Outline for Lecture on the West

I. Overview of Movement Westa. Indian Displacement in the context of worldwide displacementb. White aggressionc. Homestead Act of 1862d. Key questions to consider in relation to the displacement of the Indian

and the movement of “Americans” out Westi. How was Indian life on the Great Plains transformed in the second

half of the nineteenth century?ii. What roles did the federal government, the army, and the

railroads play in the settlement of the West?iii. How did ranchers and settlers displace Spanish-speaking

Americans in the Southwest?II. Defining the Trans-Mississippi West

a. The Trans-Mississippib. The Great Basinc. The Far West

III. Native Americans and the Trans-Mississippi Westa. Destruction of the traditional Indian ways of lifeb. The Plains Indians

i. Northern Plains—Cheyenne and Arapahosii. Central Plains—the five civilized tribes

iii. Southern Plains—Comanche and Apaches, some Cheyenne and Arapahos also lived in this region of the country.

c. Culture of the Plains Indiansi. Family ties and tribal cooperation

ii. Bisoniii. Erosion of the bison habitat

1. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Codyd. Assault on Nomadic Indian Life

i. Lure of gold and silverii. New government policy on Indians

iii. Battle of Sand Creekiv. 1867 Peace Commissionv. Fort Laramie Treaty

vi. Indian dissatisfactione. Custer’s Last Stand

i. Chief Red Cloud and Chief Spotted Tail victoriesii. Sitting Bull

iii. Colonel George Armstrong Custeriv. Little Bighorn Valleyv. American revenge

f. Saving the Indians

i. A Century of Dishonorii. Dawes Severalty Act

g. The Ghost Dance and the end of Indian Resistance on the Great Plainsi. Wovoka

1. Ghost Dance2. Death of Sitting Bull3. Battle of Wounded Knee

IV. How did Ranchers and Settlers displace Spanish-speaking Americans in the Southwest?

a. U.S. territory in the Southwest after the annexation of Texasb. Confiscation of Spanish-American landsc. Retaliation

i. Juan Cortinad. Conflict

i. Barriosii. White Caps

e. Successful Spanish-Americani. Estevan Ochoa

f. White labeling of Spanish-AmericansV. Exploiting the Western Landscape

a. Boom-bust economyb. The Mining Frontier

i. Comstock Lodeii. Alaska

iii. Effect on the environmentc. Cowboys and the Cattle Frontier

i. Joseph McCoyii. Cattle drives

iii. Black cowboysVI. The First Transcontinental Railroad

a. Overviewb. Pacific Railroad Actc. Building the railroad

i. Laborii. Completion

d. Usefulness of the railroade. Settlers and the railroadf. Influence of the railroad on agriculture