilian populations. • Coming to terms with the Mormons: the Mountain Meadow Massacre and its aftermath. Part three: • The aftermath of the American Civil War: the 13th Amendment; Civil Rights Act; reconstruction in the South, 1866–1877; carpetbaggers; the balance of Federal and State powers. • The continued settlement of the west: the Homesteaders, reasons for going west; government actions and laws; land and railroads; farming problems and solutions. • The resolution of ‘the Indian problem’ after 1865: the small reservations policy; attitudes to the native Americans; Battle of the Little Big Horn; The Dawes Act; Battle of Wounded Knee; the closing of the frontier and its impact on native Americans.

2

the Great American Desert

In 1840 the United States was made up of 27 states, most of them from the east to the Mississippi River. To the west were the Great Plains . To the nomadic Plains Indians these were home. To the white Americans they were the ‘Great American Desert’.

Part One: America Pre-1840

Attitudes begin to change

To the North of America was British Canada and to the south was Mexico, including California. During the early 1800’s Americans had travelled to and peacefully traded with California, while from 1820 others had settled in the Mexican state of Texas. These Texas settlers were originally encouraged by the Mexican government. However, they tended to be southern farmers who brought slaves with them for their cotton Plantations. After the Mexican government abolished slavery in 1829, there was a rebellion and Texas declared its self a republic in 1836. Meanwhile by the 1840’s Americans were beginning to settle the good farming land in California.

Old Attitudes

In 1840 the people of the United States were not interested in the Great Plains. They were simply dismissed as the Great American Desert however, some journeys of exploration were supported by the government.

Mexican-American War 1846 -48

In 1845 the United States took over Texas. It became the 28th State. The Mexicans were not happy about this annexation and in 1846 negotiations between the US and Mexico failed as a result of this Mexican troops attacked US troops in Texas. This led to the Mexican-American War. The Mexicans were driven out of Texas. Then US armies occupied New Mexico and California. Finally in 1847 the US armies advanced deep into Mexico, winning the Battle of Buena Vista, capturing Mexico City . The Mexicans were then forced to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and from this the US gained Rio Grande as the southern boundary for Texas, all of California and a large area of land that was to become the future states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

Map of the US in 1830

3

Part One: The Native American culture

Buffalo dances

Before the NA hunted the buffalo they would hold a ceremonial dance which could last for many days. The purpose of the dance was to call upon the spirit world for help in their hunting and to call the buffalo herd closer to them. The NA’s believed this would bring them good luck and ensure a successful hunt.

Horses

The Spanish brought the horses over to America in the 1500’s and the NA used horses in the hunt. Before horses though the NA had to hunt the buffalo on foot. They would often wear wolf skins to sneak up on the buffalo and cause a stampede where the buffalo would charge off a cliff. In winter they could stampede the buffalo onto a frozen lake where it was easier to shoot. Although still incredibly dangerous, the horses made the hunt much safer and faster for the NA’s.

The Hunt

Once they had horses, NA’s were able to kill greater numbers of the buffalo. The hunt was organised and policed by the warrior societies. They ensured that the buffalos were not scared away before the hunt and that only as many as they needed were killed. Two/three successful hunts a year were enough to feed and shelter the band. After the hunt the women and children butchered the buffalo and every part of the buffalo was used (97 uses for the buffalo).

A painting of NA’s hunting the buffalo before the arrival of the horse

Homes

The Tipi/tepee/lodge was the home of each NA family. It was made from 10-20 buffalo skins sewn together and supported by a frame of wooden poles arranged in a circle. It was the women who owned it, and therefore their responsibility to make it, put it up, and take it down. It could be packed away in 10minutes. It was perfect for people who had a nomadic way of life.At the top of the tipi there were two ears, or flaps, that could be moved to direct the wind so that the smoke from the fire inside could escape . In summer the tipi bottom could be rolled up to let air in. In winter it could be banked with earth to keep the tipi warm. The tipi’s conical shape made it strong enough to resist the strong winds on the Great Plains. The Sioux tipis were decorated by the men with geometric patterns and scenes recording their bravery in the hunt and in battle. Inside, a fire would always be burning at the centre to provide heat and for cooking. The floor was covered in furs. Everybody had their place in the tipi. There were strict rules about behaviour because space was so small. For example, it was rude to pass between another person and the fire.

Family life

NA’s spent most of the year travelling, hunting and camping with their band. This would consist of about 50 families, each with their own tipi. Within the family were different roles. The men were responsible for hunting, looking after the horses and protecting the band. They were judged by their skills as hunters, warriors and horsemen. Women were responsible for the tipi, for preparing food and fetching water, they also made clothes and other items. They were judged on their skill at crafts and as homemakers. Most men had one wife but rich men could have many wives, this was known a polygamy. Polygamy made sense in a situation where there were more women than men, and this was often the case because of the dangers of hunting and warfare. 4

Part One: The Native American warfare

Causes of war

Native Americans were often keen to fight so they could show off their skills and bravery. They might go to war as an act of revenge. The most common cause of war was Native Americans wanting horses or goods belonging to another tribe. Capturing horses from an enemy was a highly valued act of bravery. Occasionally tribes fought over the control of hunting grounds but this was unusual because the Native Americans did not see the land as their property. However, the main aim in war was to stay alive, in order to ensure the future of the tribe. If it seemed as though the tribe was going to be defeated they would retreat from battle as there was no honour in dying.

Weapons

Native Americans made their weapons from stone, bone and wood. The bow and arrow was a very effective weapon. It could be fired accurately over a long distance and more rapidly than early rifles in fact, an experienced warrior could fire 20 arrows in the time it took for a white man to fire and re-load an early musket. The Native Americans also used a Tomahawk. These were effective weapons because they could be used in close up hand to hand combat, or they could be thrown at the enemy from a distance. Native Americans could also use short knives.

A painting of a NA scalping his enemy

Warrior society

Most boys longed for the day when they could become members of a warrior society. Each society had its own costumes, songs and dances and organised raids against their enemies. Each society expected loyalty and great bravery from its members. Women could not become warriors however, they were quick to attack if their camp were under attack. Before going to war warriors would consult the Medicine Man, and ask him for spiritual advice. When it was decided that they were going to war, the warriors would spend time preparing themselves and their horses. They would paint symbols on themselves as it was believed this would bring them good luck.

How war was fought

War was based on ambush and skill, an ambush means a surprise attack. No one was forced to go to war, individual warriors chose to follow the chief to war or not, as they felt best. The bravest act during war was to score a coup. This was where a warrior tapped his enemy with a stick and escaped. For every enemy that a warrior touched he would add a notch to his coup stick, the more notches he had the braver he was. Native Americans would also scalp their victims. This meant that they would remove the skin from the top of their enemies skull (possibly while the person was still alive) this skin would be shown off as a trophy and they believed that if the person had been scalped then they could not go to the after world once they died, which they called the Happy Hunting Ground. 5

Part One: The Native American religion

Shaman and visions

The Medicine Man was the name given by non-NA to NA Shaman. To the NA there was a connection between religion and every aspect of their lives , including their health. For them all spirit power was medicine. They believed the Shaman could cure sickness because he could use the power of the spirits. If a NA was ill it was because he was possessed by an evil spirit. The Shaman would try to drive out the spirit. As the patient believed in the power of the spirits he or she would be relived if the Shaman said that the evil spirit was gone. The Shaman also used remedies such as ointments and potions made from herbs . The Shaman was consulted about every aspect of tribal life, from where to hunt, to when to go to war. They charged a fee, usually paid in ponies but would return their fee if their treatment was unsuccessful. In order to contact the spirits, every NA would have to have a vision. Young boys would use the sweat lodge, to clean their body. Then they would pray without food, they would then receive their vision. This would be interpreted by the Shaman who would give them their name based on their vision. Women could easily make contact with the spirit world, one reason for their importance in Sioux society. They developed this ability when they reached puberty and menstruated for the first time. They gained training from a medicine woman and then would receive their adult name. These visions would help the Sioux throughout their lives.

Dances and ceremonies

These were used when the whole tribe needed to contact the spirits. Before hunting, they would dance a buffalo dance, after a victory in war they would dance a scalp dance to celebrate and thank the spirits for their help. The most famous was the Sun Dance. This dance was used by Sitting Bull four days before his great victory in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

The spirit world and circles

The Sioux believed in Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit. He created the world and all that lived. All living things had spirits of their own, and these spirits were important to the Sioux. They believed these spirits could influence their lives and as a result had an impact on the way they lived on the Great Plains. The Sioux also believed in the circle of nature. They were physically surrounded by the circle of the horizon, of their village, of their councils, of their tipi, of their shield , the sun and the moon. They also lived through the circle of their birth, childhood, adulthood, old age, second childhood and death. As a result they painted circles on their tipis.

Sacred land

The religion of the Sioux affected their attitude to land. They believed that they came from the earth, just like plants and animals. When they died, they believed they returned to the land. They were part of the land, and as such the land could not be owned. They called the land their mother, and they said that ploughing the land was like ripping at their mother’s breast. Some land was particularly sacred, especially high places that were close to the spirit world. For the Sioux the Black Hills were sacred. This was where the first Sioux were saved from the great flood. It was the place where they took their dead for burial. It was where their holy men went to seek guidance. The white man could not understand the NA’s attitude to land and it was the greatest source of conflict as the Sioux were prepared to fight to the death for their sacred lands.

Native American Shaman

6

Part One: The Native American political organisation

Councils

Important decisions were taken in council. The advice of the medicine man, chiefs, and elders would be listened to with respect, but these men could not tell others what to do. Normally, the council members would keep on talking until everyone agreed. While they talked they smoked a ceremonial pipe, believing that the smoke would inform the spirit world and help them make good decisions.

When bands met, the council of the nation would meet. It could take important decisions, such as deciding to go to war, but the bands were not bound to agree with councils decision. As a result, some bands might be at war while others were at peace. Later this caused confusion for the settlers as not all of the members were peaceful.

Chiefs

Indian chiefs were not elected, nor did they inherit power. They became chiefs because of their wisdom, their spiritual

power or ‘medicine’ and skills as hunters and warriors. Only great chiefs like Sitting Bull were able to persuade the

warriors of many bands and even different nations to follow them.

Survival

To survive on the Great Plains the members of an Indian band had to co-operate and be well organised as they moved

following the buffalo. Sometimes bands would meet to camp and hunt together. At least once a year the bands would

meet as a nation.

A Sioux Council, a painting by George Catlin, 1847

7

Manifest Destiny

In the north-west the newly opened Oregon Trail 1840, brought new American settlers to Oregon Country in British Canada. Many Americans began to believe that their country should occupy the entire continent from coast to coast. This idea of expansionism was captured by journalist John Sullivan who coined the phrase Manifest Destiny. This meant people believed it was God’s will that they inhabit the new lands and spread the ideas of Christianity, freedom and Democracy. The white Americans believed they would use the lands more effectively than the Native Americans on the Plains or the Mexican Hispanic people in California and Texas. Furthermore, the Americans believed this made it right for them to go to war if needed to achieve this destiny. For a time it even seemed that Britain and America would be at war again over the boundary of Canada, but this was later settled by negotiation in 1846 when the Oregon Treaty was signed and the Americans gained the land which later became the state of Oregon.

Part One: Manifest Destiny and the Pioneers

Pioneers

The first group of people to travel west across the Great Plains and into the Rocky Mountains were the fur trappers. Fur hats became very fashionable during the 1820’s and 30’s therefore there was a lot of money to be made from trapping animals like beavers and other small animals and selling their skins to the eastern states and Europe. Fur trappers often worked for a company however, other independent fur trappers called themselves mountain men. Mountain men and fur trappers were very important as they often found safe routes/trails across America and once fur was no longer fashionable they became guides taking emigrants west of the Rocky Mountains. Once a year these trappers would meet at a agreed spot called the rendezvous to trade their years catch. Some 600 trappers were meet and talk about the rich fertile lands, this news eventually got back to the east and soon thousands of settlers would be making their way across the Plains each year in search of these new lands.

Jed Smith and Cannibal Phil

Life as a mountain man was hard and dangerous. They could easily get lost, fall, freeze to death, be killed by wild animals or Native Americans. The Rocky Mountains were full of bears, it was not unusual to see as many as 60 bears a day. Jed Smith was said to have had his ear ripped off by a bear and had to have it sewn back on. In order to survive the Mountain Men needed to dress and often become part of the NA’s tribes, in return for their clothing, a wife or somewhere to stay they often traded guns, ammunition and alcohol with the NA’s. Many Mountain Men even turned savage to survive. For example Cannibal Phil went off hunting with a NA, the weather was terrible and when he returned he was alone, he pulled a shrivelled human leg off his mule and shouted, ‘there dam you! I wont have to gnaw on you anymore!’. On another journey he also ate his Indian wife.

The aftermath

By the 1840’s most mountain men had moved on. Most of the beaver’s were wiped out and fur was no longer in fashion. Finally a steamboat arrived in Fort Union brought with it Smallpox the friendly Indians were wiped out, thousands died and fur trappers were no longer welcome. After this period the fur trappers used their knowledge of the west to guide wagon trains, people such as Jim Bridger made a lot of money from this. He even had a Fort and a trail named after him.

A painting of a Mountain Man in the 1800’s

8

Gold was discovered

In 1848 a carpenter building a saw mill in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range discovered gold. News of this discovery spread slowly at first until it was picked up by a San Francisco newspaper. Then it spread rapidly across the USA and beyond. The first miners to arrive were locals. 2/3 of the able bodied men in Oregon joined the Gold Rush in the months that followed. By 1849 (the forty-niners’) were arriving from around the world. Those who could afford it came by sea. Others took the slower route by wagon train across the Great Plains. The population of California rocketed from roughly 15,000 in the summer of 1848 to nearly 250,000 by 1852.

Part One: The Miners

Mining

The earliest miners needed a pick, a shovel, and a washing pan. In the washing pan water would carry away the lighter soil and gravel, leaving the heavier gold in the bottom. Later on the cradle was developed, a box that did the same job as the washing pan but for larger quantities.

Law and order

Mining towns grew out of the mining camps and they were lawless places. Tensions and violence arose because there were• No organised forces of law and order, the area was still

under military control following the Mexican-American War• Disputes between miners and the local Californians • Disputes between miners over mining claims. This was made worse by racial tensions between Americans and Hispanics (Mexicans, Chileans and Peruvians), the Californian Indians and the thousands of Chinese who arrived as labourers for Chinese merchants, as mining came to be dominated by large companies. Added to this were ex-convicts from Australia, free African-American and slaves brought with them by ex-planation owners from the southern United States. These slaves were not allowed to stay when California was admitted to the Union in 1850 as a free state. The living conditions of the miners was very poor and they often suffered from scurvy, diarrhoea, dysentery and malaria. After a hard days work they would go to the Saloons and get drunk, gamble away any earnings of spend their money on prostitutes.

The aftermath

By 1852 the Gold Rush was over and many miners moved on to search for gold in the Rocky Mountains (1857), Oregon, Arizona and in the Black Hills of Dakota (1874). Once the Rush was over, big business moved in to the California mining towns. Miners brought their families and permanent towns developed as merchants, farmers, doctor and Lawyers would also stay. Where these towns survived the railroads, telegraph and stage coach followed. In this way the discovery of gold made an important contribution to the settling of the west.

A photograph of an early gold mining technique, using a washing pan.

9

Getting ready

Whether you were going to C or O, you started your journey in one of the towns along the Missouri River. Emigrants would spend the winter there working hard to prepare for the long journey ahead. They had to be ready to leave in April, once the snow started to melt. Some sold everything they had to raise the money needed while other saved for years. It cost about $1000 to travel west. Several guide books were written such as the Emigrants guide to O and C, published in 1845. In it, it was recommended that each family should take 200 pounds of flour, 15pounds of bacon, 10pounds of coffee and salt, and 20pounds of sugar amongst other foodstuffs. The most important and most expensive piece of equipment they needed was the Prairie Schooner, and oxen. This wagon pulled by the oxen would carry everything they needed for the 7 month journey across 3800km west.

Part One: Moving West

Going west

The best way to travel was in groups as it was very dangerous and difficult to cross the Plains. Crossing mountains meant pulling wagons up to the top using ropes and pulleys. Crossing rivers meant paying a Indian or a ferryman, if you could not afford it, you had to leave your wagons and walk the rest of the way. Going to C meant crossing a desert, you had to ensure you had enough water for all your party and oxen. The weather could be brutal, blisteringly hot or hailstones the size of snowballs.

Why go west?

To many people in the United States in the 1840’s there were two places that sounded perfect. 1 was California (C) and the other was Oregon (O). Fur Trappers had described these places as paradise on earth, with rivers full of fish, fruit growing everywhere and where the sun always shined. Over in the east the people faced overcrowding, failing banks and land was becoming infertile. To many it seemed it was time to go west.

The Donner Party 1846

Lansford Hastings 1st visited C in 1843. From then on his ambition was to take C from Mexico and establish an independent country for himself as President. For this, he needed thousands of settlers. The problem was that O was more popular at this time. He knew he need to cut the journey to C short. He examined maps and found a short cut to C. Although he had not used this short cut, he advised the wagon trains to leave the normal route at Fort Bridger, go south-west to the Great Salt Lake and then re-join the usual route, this would save hundreds of kilometres. In 1846 the Donner Party led by two well to do brothers, Jacob and George Donner. It consisted of 60 wagons and 300 emigrants. The party left Independence in May and made good progress, by July they had reached Little Sandy River. The Donner’s wanted to travel with Hastings along his short cut but most of the party wanted to follow the usual route so they split in 2. 88 people went with the Donner’s. Hastings had agreed to met them at Fort Bridger. But when they arrived there in August Hastings had already left with another party, however, they promised to mark the trail for the Donner’s. They started off, but soon came across a note from Hastings which told them to wait there until he could find a way through the Wasatch Mountains. They camped there for 8 days until a message came telling them to follow another trail. This trail turned out to be impossible. For days they pushed aside boulders and guided the cattle along twisted paths. Eventually they emerged on the blinding-white alkali flats of the Great Salt Lake Desert. Hastings said it should have taken 2 days to cross, but in actual fact it took a week, and they had to leave behind 4 wagons and 300 oxen. Paiute Indians began to raid the stock. In trouble the Donner party began to argue and fights broke out. 1 member, James Reed killed another in self-defence, he was then banished to the desert. Their food supplies were almost gone and it was already September. They sent 2 men ahead to bring back supplies and on the 19/10 1 returned with a mule-train of food and 2 Indian guides. They left on the 23/10 still thinking they had plenty of time (usually it did not snow until mid-November, this would give them time to cross the Sierras. They began their 600metre climb on the 28/10 and camped that night, when they woke there was 15cm of snow on the ground. Further storms came and their animals died of cold and suffocation. Stuck on the mountains they build shelters as the snow deepened and their food supplies were dwindling. They ended up eating anything they could find, twigs, and bark and the 1st person died of starvation on the 15/12. 15 people went for help, this small group called Forlorn Hope set off on the 16/12 with 6 days worth of rations, but it was 32 days before they found civilisation. On Christmas Day the remaining group decided one must die, they drew straws but no-one could kill. 4 days later, 4 were dead and the survivors ate the bodies. They moved on taking the rest of the meat, but when this ran out the 2 Indian guides who refused to eat the bodies were shot and butchered. On the 10/01 the 7 survivors arrived at Johnson’s Ranch. Rescue parties were sent out, they found half the emigrants dead and the other half half-mad, again delays in getting these people to safety meant they had to resort to cannibalism. The main rescue party was led by James Reed who had found his way to C alone. He found his wife and 4 children all alive. 10

Brigham Young and the Mormons

Brigham Young became leader of the Mormons in 1845 after the murder of their founder, Joseph Smith. Since their religion began the Mormons had faced hostility and violence from non-Mormons (Gentiles). They worked hard and were successful which made people envious. Their belief that they were God’s chosen people and the fact that they were against slavery angered others. They were driven out of Kirkland and Missouri before they settled in Nauvoo, Illinois. Here they were allowed to build their own independent city state with its own armed forces and their numbers grew. However, after Joseph Smith announced God had told him he could have multiple wives (polygamy) there were divisions between the Mormons. Non-Mormons were shocked believing polygamy was a sin. Some feared it would lead to a population explosion. In 1844, Smith said he was standing for president. This lead to more trouble with Smith being arrested and jailed in the town of Carthage. On 27th June 1844 a mob attacked the jail murdering Smith. In September 1845, Brigham Young took the crucial decision that the Mormons should leave and move to Salt Lake City to practice their religion in peace. He chose this area because:1. It was isolated2. Reports suggested water and fertile land for farming

were available3. It would allow Mormons to live close together and

retain their distinctive religious beliefs and practices4. It was in Mexico and not the USA

Part One: The Mormons The Journey

Young was a brilliant negotiator, he negotiated with the Illinois authorities for freedom from persecution until they left in 1846. He was also a brilliant organiser and was very practical (more so than Smith), before this move he had organised the move to Navoo. Careful planning was required to move 16,000 Mormons across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. In winter 1845-46, oxen, food and equipment were bought and wagons built. In February 1846 the first group set off across the Mississippi to build a the first in a chain of rest camps stretching across the Plains with facilities to repair wagons and plant crops. The rest of the Mormons would follow in a steady stream of wagon trains, each of about 100 wagons. At the Missouri River, thousands of cabins were built for families arriving during the winter. This plan worked well. By autumn the Mormons had crossed the Plains to these Winter Quarters. But, winters were harsh and as food and fuel ran low, disease spread and over 700 people died. The next spring Young led a ‘Pioneer Band 'through the South Pass to the Great Salt Lakes clearing a path for the rest of the wagons to follow.

Settling Salt Lake

Young had consolidated his position as leader which helped ensure success in settling Salt Lake. First, he ensured the church allocated land to people according to their needs. At the centre of their new city was a the main temple with planned streets with plots of land for houses, farms and gardens leading off. Water was managed by an irrigation system and controlled by a timetable. By co-operative working the Mormons were abled to feed themselves.

Brigham Young

Deseret

At the end of the Mexican-American War the Mormons found themselves back in the US. Young wanted a new state called Deseret (land of the honey bee) and for it to be admitted to the US union but the government refused. A compromise was negotiated and the territory of Utah was created with Young its first governor. The Mormons established towns and settlements in Utah where farming was possible and on the borders of its territory in towns such as LA and Carson City. Initiatives to start an iron and linen industry, to become self-sufficient, were unsuccessful. More Mormon settlers were needed and missionaries were sent abroad to Europe and South America to convert and gather more people. A Perpetual Emigrating Fund (PEF) was set up to pay for their travel to Utah. The population grew and the Mormons became almost self-sufficient and hoped to be able to live in peace.

Winter Quarters 11

In the beginning

From the very beginnings of its founding colonies the people of the USA had encountered the original inhabitants the Indian nations and from early on this relationship varied from friendship and cooperation to hostility and open war. The Indians were treated as sovereign nations to be negotiated with but were seen as a barrier. In 1924 the Bureau of Indian Affairs was set up within the US War Department to manage this relationship.

Part One: Early American government policy towards the Plains Indians

The Permanent Indian Frontier

In 1830 the Indian Removal Act was passed which did 2 things:• Established a PIF in the West across

the Mississippi • Allowed the removal of the south-

eastern Indian nations so their lands would be available for settlement

These Indians were seen as people under the control of the USA and were moved beyond the PIF to what became known as Indian Territory. This measure was described as being for their protection although thousands died during their removal known as ‘The Trail of Tears’. The removal process was completed in 1838. The situation changed in 1840s when the Great Plains became a barrier to cross for the settlers moving to California and Oregon, to the miners moving to California and the Mormons moving to Salt Lake City. Figures vary but it’s estimate that 11,500 Americans took the overland trail to Oregon and 2,500 to California. There were few violent incidents between the travellers and Plains Indians but a change in attitude was happening.

Indian Appropriations Act, 1851

By the 1850s, most travellers were crossing the Great Plains and moving beyond the PIF onto the eastern edges of the Plains. This westward movement was something the US government encouraged but it made the Plains Indians need for protection more pressing. Meanwhile, in 1849 the Bureau for Indian Affairs had been moved from the War Department to the Department of the Interior. US gov policy focused on trying to ‘civilise’ the Indians by confining them to reservations and setting up schools. The outcome of this policy was the Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 which set up legally recognised reservations intended to protect Indians from westward expansion. The Americans were beginning to see the Plains from the point of ownership and settlement but the Indians believed no one could own the land. At the core of their religious belief was the circle of life and death and the circle of nature. As well as a clash over land at the heart of the later conflict between the Indians and US was a clash of cultures with neither side fully understanding each other.

12

The Permanent Indian Frontier/ or Indian Territory 1830, in actual

fact it lasted about 20 years.

Background

Travellers on the Oregon and California trails complained the Mormons charged too much supplies. The conversion of some Indians to the Mormon faith also raised new fears of the Mormons plotting to kill gentiles. Meanwhile, the federal government were concerned that the practice of polygamy was illegal and the Mormon leader’s control over Utah was theocracy (state ruled by religion).

In 1857 a non-Mormon governor and 2500 troops were sent to Utah to replace Brigham Young. The Mormons did not trust them so Young mobilised his defence forces, the Nauvoo Legion and successfully harassed the army to make it difficult to gather supplies. The troops stayed at Fort Bridger for the winter. Neither side wanted a full-scale war.

Part Two: The Mountain Meadow Massacre 1857

What happened?

In early September a wagon train of migrant families from Arkansas heading to California camped at Mountain Meadow. They were attacked by either Paiute Indians or Mormon militia. This and why the trouble started is still a matter of debate. Some believe it was to do with the tension caused by the invading US army, some think it was because Young had ordered Mormons not to trade with non-Mormons, some because a Mormon leader had been murdered in Arkansas, some because the migrants may have been provoking the Mormons or Paiute Indians.

The first attack on the wagon train was repelled and a 5-day siege ensued. When it became obvious the Mormons were involved the local Mormon militia leader decided to kill everyone so there were no witnesses. The migrants were tricked and told they had a free passage out. Everyone (150 people) were killed except for 17 children under 7.

The Mormons blamed the Indians and tried to cover up the massacre but in 1877, John Lee, the Mormon militia leader was convicted and executed for the crime.

The Aftermath

Public opinion went against the Mormons because of the massacre. The federal government sent more troops leading to many Mormons to flee turning public opinion back in their favour.

In April 1858 a peaceful settlement was reached. The Mormons were pardoned, a non-Mormon leader was installed and the US army entered Utah peacefully.

Utah entered the union in 1896 after the Mormons had banned polygamy, the reason they were not allowed to enter before.

John Lee

Location of Mountain Meadow in Utah 13

Fort Laramie Treaty, 1851

While the Americans were crossing the Plains there was very little actual conflict with the Indians. But with numbers increasing the US gov felt they needed to take action. The first Fort Laramie Treaty between the US gov and representatives of the Plains Indians nations (the Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Crow and Sioux) was signed on 17th Sept 1851. The Indians promised not to attack settlers travelling on the Oregon Trail and allow the building of some roads and forts in their territory. In return each nation had its agreed hunting area and was promised an annual subsidy.

The policy of ‘concentration’ seemed to solve ‘the Indian problem’ and pleased the ‘negotiators’, mainly people living in the East. They did include some Westerners such as government officials who had gained some understanding of the Indians and their way of life. The ‘negotiators’ believed that responsibility for Indian affairs should be kept within the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Not everyone was pleased with this. Some Indian nations like the Crow did not feel bound by the treaty. Another group termed the ‘exterminators’ had a very different view of the Indians and believed they were savages and the ‘Indian problem’ required a military solution. Their aim was to use the army to wipe out the Indians-a solution we would call genocide today. These ‘exterminators’ were people mainly living in the West-the settlers, ranchers, and miners and the soldiers sent to protect them. They also included some people who profited by selling beef and other supplies to the US army. They were both the people with the most to gain if the Indians were removed and most likely to suffer from Indian hostility.

Part Two: Increasing conflict on the Plains

Failure of the policy of concentration

Although some nations didn’t receive the goods promised, the FL Treaty was followed by a period of peace. The historian John D. Unrah’s research showed that between 1840-1860, while over 250,000 travellers followed the California and Oregon trails, fewer than 400 were killed. Of these, 90% were killed west of the South Pass, not on the Plains. However, this peace on the Plains was broken by 4 developments:

• In 1858 gold was discovered in the Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Gold Rush began. In the 3 years to 1861, roughly 100,000 settlers and miners poured into parts of Colorado and Kansas looking to get rich quick. They were moving onto Indian lands in breach of the treaty but the US gov chose not to enforce it.

• Nor did the US gov do anything to stop a second development, the movement of settlers onto the plains of Kansas and Nebraska from 1854 onwards.

• The third development was the start of organised transport links across the Plains. In 1858 Butterfield’s overland mail coaches began to run regularly from St Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California. Meanwhile, railroad surveyors began searching for the best routes across the Plains.

• Fourth, while chiefs of the Indian nations might have agreed to the treaty, the nature of Plains Indians society meant there would always be warriors or bands who did not feel bound by the treaty.

Fort Laramie, Wyoming in 1837

17

Westward Expansion

As the United States continued to expand westward, new states were created they would eventually be accepted into the Union. As free states of Ohio and Indiana entered the Union, slave states such as Mississippi and Alabama were also created, thus maintaining equal power between north and south. However when in 1819 Missouri was ready to enter as a slave state, the northern states opposed this. In the end the Missouri compromise 1820 was reached, by which Missouri entered as a slave state if Maine entered as a free state and no more slave states were to be allowed north of the line of latitude 36 degrees north.

Differences between North and South

• The North and South were very different in their political alignments. In the early 1800s, many Northerners belonged to the Whig Party, while Southerners tended towards the Democrats. By the 1850s and beyond, the Whig Party had collapsed, and many more Northerners became Republicans, while Southerners remained loyal to the Democrats. In addition, before the war, abolitionism was much more common in the North, though even there it was rare.

• The southern states were more suitable for plantation agriculture – growing rice, tobacco and particularly cotton. This cotton was then sold to Britain and Europe, making the South rich. This all relied on the use of slaves.

• In comparison, the Northern states industrialised, with towns and cities developing alongside agriculture. Slavery was disappearing in the North. The different interests of the North and South meant that the Northern and Southern states sometimes disagreed on government policy, for example trade.

Part Two: The road to Civil War

Abolition Movements

• Formal organised opposition to slavery in the USA began in 1817. The Anti-Slavery Society was set up in 1832. It demanded equal civil and religious rights for freed slaves. It was far stronger in the Northern states.

• The American Colonisation Society bought land in West Africa and worked to re-settle freed slaves there, by 1860 only 12,000 migrated there.

• The issue of slavery became part of the political debate in the United States and part of the argument between the Northern and Southern states.

The Compromise of 1850

After the US expanded into new territories captured from Mexico in 1848, it still had 15 free states and 15 slave states. But with these new states would be arguments about whether they should be free or slave? The South wanted to allow the expansion of slavery, but many Northerners often known as ‘free-soilers’ did not. So a new compromise was reached, the compromise of 1850 , this included the following points: • California a free state (breaking the balance)• The decision or whether slavery should be permitted in

new south west territories would be decided by their own governments

• A more effective Fugitive Slave Act was passed making it easier for slave catchers to recapture runaways in the north. And return them to their slave owners in the south.

This Compromise kept the peace between North and South, but the possibility of the two breaking up grew stronger. Southerners were considering secession from the Union. In addition the Fugitive Slave Act made the organisation of slavery obvious to northerners and as a result anti-slavery feeling was growing.

The breakdown of the Missouri Compromise

At the same time it was agreed that this new Kansas-Nebraska Act meant that the Missouri Compromise no longer applied. So new states north of the Missouri line could become slave states (even though this was unlikely to happen). This decision changed the nature of the US politics for good. Instead of the two old political parties whose members were split between pro-and anti-slavery, and who gained support in both Northern and Southern states, a new political party emerged, the Republicans , whose supporters were in the northern and who were still anti-slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

Most people agreed that Nebraska would never be a slave state but in Kansas it was a different matter. Both those for and against slavery began to encourage like-minded settlers to move to Kansas in an attempt to tip the scales in their favour. By 1856 Kansas had two opposing governments and later that year 700 pro-slavery supporters entered the free state town of Lawrence and smashed newspaper presses, stole property and burned buildings, this prompted free-soiler, John Brown to lead an attack on the Potawatomie Creek pro-slavery settlement. There they killed five men in front of their families. Further violence spread and roughly 200 were killed. After federal government got involved a decision was made in 1858 that Kansas would be a free state.

The Underground railroad

• From 1786 runaway slaves were helped to escape northwards along a secret route. In the period 1840-60 an estimated 50,000 slaves were helped to escape and settle in northern states and Canada. Harriet Tubman was born a slave, she escaped and made 19 trips back to the south to help others escape. She helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, was a Union spy during the Civil War and afterward campaigned for women's suffrage.

Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854

• Within four years of the compromise the Union was threatened again. This was because of a disagreement over the route of the transcontinental railroad. Southerners and Jefferson Davis wanted a southern route and northerners wanted a more northern route that would create 2 new states Kansas and Nebraska. The railroad was built north and to appease the southern states is issue of whether these states would be free or not was up to their own governments.

John Brown and Harpers Ferry

On the night of 16th October 1859 with a group of 19 followers Brownseized the weapons of the federal government at Harpers Ferry in Virginia. It was believed that he was going to arm a slave rebellion. He was tried for treason against Virginia and hanged for his part in it. Northern abolitionists viewed him as a hero; to Southerners, his actions proved that the North intended to destroy them.

Lincoln becomes President

When Lincoln was elected, many of the southern states feared the republicans would abolish slavery and so decided they no longer wanted to be a part of the United States. There had always been arguments about how much power the states should have versus how much power the federal government should have. The southern states felt that the federal government was taking away their rights and powers. They felt that they had every right to leave. Starting with South Carolina, eleven states would eventually leave the United States and form a new country called the Confederate States of America. Abraham Lincoln said they did not have the right to leave the United States. 15

Westward Expansion

When the USA expanded westward the federal government divided the land into new territories. As each territory was settled and its population grew, the people in it applied for statehood. As the free states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois entered the Union so did the slave states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, thus maintaining the balance of free and slave states. However in 1819 when Missouri wanted to join the Union as a slave state the free states had objections.

Part Two: Compromises between 1820-1854

Missouri Compromise 1820

In 1820 the Missouri Compromise was signed by President James Monroe. This states that Missouri could join the Union as a slave state but prohibited slavery north of Missouri.

Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854

Within four years of the Compromise of 1850 the Union was threatened again. This time the cause was disagreements over the route of the transcontinental railroad. Southerners backed Jefferson Davis who wanted to buy more land from Mexico and have a Southern based transcontinental railroad route. The North wanted the railroad to expand through Nebraska, thus creating the new states of Nebraska and Kansas, but the only way the South would agree to this was if the new states could be slave states.

However this act created problems as it superseded the Missouri Compromise since both Kansas and Nebraska were North of Missouri. As a result of this dispute a new political party was created- the Republicans. This party was made of supporters in the North who were anti-slavery.

While Nebraska was a clear free states, Kansas was a different matter. Both those who were pro and anti slavery who lived in Kansas encouraged like-minded people to move to Kansas in the hope to sway the vote. By 1856 Kansas had two opposing governments, both illegally formed. Soon the conflict between slavery and freedom in Kansas reached a boiling point. Riots broke out between those who wanted slavery and those who wanted it banned, resulting in the death of 200 people and much of Kansas’ property destroyed. This event is known as the ‘bleeding of Kansas’. The federal government became involved and Kansas became a free state in 1858.

The Compromise of 1850

After the 1848, as the US expanded into the new territories captured from Mexico, there was still an even number of slave/free states. A new compromise was reached which states:• California would be admitted to the Union as a free states, breaking the balance of free to

slave states• The decision to permit slavery in the new territories would be the decision of the state’s

own government• The Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened to try and stop Northerners helping slaves escape

the south. 16

Part Two: The role of Lincoln, Davis and Brown

Abraham Lincoln

BackgroundEventually Lincoln become the16th

President of the USA in 1860. He was the key person to end the civil war and slavery. Actions leading to the Civil WarLincoln opposed slavery and prevent the spread of slavery into new states. Lincoln openly said that the government compromises of 1850-1854 did little to solve the issues regarding slavery. Lincoln joined the Republicans who opposed slavery and openly criticised the South for its dependency on slaves. The Republican party made him run for president and Lincoln won every northern state, California and Oregon. He also won some Southern states, however it is believed that some Southern politicians wanted Lincoln to win in order to give them a valid reason to break from the Union.Influence during Civil WarWhen Lincoln becomes president in 1860 slaveholding states felt outnumbered and Lincoln would take away their power. In actually fact Lincoln did little to change the South, but the Southern states claimed independence. He said nothing, but felt he had to act after the south fired guns. He called for 75,000 troops to supress rebellion.

Jefferson Davis

BackgroundWas one of ten children and he grew up in Mississippi in the deep South. Has a career in the Military fighting in the Mexico-America War. After the war he become a plantation owner, owning a number of slaves.Actions leading to the Civil WarAfter the war with Mexico he falls into politics, eventually being appointed Senator for Mississippi. He believed in slavery and opposed California joining the Union as a free state. He later ran for governor of Mississippi but failed to win the position. He was a strong advocate of state rights as a method of continuing slavery in the South, however he was against the idea of the South succeeding from the Union as he realised the South need the finial support of the North.Influence during Civil WarAppointed Secretary of War in 1852 until 1857. Davis was named President of the Confederate state in 1861 and he was captured and charged with treason. He was imprisoned for two years after the war but eventually released.

John Brown

BackgroundRadical abolitionist who hated slavery. Armed slaves and encouraged rebellions against slavery. Brown was deeply religious and believed that slavery went against the Bible. He became an underground railroad operator to help free blacks and lived with many blacks. Belief god had chosen him to free black people. Actions leading to the Civil WarBrown was one of the instigators during the riots in Kansas and encouraged people to take up arms to end slavery. In 1859 he led a band of 19 to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. He intended to give the weapons to slaves for a rebellion. Local troops surrounded the arsenal and capture Brown. A fight broke out between Brown’s men and the troops, several men were killed, including one of Brown’s sons. The South viewed Brown as a madman, but the North and follow abolitionist viewed him as hero and martyr. To the South, Brown symbolised how the North was trying to destroy them.Influence during Civil WarHe was tried and convicted for murder, conspiracy to incite a slave uprising, and treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was hanged at Charles Town, the county seat near Harpers Ferry, on December 2. Among those watching the execution, "with unlimited, undeniable contempt" for Brown, was the future assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth. 17

Abraham Lincoln

Jefferson Davis

John Brown

Conscription

The Confederacy introduced conscription in April 1862. this meant that all able-bodied men between 18-35 were required to join the army. By the end of the war this was extended to men between 17-50. However in the South planation owners with 20 or more slaves were exempted from conscription as they were needed for the economy. The Union introduced conscription in March 1863 for all able-bodied men between 20-45. in both the North and South people could avoid conscription by offering a substitute not of draft age or paying a fee of $300-$500. in both side of the war conscription was not well received.

Part Two: Social and Economic impacts of CW

The role of Women

During the war, many women volunteered as unpaid nurses, while others took over the jobs of men who left to fight and became farmers, plantation managers factory worked and business owners. When the war ended women wanted to continue in these roles. The war inadvertently helped change the status of women. however an appeal for the vote for women as well as for black males received little support.

Economic impacts

NorthWealthy manufactures and traders profited the most from the war, especially those who manufactured of weapons. The northern economy was helped by the introduction of railroads as it allowed good to be transported easily. However ordinary worked in factors found their wages cut due to wartime taxes were needed. This was made worse by the present of women and children in the factories as they were paid less then men. When worked pushed for better wages they were accused of being unpatriotic. The North also established naval blockades to stop the South exploring goods. This resulting in Britain and Europe only trading with the North which aided their economy SouthThe south suffered the most during the Civil War. The Union army tore through the south destroying railroads, plantations, livestock and businesses as a tactic to weaken the south. Production of cotton fell from 4 million barrels in 1861 to 300,000 bales in 1865. This was largely due to the fact that many slaves ran away to join the Union. Food shortages became a major issue during the war and in some cities lead to riots in 1863. the Confederate government requested that farms begin to grow crops for food, but many plantation owners continued to grow cotton in the hope of profit. The South also introduced high taxes to help pay for the war, but when this was rejected they started printing more money. This lead to hyperinflation, as the more money the South printed the less it was worth.

However there were still trade links between the North and South during time of work. The North was desperate for cotton to make clothes and uniforms and the South was desperate for food. Therefore during the war the North was buy cotton from the South and pay for it with crops.

Emancipation

On January I 1863 president Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This was a key moment. Up to then Lincoln insisted that the war was to restore the union and not the free slaves but loads began to turn up to union camps. The question then was should they be free. In the end he decided yes for three reasons:1. It would give the north a moral cause, public opinion

would be behind them and would boost morale.2. Slave labour was propping up the confederate war

effort with slaves working in factories.3. Making the war into one against slavery would remove

danger of France and Britain support confederate states.

Following this, African Americans were allowed to join armed forced. Moves were made to create all black units. However black soldiers often did not receive the same treatment as white soldiers, and they could not become officers. If they were captured by the confederated then they were returned to the state they came from and forced back into slavery. Over 38,000 African Americans died by end of the war.

18

Part three: The Aftermath of the Civil War

Black codes

While slavery was banned in America, in many Southern states blacks were still not ‘free’. Laws known as Black codes were passed, under these laws freed slaves could marry, own property, testify in court against fellow blacks and make legal contracts. However interracial marriages were banned and blacks could not testify against whites in court. They also stated that annual contracts between landowners and black share croppers were needed to ensure white landowners received the majority of profits from the land and ensure whites remained more economically successful.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

In 1866 Congress tried to pass a Civil Rights Act, however President Johnson vetoed the act. To overcome this it was rebranded as the Fourteenth Amendment, ensuring the president could not dismiss it. The Act intended to protect the rights of ex-slaves by making them US citizens. While the Act struggled to give blacks the vote, congress threatened Southern States with reduced payments if states refused to give black men the vote. This was the first attempt by the federal government to limited state control over civil and political rights.

The Thirteenth Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and gave Congress the power to enforce this. To ensure this was successful new governments in the South had to sign the Thirteenth Amendment and formally agree that slavery could not exist in the United States. The amendment also states that Southern states had to dismiss any laws regarding slavery that the Confederate government had established.

A balance of federal and state powers

After the Civil War the issue of federal vs state rights continued. The federal government was often in conflict with the Southern states over the freedom and equality of African Americans. The federal government had to intervene in the south a number of time over issues of citizenship of African Americans to ensure southern states were following the Thirteenth Amendment.

Andrew Johnson

After the assassination of Lincoln in 1865, Andrew Johnson became president and needed to deal with the issue of bring the south back into the Union (reconstruction) Lincoln wanted this to be a speedy progress, where the south were trusted to have their own governments, however many republicans wanted Confederate politicians to be banned from Congress. Johnson stated that all Confederate states, who still lacked a reconstructed government, could return to the Union. He also said if southerners pledged a oath of loyalty to the Union they would be pardon and could remain in politics, all land and property (expect slaves) were given back to Confederate politicians. The only people Johnson was harsh towards was rich plantation owners who he taxed heavily, however once they paid the taxes they too were pardoned.

Aftermath

When the war finally ended the key task facing the United States was reconstruction. This was the restoring of the Union and reintegrating the defeated South. There were a number of questions to be considered, foremost of which were how the Confederacy’s leaders and soldiers should be treated and what should happen to the 3.5 million former slaves An extract from the Thirteenth Amendment, 1865

Section 1: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the united states or any place subject to jurisdiction.

Section 2: Congress have the power to enforce this article to appropriate legislation

19

A new Act

Johnson and the Republican Party (RP) in Congress remained in dispute over reconstruction. The RP wanted to ensure the vote for African American’s (AA) and wanted to keep ex-Confederates out of power until there was no longer the threat of rebellion. In 1867 Congress passed a new act which divided the South into 5 temporary military districts each run by a general, new elections for state government were to be held where all AA’s and white people not barred by the 14th Amendment could vote . Once the state had re-written their constitution they could be re-admitted into the Union and reconstruction would be complete. Johnson again vetoed the Act but was again overrode by Congress and the Act became law.

Part Three: Reconstruction in the South, 1866-1877

Impeachment

The RP in Congress passed 2 new laws that limited the power of the president. The Republicans did not want Johnson to remove Stanton, the Secretary of War as they needed him to enforce their Reconstruction Act. Johnson removed Stanton for a 2nd time in 1868 so the Republicans Impeached him. The charges were that Johnson had exceeded his powers as president and had not enforced the Reconstruction Acts. In his trial Congress were just short of the 2/3 majority they needed to impeach him, so Johnson served his remaining time in office.

Reconstruction in the South – the struggle after 1870

The continued struggle over the role of the AA continued between the conservative old order, the Democrats and the Republican new order. The AA themselves played an important part in this. Even though many freed slaves were uneducated and destitute, there were others who were born free, and had served in the Union Army. Military veterans’ service in the army had given them experience of leadership, opportunities for education and a sense of national pride, they now had a strong desire for freedom from white control. As a result the independent black church, the Baptist Church was established and by 1890 there were over a million black Baptists in the South. These churches were important was they developed black education through funding the building of schools and the payment of teachers and freed AA’s also organised 1000’s of clubs and societies.

The 15th Amendment 1869

The final part of Reconstruction was to guarantee the vote for AA’s. The key provisions for the 15th Amendment was to ensure the vote could not be denied on the basis of race, colour or previous enslavement. The Democrats argued that this violated their states rights to decide who could vote. The RP won but loopholes were created ie, there were literacy tests and property requirements. Meanwhile efforts to win suffrage for women was unsuccessful. In 1869 Grant was elected as President and by 1870 all the Southern states had been re-admitted to the Union and the struggle over political reconstruction was at an end.

Carpetbaggers and Scallywags

During and immediately after the CW, many northerners headed to the southern states, driven by hopes of economic gain, a desire to work on behalf of the newly emancipated slaves or a combination of both. These “carpetbaggers”–whom many in the South viewed as opportunists looking to exploit and profit from the region’s misfortunes–supported the Republican Party, and would play a central role in shaping new southern governments during Reconstruction. In addition to carpetbaggers and freed AA, the majority of Republican support in the South came from white southerners who for various reasons saw more of an advantage in backing the policies of Reconstruction than in opposing them. Critics referred derisively to these southerners as “scallywags.” They were even more hated than the carpetbaggers. They held political positions during reconstruction although they drifted back to supporting the Democrats as they were not too deeply concerned with black rights.

Reconstruction government achievements

The RP managed many significant achievements. They established the 1st state school systems with 600,000 AA’s in schools by 1877. They also ensured that AA’s achieved lasting rights to education, and in principle AA’s had equality before the law, the right to own property and set up business. They also repaired and re-built roads, buildings and bridges. But by 1877 the conservative forces of the Democrats had regained power in all Southern States, bringing Reconstruction to an end. This happened for 4 reasons, both Northern and Southern Republicans were swayed by their Democrat friends, vote rigging, the rise of the KKK lost RP morale, the lack of political will as the Northern states gave up on AA’s rights and focused on the Indian Wars and westward expansion instead. 20

The Ku Klux Klan

Terrorist groups such as the KKK were formed in 1866. These Klansmen wore white robes as they represented the soldiers who died in the Civil War. Their aim was to terrify Black people, carpetbaggers, and white Northern teachers who educated Black people. The KKK would visit Black peoples homes in the dead of night and smash, burn and destroy anything they could. If they defied the Klan, Black people were lynched, beaten, shot or drowned. The KKK began in Tennessee and spread across the south. The Klan faded away in 1877 after many enforcement acts were brought in to protect Black people and the Northern troops finally left the south. In 1871 President Grant targeted an area in South Carolina for mass prosecutions and this broke the power of the Klan. The Jim Crow laws were then set up which was a system of segregation. It was decided in 1896 that it was legal to have separate facilities for black and white people as long as they were of equal standard. However, they were very rarely of equal standard. The system of segregation was enforced by brutality. Between 1882-1903, 2,000 Black people were lynched or burned. Southern newspapers would advertise these executions. Children would be taken to see them as part of their education, and people often had their photos taken with the victims as they knew no White person would be convicted for the murder of a Black person.

Part Three: The Aftermath of the Civil War for AA’s

Exodus to Kansas

Thousands of AA’s began migrating west to Kansas. They became known as ‘Exodusters’ as they were looking for freedom from the racism and poverty of the post-war South. They became farmers, ranchers and cowboys.

Share cropping

Once freed, many ex-slaves moved away from plantations. Some left for the south-west, such as Texas, where planters paid higher wages, more moved into towns and cities. Some spent years reuniting with family who had been separated by sales. With little money and skills, freed slaves faced the prospect of becoming wage labourers, but many turned to share cropping. Under this system the landowner provided the land, housing, tools and seed and a local merchant provided food and supplies on credit. At harvest time the share cropper received a share of the crop for their labour and the landowner took the rest. The share cropper then used their share to pay off their debt to the merchant. The advantage to the white landowner was that their land was being worked and the advantage for the AA was that they had more control over their lives. However, the system was inefficient and the share croppers were in continual debt.

21

The Homestead Act of 1862

The Homestead Act was designed to promote settlement in the West. Before the Act, the government divided up land into 640 acre sections and sold it for $1 per acre. This was too much for most families. The government did not want the land in the West to be bought up by a small number of rich landowners. The Act made plots smaller and essentially gave them away to ordinary citizens. So plots were 160 acre ‘homesteads’ which were small areas with a family house, and enough land to support the family. It cost just $10 to register a claim to a homestead, known as ‘filing a claim.’

The Act stated that:Anyone could file a claim as long they were the head of a family, or single and over 21, or younger than 21 but an ex-soldier. Women and ex-slaves were included in this, and so were people intending to become US citizens (but not American Indians).Anyone filing a claim had to live and work on the land themselves. There were limits on how many claims one person could file, stopping all the land being bought up by a small number of people.Once someone lived on the land for five years, built a house and planted five acres of crops, they could pay $30 and own the land for themselves outright (this was called ‘proving up’).

Following the Act:Over 6 million acres of government land had become homesteads by 1876. Eventually, over 80 million acres of land was settled.The biggest success was Nebraska, whose population grew quickly enough to become a state by 1867Many of the homesteaders were immigrants. By 1875, more than half of Nebraska’s population of 123,000 were recent immigrants or their children.

The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862

The Pacific Railroad Act provided the incentive for transcontinental railroads to be built. They were a way to promote the development of towns, boosted the sale of land to settlers and were a way to connect industrial cities in the North to rural areas in the West. The jobs was given to Union Pacificand Central Pacific. Union started in Omaha and built westwards, Central started in Sacramento and built eastwards.

The Act stated that:The government had to ‘extinguish’ any rights that indians had to Plains land.The government loaned each company $16,000 for every mile of track laid ($48,000 for mountainous areas)Each company were given large amounts of public land along the route for them to sell.

Following the Act:The government gave the two companies 45 million acres of free landLoaned them $61 million.Each company established a Bureau of Immigration to persuade foreign citizens to settle in the West. By 1880, the railroad companies had settled 200 million acres in the West.More land was settled than under the Homestead Act, because the rail companies had more land to sell and people wanted to live near the railways.

Part three: Government Acts during the Civil War

22

Why the homesteaders went west

Reason 1: The actions of the US governmentThe US government recognised the need to populate the West and to help to achieve this the Homestead Act was passed in 1862. It was intended to encourage people to settle in the West by allowing each family 160 acres of land for free if they lived on and farmed it for 5 years. Two later Acts also encouraged settlers. These were:The Timber Culture Act, 1873: This gave settlers the right to buy 160 acres of free land provided they planted 40 acres with trees. The Desert Land Act, 1877: This gave settlers the right to buy 640 acres cheaply in areas where lack of rainfall was a particular problem.

The effect of these Acts was to make millions of acres available for homesteaders to settle and thousands seized this opportunity.

Reason 2: The end of the American Civil WarThis was a turning point. Thousands of demobilised soldiers and their families were looking to rebuild their lives. Thousands of newly freed black slaves were looking for a new beginning so they looked West. They became homesteaders, cowboys, miners, soldiers and railroad builders who transformed this area.

Reason 3: The building of the transcontinental railroadsThe US government had long wanted to build a transcontinental railroad to link east and west. Eventually they met at Promontory Point in Utah in 1869. This had three main effects: now it was easier for homesteaders to get to the Plains; it was also cheap to buy land, as the railroad companies sold off the land on either side of the line at low prices; and finally the railroad could bring new machinery quickly to the Plains.

So land was cheap, travel was easy and there were plenty of people looking for a new life. The result was a flood of homesteaders onto the Plains.

Part Three: The HomesteadersPULL factors

• The offer of free land• The chance of a new

start/adventure• Advertising by the railroad

companies and the territories and states

• Letters home from those who had already gone west and were successfully farming encouraged people to move

ENABLING factors

• The early homesteaders travelled by wagon, by riverboat or on foot

• Later homesteaders travelled on the new railroads

• The Indians were cleared from these lands, defeated by the US army and confined to the reservations or pushed further west

PUSH factors

Europe• Scandinavians wanted good farming

land that was no longer available at home

• English, Germans, Irish, Russians and Scots were looking to escape poverty and unemployment at home

• Jews and other religious groups such as the Amish and Mennonites were looking to escape religious persecution at home

• Thousands of emigrants left Europe to settle in Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas

The Eastern States• Ex-soldiers from both sides of the civil

war saw a lack of opportunity when they returned to their homes

• Other easterners wanted farming land or opportunities to get on that were no longer available in the settled eastern states

The Southern States• The after-effects of the Civil War: black

ex-slaves were persecuted in the south and many southerners lost their land and income

• Serious economic problems when crops failed and people went hungry

• Ex-slaves, Exodusters, from the southern states mainly went to Kansas. In 1879, the peak year of migration, up to 40,000 went west

23

Problems of living on the Plains

Water shortagesIn many places water was scarce making it difficult to keep themselves and their clothing clean.

Extremes of weatherIt was hot in the summer and cold in the winter with low rainfall and this made life very uncomfortable. Homesteaders stayed in one spot and grew to hate the fierce winds that howled around their homes for days.

FuelNo wood to burn for heating and cooking. They had to use cow ‘chips’ (dried dung).

Building materialsHomesteaders who settled in river valleys might be able to get wood to build homes and some was transported from the east for those that could afford it. But for the vast majority the only material available for house building was earth. Blocks of earth (sods) were cut out by hand or a special plough. These were then used as building bricks to construct house walls. Windows and doors were fitted. Then the house was roofed with boards, grass and more sods. Finally, the outside walls were plastered with clay-like mud. Such houses were very cheap to build. They could be warm in the winter and cool in the summer if well built but it was difficult to stop it leaking if it rained.

Dirt and diseaseThe sod houses were very difficult to keep and harboured a lot of pests such as bed bugs, fleas, mice and snakes. Living in such conditions and the lack of water made it difficult for people to keep clean. It was all too easy for disease to develop and illness was common among homesteaders especially children.

Part three: Problems faced by the Homesteaders living on the Great Plains

Plains Problems of farming on the plains

Extremes of weatherDrought in the summer and cold in the winter could damage or destroy crops. In Kansas, for example, no rain fell between Jan 1859 and Nov 1860.

PloughingThe Great Plains had never been ploughed before so the first task for homesteaders was to plough the land. The grasses had dense, tanged roots and the early cast-iron ploughs needed constant repairs. Ploughing was a slow, back breaking task.

Protecting cropsNo wood for fencing meant no way to protect crops from buffalo or straying animals. Nor was it possible to mark land boundaries clearly which could lead to disputes.

Growing cropsThe homesteaders planted crops they had always grown such as maize, soft winter and spring wheats. These were not well suited to the weather conditions on the Plains.

Natural hazardsIn the summer, when the grass was dry it was easy for prairie fires to start and if too big to fight then crops would be destroyed. Plagues of grasshoppers swept across the Plains in 1871, 1874 and 1875 descending on the land in columns 240km wide and 160km long. Hundred acre corn fields vanished in a few hours.

A family outside their sod house

24

Part three: The solutions to the homesteaders problems on the Great Plains

Solutions to living and farming on the Plains

Despite the problems the majority of homesteaders stayed on after the first year. Not all of them were successful. The exact location of their land was a crucial factor. Some parts of the Plains were more fertile than others. A second factor was adaptability. The homesteaders were required to adapt their farming to the conditions. Those who didn’t, failed. A third factor outside their control was the weather. The severe droughts of the 1870s and 1880s forced thousands into bankruptcy. For example, approximately 11,000 homesteads were repossessed in Kansas between 1889 and 1893. Those who survived and prospered were helped by a number of inventions and developments. • WindmillsThere were 2 solutions to a lack of water on the Plains. The first was developed in 1874 when Danial Halliday invented a self-governing windmill: it always kept in line with the wind so it didn’t get damaged by strong winds. This windmill could be used to pump water from underground. First, a high powered drill was used to get down to the water. Then the wind pump was fitted. It would pump water day and night for people to use in their homes and to irrigate their crops. • Dry farmingThe second solution was dry farming. Farmers ploughed their land when there had been heavy rain or snow. This left a thin layer of dust over the surface which trapped and preserved the moisture of the soil. The land was then left fallow ready for the following year’s crop. • Growing a surplusIn later years the homesteaders grew a surplus of crops that they could sell. They used the money to buy better equipment and increase their surplus even more. • Hard winter wheatHomesteaders recognised that wheat was a more suitable crop than corn. Those on high plains realised it was better to keep animals (sheep and cattle). Russian Mennonite immigrants introduced hard winter wheat (Turkey red wheat). The climatic conditions on the Plains were similar to those on the Russian steppes, so these crops flourished and homesteaders who grew it were successful. Russian weeds (tumbleweed) accidently brought over mixed in crops and seen in so many westerns also flourished. • Barbed wireIn 1874 Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire. This provided a cheap and effective solution to the problem or fencing and protecting crops. • Sod-busterJohn Deere invented a particularly strong plough which could deal with the tough grass roots known as a ‘sod buster’ the nickname given to homesteaders by the cowboys. • Other machineryFrom the 1880s other new farming machinery was developed such as reapers, binders and threshers. These could be easily transported by railroad to the Great Plains and were affordable. The machines increased the area that a homesteader could manage to farm and were well suited to the wide open spaces on the Plains. • Hard workBy the 1890s a combination of all these inventions and developments had helped the homesteaders to solve the problems of farming on the Plains. The Great Plains became a fertile area for wheat production and the majority of homesteaders prospered. Their success can be explained by their determination, hard work and adaptability. They were supported by the railroads which took them there, brought them equipment and carried their crops to market.

25

Background

The movement of homesteaders onto the Plains had an increasing impact of the Plains Indians. This lead to disruption of the buffalo herds migration routes and led to increased tension. The influx of people meant that the small reservations policy that underlay the second Fort Laramie Treaty 1868 was destined to fail. This was because:• Not all Plains Indian bands had agreed to live on

reservations• Whenever there was conflict between preserving the

Indian reservations the interest of railroad engineers, miners or settlers, the US government favour the latter group (settlers).

Part three: The resolution of the ‘Indian problem’ post-1865.

The US army

With the end of the Civil War the US army was better prepared to campaign in the West.

New troops: Many seasoned troops became available so the army had far superior numbers and if it lost men they could be quickly replaced.

Forts: The army benefited from the from the network of forts built to protect the overland routes and to keep watch over reservations. These served as a base from which soldiers could patrol and watch. Although Plains Indians attacked forts on a number of occasions, they never managed to capture one. The combination of men and artillery, sometimes protected by walls, was too strong.

“Total War”: Officers also brought new strategies to the Indian wars- the first was that of ‘total war’. This had been successfully used by Generals Sherman and Sheridan during the Civil War. ‘Total War’ meant waging war against a whole enemy population, not just against its fighting troops. Id did not mean the killing of women and children, instead it meant destroying all the food, shelter, clothing, possessions and animals of the Plains Indians. This left them which a choice between starvation or surrendering and going into the reservations. This strategy demoralised the Plains Indians and strengthened the arguments of those in favour of peace.

Winter campaigns: The second strategy was that of winter campaigns. With the heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures on the Plains it was the time of year when the Plains Indians needed to stay in one place and conserve food supplies and strengthen their ponies. Defeat at this time could be devastating as tribes were never prepared or strong enough during this period. The US army were able to campaign and fight in the winter months and took advantage of the Indians weakness.

The combination of these four factors ensured that the army would be able to defeat the Plains Indians if war broke out, and break out it did for two reasons. The first was associated with the new railroads and the buffalo, and the second was gold again.

26

Attitudes to the Native Americans

Since the forced removal of the eastern Indian Nations to Indian territory, the view of the US government had changed from seeing the Plains Indians as nations to be negotiated with on equal terms, to simply American subjects under the rule of the US government. Meanwhile the old debate between negotiators and exterminators still continued.

Good to know…

The biggest problem faced by the US army was forcing the Indians to fight. If a village was under attack, the warriors would fight a delay action, allowing the woman and children to evacuate safely before the fighting started. Once the women and children were safe, they too would retreat. In winter this was harder and abandoning the village would leave them without shelter.

Cheyenne War 63-67

In 1861 the Cheyenne and Arapahoe began making serious attacks on the miners, travellers and railway surveyors on their land, by 1863 full-scale war had broken out. Due to the Civil War volunteer forces were used to fight the NA’s like the Colorado Militia. The fighting continued with Indian attacks on Ranches and small settlements. But by 1864 some Cheyenne came to an agreement to move onto a new smaller reservation. Among these were Black Kettle and his followers (800 people). They were camped at Sand Creek near Fort Lyon, this had been agreed in the peace talks and Black Kettle flew a white flag over his tipi to show it was a friendly village. The warriors had left to hunt the buffalo leaving mostly women, children and the elderly back at the camp. It was then that Colonel Chivington and his Colorado militia attacked and massacred the

Indians in what is now known as the Sand Creek Massacre on the 29th November 1864. Approximately 150 Indians were dead, and worse still Chivingtons men took scalps as trophies. When hearing the evidence from this massacre even some of Chivingtons men refused to attack the innocent people. The trial concluded that Chivington had deliberately planned and executed a foul and dastardly massacre and yet he was never brought to justice. After the peace agreement, although many Cheyenne lived peacefully on their reservation, other continued to fight. On the 6th January 1865, over 1000 Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Sioux warriors attacked Julesburg. The garrison of only 60 soldiers were able to hold out but the area was plundered and the Indians took away cattle and horses. Later in 1867 another Cheyenne band living off the reservation were attacked and defeated by General Custer at the Battle of Washita. Other continued to live off the reservation but continued raiding and could still be found fighting in Red Clouds War.

Part three Native American Wars 1863-1868

Sioux or Red Clouds War 1865-68-

This war had similar causes to Cheyenne War. Gold was discovered in 1862 in the Rocky Mountains, Montana. New mining towns such as Virginia City sprang up and settlers and miners poured in using a new trail (Bozeman Trail) and the government did nothing to stop them breaking the terms of the treaty that supposedly said they could not cross Sioux lands. As a result the Sioux attacked travellers along the trail. In 1866 the government tried to open peace talks with the Sioux leader Red Cloud. However, at the same time the government was ordering new forts along the trails so Red Cloud broke off peace talks and attacked these new forts and held them under siege.

Fetterman Massacre 1866- 80

One of these forts held by the Indians was called Fort Phil Kearney and it was commanded by Colonel Carrington who was inexperienced with working with Indians. He told his soldiers not to pursue the Indians too far from the fort as he was worried they would be lured into an ambush. However, on the 21st December 1866 about 80 men led by Cap William Fetterman were lured into a trap set by the Sioux, all were killed and mutilated.

Red Clouds Achievement

Red Cloud was a strong leader he managed to keep the NA’s fighting through the winter months , he managed to gain the support of several Sioux bands, the Crow (who were usually enemies of the Sioux), the Arapaho and the Cheyenne. As a result of his leadership skills the army could not move safely outside their forts, and travellers could not use the Bozeman Trail .

The Peace Treaty

By 1868 the government was forced to admit defeat and change its policy because the US realised they could not defeat the NA’s militarily . At the same time an alternative route to the gold mining areas had been found so the government withdrew from the forts under the terms of the of the 2nd Fort Laramie Treaty. Under this Treaty the Great Sioux Reservation was created and no non-Indians were allowed to enter. Red Cloud agreed to this treaty and when the soldiers left he and the Sioux moved in and burned the forts to the ground. Red Cloud lived the rest of his days in peace on the reservation, but not all the Sioux agreed, Red Clouds power decreased and many of the Sioux went on to follow the younger more militant leaders like Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse who went on to continue the fight.

Red Cloud, leader of the Sioux. In 1880 he exposed the corruption of the Indian Agent running the reservation he lived on. 27

Part three: War on the Southern Plains 1876-77

War on the Southern Plains

As new railroads were constructed across the Plains more people were needed to build them, and feed the new workforce therefore buffalo hunters were employed. In 1871 it was also discovered by a tannery company that they could produce high quality leather from buffalo hide. As a result the price of this hide shot up leading to even more buffalo hunters coming onto the Plains. By 1875 the Southern

buffalo herd was destroyed. The NA’s tried to attack the hunters but they were no match for the hunters and their powerful guns. In 1874, in an attempt to force the hunters off the Plains before the last of the herds vanished 700 Arapaho, Cheyenne’s, Comanche’s, and Kiowa’s attacked the buffalo hunters based near Adobe Walls. Unfortunately, the Indians were defeated.

The Great Sioux War 1876-77

The destruction of the buffalo affected the Sioux too but it was the discovery of gold in the Black Hills triggered the most fighting from the Sioux . 1874 Custer was sent to the Black Hills to protect railway surveyors- this broke the 2nd Fort Laramie Treaty. Custer reported that the hills were filled with gold and from that moment on miners flooded in (1000 by 1875). The US army was unable to stop the people flooding in some Sioux attacked the miners. The government offered the Sioux $6million for the Black Hills and the Sioux rejected this as the Black Hills were sacred to them. By Dec 1875 all Sioux (7,000 including Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse) were ordered to return to their reservation (this was impossible in winter)

Crazy Horse leader of the Sioux or Lakota tribe. Fought in the Fetterman trap, Battle of the Rosebud, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Died 1877.

Sitting Bull Leader of the Sioux or Lakota tribe. Fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Died 1890.

28

Sheridan’s Plan

By February 1876 the army were instructed to treat all NA’s outside the reservation as hostile. General Sheridan planned a 3 pronged attack on the NA’s camped at the Little Bighorn. General Crook would led a column of 1,049 cavalry and infantry. Colonel Gibbon would led 450 infantry and General Terry with Custer would lead 1,000 cavalry with Gatling Guns. The three would trap the NA’s between them.

Part Three: Battle of Little Bighorn 1876

Terry divides his forces

Gibbon and Terry join forces and then Terry divides his men. The infantry are told to march along the Yellowstone towards Bighorn and Custer was told to follow the trail found by Reno (it was in actual fact a trail left by CH) Custer was offered an extra 180 men and Gatling guns but he refused them. Custer stayed on the trail but then deliberately disobeyed orders by instead of encircling the Wolf Mountains he rode through the night across them. He arrived a day early but with exhausted men.

Battle of the Rosebud

On the 17th June, Crook’s column stopped for a coffee break on the Rosebud Creek. While the officers were playing cards Crazy Horse (CH) led an attack with about 1,500 warriors. Crook lost 28 men and had 63 injured. He retreated. CH then went to join Sitting Bull (SB) at Little Bighorn.

The Plan goes wrong

The plan had 2 major weaknesses. 1, there was no effective communication between Terry and Crook. 2, they were told by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that there were only 800 NA’s. If there were only 800 NA’s any of the 3 columns could have defeated them.

The Battle begins

By the afternoon of 25th June Custer reached the camp of SB and CH at Little Bighorn. His scouts warned Custer, one Mitch Bouyer warned, ‘If we go in there we will never come out’. But Custer wanted a glorious victory and he supposedly replied, ‘The largest Indian camp on the North American continent is ahead and I am going to attack it’. Custer then split his forces, he sent Reno with 125 men to attack the southern end of the camp and Custer took 260 men further north to cross the river to attack the camp. Reno’s attack was stopped by the Sioux, he retreated and was later joined by Benteenand his men. They spent the day surrounded by the NA’s. They received an order to support Custer but were trapped. What happened to Custer is still not clear as there were no survivors from his force. It does seem though that Custer failed to cross the river, turned to head for higher ground but was overwhelmed by CH’s attack. Custer was completely outnumbered. Some of Custer’s men panicked and tried to surrender/run away. The NA’s won because they outnumbered the US army, 2,000 against 600. The NA’s also had better weapons than the cavalrymen. The warriors had repeating riffles while the cavalrymen had single shot rifles. Half the NA’s defended the camp, while CH led the rest to surround Custer. This was a new tactic for the NA’s, usually they would delay the enemy while the women and children escaped and retreat themselves, this showed the brilliant leadership qualities of CH.

The aftermath

News of the defeat of the US army was announced on the 4th July and the public was in great shock. As a result more money and resources was sent to support the troops against the NA’s. 2 new forts were built and 2,500 troops were sent west. The NA’s split into their bands, and they were followed and attacked throughout the winter. One by one the bands gave up and returned to the reservation. On 5th May 1877, CH surrendered and SB escaped to Canada. Armed resistance of the Sioux was now over. The destruction of the Northern buffalo herd began, and by 1883 it had been destroyed. The government now followed a firmer approach to destroying the NA’s culture, for example they were forced to sell the Black Hills and the Bighorn Mountains were put under military rule. Reservation's were spilt up and their horses and weapons were taken. Even the power of the chiefs were dissolved as rations were not given to them to hand out anymore. The final blow came in 1885 when the government took control of legal matters, the NA’s had lost the power to judge and punish members of their band.

29

The Plan

The system of Indian reservations was developed from 1825 onwards. The governments plan was to keep Indians separate from homesteaders. On the reservations the Indians were to be supervised by government appointed Indian agents (often corrupt) and they were expected to live as farmers. To begin with the Indians were allowed to leave the reservation to hunt the buffalo but after 1870 this was no longer allowed.

Part Three: The Reservation policy

The Ghost Dance and the Massacre of Wounded Knee

This all led to the introduction of the Ghost Dance. Wovoka in 1889 had a vision that his Ghost Dance would stop the white man and the Indians would return to their old way of life. This came at a time when the Sioux rations had been cut and a drought in 1890 led their crops to fail. Hundreds took up the Ghost Dance and this scared the Indian Agents. They tried to ban the dance and when that failed they called in the army. When the army tried to arrest Sitting Bull he ended up being killed. Many Indians ran away to Wounded Knee, including Big Foot, and here on the 29th December 1890 a shot was fired and fighting broke out. By the time the firing stopped, 25 soldiers and 146 Sioux were dead . The dead Sioux mainly consisted of elderly people and children under 5. This massacre marked the end of the Plains Wars

Government actions

The government purposely followed a policy of destroying all aspects of Indian culture with the aim of assimilating the Indians.1. Territorial – Through a series of laws the Sioux reservation was reduced

and the Sioux were split into smaller groups.2. Political – In a step to weaken the authority of the chiefs, the heads of

families were encouraged to collect their own rations. The Dawes Act of 1887, allowed some reservations to be broken up into individual plots , the NA’s would be given these plots and thereby become land-owning farmers , the left over land to be sold to the white settlers

3. Economic – The Sioux were banned from leaving the reservation to hunt or to make war which destroyed the economic foundation of their society as there was no buffalo to provide food, shelter or clothing and no horses to determine their wealth

4. Religion – Feasts, dances, ceremonies were banned. Power of the medicine man was undermined and Christian missionaries moved in

5. Education – Indian children were taken from their families and sent to boarding schools. They were then prepared for the white mans world, not allowed to speak their own language. They were taught to have no respect for their traditional way of life. If parents objected to this their rations were stopped

Conditions

Conditions on the reservations were poor. The land was infertile and mostly unwanted by the settlers. It was difficult for the Indians to feed themselves as they were hunters not farmers and as a result they became dependent on the government for rations. People were often punished for offenses without trials, some were killed, for example Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.The rations were often demoralising for the Indians as there was no way that a warrior could gain or maintain status. The Indians were poorly fed and often suffered from diseases such as measles, influenza and whooping cough. Many Indians died on the reservations, it is estimated that by 1900 there were only 250,000 of these people left.

A photograph of Big Foot when the body was found frozen in the snow

30

Indian Wars 1863-68

• Cheyenne War, 1863-67- Them and the Arapahoe were attacking travellers, miners and railway surveyors on their land, by 1863 full-scale war had broken out. Due to the Civil War, volunteer forces were used to fight the NA’s like the Colorado Militia .But by 1864 some Cheyenne came to an agreement to move onto a new smaller reservation.

• Sand Creek Massacre- was hailed as a victory by the US at first. NA’s such as Black Kettle and his followers were attacked by Colonel Chivington and the Colorado Militia . 150 were dead, most of whom were women, children and elderly.

• Sioux or Red Clouds War 1865-68- gold was discovered in 1862 in the Rocky Mountains settlers poured in and the government did nothing to stop them breaking the treaty so as a result the Sioux attacked. The leader Red Cloud broke off peace talks and by 1866 US forts were under siege .

• Fetterman Massacre 1866- 80 US soldiers led by Cap William Fetterman were lured into a trap, all were killed and mutilated.

• Red Cloud was a strong leader he managed to keep the NA’s fighting through the winter months , he managed to gain the support of the Sioux , because of his leadership the army could not move safely outside their forts, and travellers could not use the Bozeman Trail .

• By 1868 the government was forced to change its policy because the US realised they could not defeat the NA’s militarily . Under the terms of the 2nd Fort Laramie Treaty the Great Sioux Reservation was created and no non-Indians were allowed to enter. Red Cloud agreed to this treaty and lived the rest of his days in peace, but younger more militant leaders like Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse went on to continue the fight.

Early policy towards Native Americans

• To begin with the NA’s were treated as SOVERIGN NATIONS to be negotiated with, but after 1840 they became a barrier to the west.

• In 1824 the Bureau of Indian Affairs was set up within the US War department (this was a group of government officials whose job it was to manage the relationship between NA’s and the government. Moved to the Dept of Interior in 1849

• 1830 Indian Removal Act was passed this did two things, it established a Permanent Indian Frontier (this area became known as Indian Territory) in the west and it allowed the removal of south-eastern Indian nations so that their lands would be available .

• Thousands died during this forced removal , known as the ‘Trail of Tears’, this forced removal was completed by 1838.

• Between 1840-1848 roughly 11,500 Americans went to Oregon – during this time there were a few violent clashes and a change in attitude was happening.

• Indian Appropriations Act 1851- this set up reservations and schools intended to protect NA’s from westward expansion, in reality they focused on trying to assimilate the NA’s.

NA’s 1824-1895

Increasing conflict

• White demand for NA lands caused the government to adopt a ‘Policy of Concentration’ this meant reducing the amount of land the NA’s had in return for agreed hunting grounds.

• The Fort Laramie Treaty 1851- between US government and the Plains Indian nations- the NA’s promised not to attack settlers travelling on the Oregon Trail and to allow the building of some roads and forts and in return each nation had its agreed hunting area and was promised an annual subsidy.

• The policy did seem to solve the ‘Indian Problem’ and there was a period of peace afterwards, it pleased the negotiators but some Plains Indians (The Crow) and the exterminators were not happy with this policy.

• In the end the policy of concentration failed, some nations did not receive their subsidies

• Peace was broken because of four developments these were gold, government not stopping settlers , transport links and NA warriors.

The Indian Problem after 1865

• Homesteaders, miners, ranchers,cattle drives, and railroads all disrupted the buffalo herds leading to increased tension. The influx of people meant that the 2nd Fort Laramie Treaty would fail .

• Now that the Civil War was over the US army had more troops, these could even be replaced if killed, unlike the NA’s, they also had more forts , these kept watch over the reservations and protected the routes. They had new strategies like ‘Total War’ this meant destroying all the food and shelter of the NA’s . They also fought in the winter, this was when the NA;s would not usually fight due to the cold and reduced amount of food supplies.

War on the Southern Plains

• 1871- saw more buffalo hunting as the price of buffalo hides increased. By 1875 the Southern buffalo herd was destroyed. The NA’s tried to attack the hunters but they were no match for the hunters and their powerful guns.

The Great Sioux War 1876-77

• The discovery of gold in the Black Hills triggered the most fighting from the Sioux . 1874 Custer was sent to the Black Hills to protect railway surveyors- this broke the Fort Laramie Treaty. Custer reported that the hills were filled with gold and from that moment on miners flooded in (1000 by 1875).

• The government offered the Sioux $6million for the Black Hills and the Sioux rejected this. By Dec 1875 all Sioux (7,000 including Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse) were ordered to return to their reservation (this was impossible in winter)

• By Feb 1876 the army was instructed to treat all NA’s outside the reservations as hostile . There was then a plan to trap the NA’s led by General Terry and Custer, General Sheridan, and General Crook.

• Battle of Rosebud- June 1876 Crook column stopped for coffee and played cards – Crazy Horse led an attack and retreated . Crazy Horse then joined forces with Sitting Bull on the Little Bighorn.

• Terry then divides his forces , and tells Custer to follow a trail made by Major Reno and offers Custer an extra 180 men and Gatling Guns, Custer says no and disobeys orders.

• Custer marches through the night and arrives at Little Bighorn exhausted a day early and decided to attack.

• Custer was overwhelmed by Crazy Horses attack (2000 against 600) and Major Reno and Benteen could not get to him to support him. News of Custers defeat reached the rest of the US on the 4th July and the country was shocked however, the NA’s now split into their separate bands and one by one gave in and returned to the reservation

Dawes General Allotment Act 1887

• This allowed reservation lands to be broken up into individual plots. The intention was to destroy the power of the chiefs. NA’s who accepted a plot would become a land-owning farmer and citizen of the US. The purpose of the act was to enable the NA’s to become self-sufficient.

Reservations

• NA’s were banned from feasts and dances such as the Ghost Dance and Sun Dance• The power of the medicine man and chiefs were undermined • Children were taken from their parents and sent away to boarding school, children were not allowed to

speak in their native language and were punished if they did so.

Battle of Wounded Knee and the end of the Indian Wars

• The Ghost Dance spread across reservations and reached the Sioux in 1890, Sioux rations had been cut and they were desperate. This worried the Indian agents who called in the army . The Sioux police tried to arrest Sitting Bull and he ended up being shot, his followers fled to join Big Foot at Wounded Knee , the 7th Cavalry arrived and opened fire killing 102 men and women, 31 old people, 6 boys between 5-8 and 7 babies. Following this event the government opened up 2million acres of reservation land to white settlers.

The end of the Indian Wars

Following the end of the Indian Wars the western territories were settled. Once their governments were organised they were able to apply to join the Union. By 1890 Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming had all achieved statehood. Utah would’ve qualified too but for the failure to make polygamy illegal there.

In 1889, the federal government opened up 2 million acres in Oklahoma for settlement. This was reservation land that had been occupied by the Creek and Seminole Indian nations. Before the opening date, many settlers, known as ‘Sooners’ because they were too soon, tried to sneak across the boundary to claim the best sites. Most were removed by the army, showing this could be done peacefully if the federal gov possessed the will. At noon on 22 April 1889, a starting gun signalled that the territory was open for settlement. An estimate 50,000 settlers crossed the boundary, racing to claim the best land. By the end of the year, Oklahoma had a population of 60,000.

Part Three: The end of the Indian Wars

The closing of the frontier

In 1890, the US Census Bureau announced the end of the frontier. There was no longer a frontier line on the West. Nor were there any large areas of unsettled land. In 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner wrote an influential essay ‘The Significance of the Frontier in American History’. He claimed American history had been a continual process of expansion and settlement of a series of ‘wests’: the west beyond the Atlantic Coast, over the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi Valley, onto the Great Plains and across the Rocky Mountains to the far west and claimed this had great influence on the American people. But he did not write about the experience of Indians confined to reservations or Hispanic Americans who once lived in Mexico or the changes for African Americans. In 1895 all of these groups still had frontiers to cross.

32

America 1840-1895: Expansion and consolidation Glossary

Abolitionist Movement dedicated to ending slavery

Assassinated Someone killed for political or religious reasons

Assassination The murder of an important person

Carpetbagger Seen by southerners as northern opportunists who came south for money and power after the Civil War

Chuck wagon/Prairie

Schooner

A wagon used for carrying food

Civil War War between two sides within the same nation or group

Claim When someone claims a plot of land or mine

Claim jumper Stealing someone else’s land or mine

Congress Two groups of people who decide what the President can and cannot do

Conscription A system whereby people are forced to join the army or navy

Dawes Plan / Dawes Act A law to turn Native Americans into farmers by given them areas of land rather than being on a reservation

and relying on rations

Demobilised Released from the army

Depression Long periods of financial problems

Exodusters Movement of Black Americans to Kansas in the late 19th Century

Federal A system of government where several states come together to form one country but keep many of their

own laws. Federal laws are always more important than state laws

33

Fort Laramie Treaty Agreement to bring peace between the whites and the Sioux 1851

Forty-Niner Someone looking for gold in the California gold rush 1849

Free-Soiler A person who is against slave states joining the union

Gentile What Mormons called non-Mormons

Homesteader A settler who acquired free land on which they farmed and built a home

Hyperinflation When the South suffered from terrible inflation due to the Civil War

Impeachment The process by which a President could be removed from office

Irrigation The supply of water to land and crops by a series of channels

Manifest Destiny The belief that white Americans should possess the whole of North America as this was God’s will

Medicine Man / Shaman A Native American holy man who was believed to have healing powers

Militia Military force raised from the civilian population in emergencies

Mormons Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints founded by Joseph Smith in 1830

Nations Native American Nations where made up of tribes and bands they would all meet up at least once a year

Nomadic Moving around to follow the buffalo and avoid severe weather

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Created by Mormon Church to help Mormon refugees migrate to Utah

Pioneers The first people to go west

Plantation A large estate on which crops where grown using slave labour

34

Polygamy Having more than one wife at a time

President Title given to the head of state

Propaganda Information given in a biased or misleading way. Often used in war time to raise morale

Reconstruction The transformation of the Southern states in the USA in the decade after the Civil War

Republic A country with no hereditary ruler. Power is held by people who are elected

Reservations Areas of land set aside by the USA for the Indians to live on

Scalp Native Americans would cut away their enemies scalp and display it as a trophy

Settler Person who goes to live in a new country or area, e.g. the plains

Slavery Where one person is owned by another

Sod house A house made using strips of earth

Subsidy A sum of money paid from the government. Usually in order to supplement food

Tipi Native American lodge

Transcontinental railroad The train lines crossing North America connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific

Vigilante Someone who take the law into the own hands

Wagon train A collection of as many as 100 horse or ox-drawn wagons crossing the Great Plains

Warrior Native American man trained to hunt and fight

35