final chapter 17

8/14/2019 Final Chapter 17

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Ch. 17: Development of the West,18771900

Rapid white settlement displace Indians

Indians & whites use environment differently

Subsistence vs. exploitation/profit economies Wests resources vital for industrialization

Many human & environmental costs

Whites envision area west of Mississippi Riveras land of economic opportunity

White actions also shaped by racism


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The West

1. Native Americans & The West

2. Expansion & Infill

3. Western Society

4. The Railroads

5. The Final Fling


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I. Native Americans and the West


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A. Native American Subsistence Cultures(cont.)

Plains Indians (Pawnees) depend on buffaloand alter environment to support horses

Southwest Indians (Navajos) focus on sheepherding and build elaborate irrigationsystems

Northwest Indians (Clatsops) fish salmon onlarge-scale and like others, engage in trade

Buffalo/salmon decline and loss of land towhites undermine Indian economies


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B. Slaughter of Buffalo &Decline of Salmon

Whites (with Army help) kill many bison tofacilitate railroad & agricultural expansion

Accelerate buffalo decline that starts withover-hunting by Indians for trade w/ whites

Diseases from white-owned livestock & lessgrazing area also contribute to dramatic drop

1820: 25 million bison; 1880: < 1,000

White-owned fisheries over-harvest salmon


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C. Transformation of NativeCultures

Extensive white violence against Indians

Young men (majority of whites) view Indians w/contempt as inferior competitors

Both Indians and whites commit atrocities

Native American population decline

Vulnerable to white disease; Less mobile because of women/children;

Adopt bad white habits (alcohol, prostitution)


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D. Lack of Native Unity;Territorial Treaties

Indian divisions: 200 spoken languages

100s of separate bands

No tribal centralization; tribal chiefs weak Wars & raids between bands prevent unity

US Government hurt Indians by

(a) imposing treaties (loss of land) by force;

(b) refusing to protect land/rights reserved bytreaty for Indians from white encroachment


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E. Reservation Policy

US Govt push Indians to least desirable landsby force and with promise of government aid

Indians become less independent economically Reservations further weaken Indians politically

Supreme Court define Native Americans as

non-citizen wards of USA Constantly face white encroachment


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Map: Western Indian Reservations, 1890

Western Indian Reservations, 1890

Native-American reservations were almost invariably located on poor-quality lands. Consequently, when the Dawes Severalty

Act broke up the reservations into 160-acre farming tracts, many of the semiarid divisions would not support cultivation.

Copyright Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


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F. Native Resistance; IndianWars

Some (Pawnees) resist trade with whites andtry to preserve traditional subsistencepractices

Whites respond with organized military acts

Destroy Cheyenne band (1864), Nez Perceband (1877), Ute band (1879)

Little Big Horn (1876): Indians defeat whites

White advantages: more supplies (oftenstarve Indians) & pursue Indians relentlessly


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G. Reform of Indian Policy(cont.)

Dawes Act reverse reservation policy

Indians with private property become citizens

Allow whites to buy unallocated land Create boarding schools for Indian children

to teach them white culture (Carlisle in PA)

US Govt still use force Massacre Lakotas at Wounded Knee, SD

(1890) to crush Ghost Dance (revival of

traditions)


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H. The Losing of the West

Under Dawes Severalty Act, Indian landholdingdramatically decline!

Whites cheat Indians into selling private lots Accelerate economic ruin for Indians

Schools demoralize Indian children (not

accepted in either Indian or white culture) West won at Indian expense

Indians still casualties of this aggressive era


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2. Expansion & Infill


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A. Land for the Taking: FederalIncentives

1860-1900Federal land grants

48 million acres granted under Homestead Act

100 million acres sold to private individuals,corporations

128 million acres granted to railroad companies

Congress offers incentives to development Timber Culture Act 1873

Desert Land Act of 1877

Timber and Stone Act of 1878


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B. Mining and Lumbering

Unlike Indians, quest for rapid wealth viaresource extraction motivate whites

1000s move to West (mid-1800s) to minefor gold/silver/metals

Search as individuals, then sell successfulfinds to large companies

Lumber companies grab millions of acresin Northwest, often through fraud

Oil drilling start in Southwest

G ld i ith l i 1850


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Gold miners with sluice, c. 1850At first, gold miners worked individually, each with a shovel and pan. By the 1850s devices like

the one shown here, a "long tom," were making mining a cooperative venture. Miners shoveled

clay, dirt, and stone into a long and narrow box, hosed in water at one end, stirred the mixture,

and waited for the finer gravel, which might include gold, to fall through small holes and lodge

under the box. (The Hallmark Photographic Collection, Hallmark Cards, Inc. Kansas City,

Missouri)

Gold miners with sluice, c. 1850



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Map: The Development and Natural Resources of the West.

The Development and Natural Resources of the West

By 1890 mining, lumbering, and cattle ranching had penetrated many areas west of the Mississippi River, and railroads had

linked together the western economy. These characteristics, along with the spread of agriculture, contributed to the Census

Bureau's observation that the frontier had disappeared; yet, as the map shows, large areas remain undeveloped.



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Map: Mining and Cattle Frontiers, 1860-1890

Mining and Cattle Frontiers, 1860-1890

The western mining and ranching bonanzas lured thousands of Americans hoping to get rich quick.



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C. The Ranching Frontier

Cattle ranching mushrooms after 1860s

Population growth create demand

Railroads make bulk transportation possible Drive cattle 1,000+ miles from TX to rail link

Long drives inefficient; shift to raising herds

near rail links Profitable open-range ranching develop on

Plains with massive use of government lands


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Barbed Wire

Massive cattle ranching conflicts with expandingcommercial farms and sheep herds

West lacks materials for traditional fences

Mass production of new barbed wire solve conflict;ends Open Range (reflect link between West/East,rural/urban)

Wire accelerates farming on Plains Ranching & meatpacking become big business

(same as mining & commercial agriculture)

Often negative effects on environment


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Don't Fence Me In


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D. Farming the Plains

Commercial agriculture develop

Require adaptations to climate & terrain

100s of 1000s of whites migrate (1870s80s) Railroads promise instant riches to lure them

Global population growth create demand

Farm life on Plains very difficult Hard work, essentials (water, fuel) scarce

Map 17.3rainfall line divide settlement


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Map: Agricultural Regions, 1889-1900

Agricultural Regions, 1889-1900

In the Pacific Northwest and east of the 28-inch-rainfall line, farmers could grow a greater variety of crops. Territory west of

the line was either too mountainous or too arid to support agriculture without irrigation. The grasslands that once fed buffalo

herds now could feed beef cattle.



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2) M h i ti f


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2) Mechanization ofAgriculture

Vital to success of commercial farming

Huge increase in production with less time &labor = agricultural revolution

Farms feed urban populace

Cities supply farming machines

Railroads link two areas Governments fund research to help agriculture

Stronger, productive crops; combat disease


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E. Irrigation

Public & private interests use technology &organization to create commercial agriculture

Irrigation already exist; southwestern Indians,Spanish, & Mormons develop early systems

Whites in West reject English / Eastern USriparianism (users of water not diminish flow

downstream) Whites use prior appropriation to award water

rights to whoever claims it first


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E. Irrigation (cont.)

Because of conflict over scarce water, whitesorganize public bodies to regulate usage

WY take control of water, 1890 CA organize farms into irrigation districts

CA = leader in irrigation & create most profitable

fruit/vegetable farms in USA Newlands Reclamation Act (1902) promote

irrigation, not conservation


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A. Complex Communities

West = multiracial society: whites, Indians,Hispanics, Asians, African Americans

NM: Indians and Hispanics mix (mestizo

) 200,000 Chinese immigrate before 1882

Blacks found all-black towns (Nicodemus, KS)

Women = minority of population; usually travelwest with husband; independence limited

Make money through domestic services


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B. Significance of Race

For control, whites stress importance of race

Classify nonwhites into either Indian, Mexican,Mongolian(Asians), or black races

Whites assume nonwhite inferiority permanentand create 2-tier labor system

Nonwhites work unskilled, low-pay jobs

Whites take property of any who attain land

Ban marriage between nonwhite men & whitewoman


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C. Legends of West

Many easterners see West as place of lawlesshedonism (Tombstone, AZ)

Some thieves and opportunists become folk

heroes (Clantons/Earps, OK Corral, 1881)

Novelists and self-promoters (Buffalo Bill Cody)romanticize life in Wild West

Most westerners not gunfighters or gamblers Most struggle to survive


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4. The Railroads


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A. Railroad Construction

USA hold of worlds rail track (1900)

Diverse labor crews (Chinese build tracks

east from CA; Irish immigrants buildtracks westward)

Railroads spur steel, coal, & otherindustries

A R il d C t ti


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A. Railroad Construction(cont.)

Create new cities and tie them into anational/ global economy of goods &

people Many towns boom from railroads

Others lose (stock failures, loan defaults)


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B. Railroad Land Grants

Huge government subsidies spur construction

US Govt give 180 million acres to rail companies

Land for track, plus extra to sell to fundconstruction

States give another 50 million acres

Towns buy rail stock/bonds, plus offer loans As private companies, railroads want aid, but

fight government regulation


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Railroad Land Grants


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Railroad Land Grants


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Railroad Standard Time Zones


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5. The Final Fling

Changing views of Far West

Frontier thesis treated West as cradleof individualism, innovation

New Western History sees West asarena of conflicting interests, erosion ofenvironment


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Map: The Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889-1906


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The Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889-1906

Lands in Oklahoma not settled by "Sooners" were sold by lotteries, allotments, and sealed-bid auctions. By 1907 the major

reservations had been broken up, and each Native American family had been given a small farm.


Okl h L d R h 1889


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Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889

OKC P t Offi 1889


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OKC Post Office, 1889

B C ti (1870 ) Ad i i f


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B. Conservation (1870s); Admission ofNew States

Some Americans support preserving naturalresources by limiting exploitation

Yellowstone, WY = 1st national park (1872)

John Muir found Sierra Club (1892)

Businesses & westerners (both out for quickprofit) oppose conservation

Map 17.2: USA admit numerous states 1889-1912

48 states compose USA until 1950s

final chapter 17

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