American West Overview Add Need

7/30/2019 American West Overview Add Need

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The American West 1840-1895The story of the American West is the story of how white settlersgained control of the whole of the North American continent fromthe East Coast to the West Coast.

The Plains are a vast stretch of America, West of the MississippiRiver.

Why did Americans call the Plains the Great White Desert?

BECAUSE: They thought no-one could live there. They thought theland was so poor that you could not grow anything to eat so no-onecould survive.

BECAUSE: Before 1830, no-one had really explored it so they didnot know much about it.

Whitesettlersarrivedon theEastcoast inthe

1600s

By 1890they hadsettledrightacrossto the

Westcoast

Why were the Plains Indians able to survive on the Plains?

BECAUSE: They made good use of the things that were there.Buffalo: They were nomads – they followed the buffalo herd and huntedthem. They ate their meat and used the skin for clothes, shoes and fortheir shelter – called a tipi.



Why did Plains Indians live in tipis?

BECAUSE: Suited weather: Cone shape meant they werenot blown over by strong winds on plains. Cool in summer andwarm in winter because front flap could be open or shut.BECAUSE: They were easy to put up and take down whichwas important because the Plains Indians were always onthe move, following the buffalo herds.

What were the beliefs of the Plains Indians?

The Plains Indians believed in:Wakan Tanka – the Great Spirit who was in everything.The Happy Hunting Ground – which was their heaven.Honour in battle – enemies were often touched with a coupstick rather than killed.

Why were horses important to the Plains IndiansBECAUSE: They were a sign of status, the more horses atribe had, the wealthier it was (like expensive sports carsnow!). Tribes often stole horses from each other and thiscaused conflict.BECAUSE: Horses made hunting buffalo easier so Indianswere better fed. Travelling was also easier. Indianscollapsed tipis and turned them into sleds called travois to

carry more things to trade or people.

BECAUSE: They were a close community who all helped eachother. A chief was in charge and men hunted and womencooked and put up the tipis. All the decisions were madetogether so everyone accepted them.

Why did White Americans think the Plains Indians weresavages?

BECAUSE: They mutilated their enemies by scalping themBUT Indians did this to stop them getting into the HappyHunting Ground.BECAUSE: Indians sometimes had more than one wife BUT this was to make sure every woman in the tribe was lookedafter.BECAUSE: They were not Christians



Why did the first settlers travel West in the 1840s and1850s?BECAUSE: They were poor and thought they would have a

better life in the West, farming the Plains or that theywould get rich like those looking for gold.

BECAUSE: They wanted to be able to practise their religion

without being attacked for it eg Mormons.

Why was going West dangerous?BECAUSE: Weather: Hot sun, cold nights, winds, flash floods.

Journey took months, if delayed could be hit by snow andfreezing winters.

BECAUSE: Easy to run out of supplies on such a long journeyand few places to stock up.

BECAUSE: They could get lost as trails were not well known,especially at start of going West in 1840s.

Why did people dislike the Mormons?BECAUSE: Mormons worked and lived together to create

strong communities. They did not like Non-Mormons whichmade Non-Mormons suspicious of them.

BECAUSE: They were successful and so rich. This made Non-Mormons jealous of them.

BECAUSE: Mormons practised polygamy and took more thanone wife. Christians did not like this.

Why was the West such a lawless place?BECAUSE: It was big, isolated and so far away from big

towns and cities. Criminals knew they could get awaywith things because it took so long for law officials to

get there. There were lots of places to hide from thelaw.BECAUSE: There were so many different types of people

with different ways of life – homesteaders/cattleranchers and many different races of peopleEuropeans, Chinese etc who did not always understandeach other.

BECAUSE: The type of people who went there weretough, carried guns and sorted out their ownproblems.



What problems did railroad companies face in building theailroads?

1) Money: Building railroads was expensive so governmentgave companies land which the companies could then sell tosettlers.

Difficult land: Mountains and deserts are not easy to build onut they did it with the help of skilled Chinese immigrants goinghrough the Rocky mountains.

What impact did the railways have?1) SPEEDED UP SETTLEMENT: Settlers could now get to

West easier and quicker so thousands more went West.

2) UNITED THE STATES: Railroad meant Governmentcould now control whole of USA as could get law men outto West much quicker and communication was improved.

3) DESTROYED BUFFALO: Railway tracks interfered withbuffalo migration, trains brought in hunters who killedmillions of buffalo. Huge impact on Indians – beginning ofend, no buffalo, no way of life.

Why did the Open Range end?

BECAUSE: There was no money in it. Too many cattle

meant too much beef so price dropped.

BECAUSE: Invention of windpumps meant cattle mencould get water when they wanted it so did not haveto drive cattle around to find it.

BECAUSE: Invention of barbed wire meant hugeamounts of land could be easily fenced off.

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Homesteaders

PROBLEM SOLUTION

HARD SOIL: Land

never farmedbefore. Too toughto plant in.

SODBUSTER

PLOUGH: Its steblades could breaup soil.

WATER: Little rainfell, droughtscommon, crops

failed

FEW TREES: Nowood to fence offtheir land

BARBED WIRELand could befenced off (butled to conflict

with openrange.SIZE OF PLOT:

Homesteaders given160 acres inHomestead Act of1862 but too small to

get good living out of.

TYPE OF CROPS:American wheat wastoo weak to grow inharsh conditions

WIND PUMPS:Could draw waterup to surface.

NEW CROPS: RedTurkey wheat fromRussia introduced andgrew well in harshconditions.

SIZE OF PLOTGovernmentgave themanother 160acres in 1873 ifthey plantedtrees on half ofland



Why did the Plains Indians win the Battle of Little Big Horn?ECAUSE: Strong leaders: Crazy Horse was a military genius whoad worked out how to fight the US Army and had beaten them inattle before. Sitting Bull had a vision that the Sioux would win.his meant the Indians were full of confidence before the battle.

ECAUSE: General Custer of the US Army did not realise theirere so many Indians and divided his soldiers up into threefferent groups so they were hugely outnumbered. He had also

xhausted his troops by making them march overnight.

What were conditions like on the reservations? - HORRENDOUS!ECAUSE: Food rations to the Indians were often not enough and

e land was so poor they could not farm it to grow extra supplies.

ECAUSE: Indians’ children were sent away to boarding school toecome good Christians. Parents who refused to let them go wereot given any food.

ECAUSE: Chiefs had all their powers taken away and all Indianaditions and customs were banned.

Why did the Plains Indians lose control of the Plains?ECAUSE: US Government Policy: The US Governmentok over the Plains bit by bit using treaties that they then

roke when white settlers wanted more land. It followedanifest Destiny – God wanted Americans to settle plains.

ECAUSE: When the Indians fought back because the

eaties were broken, the US Government sent in the USrmy who were better equipped than the Indians andrced them onto reservations.

ECAUSE: The US Government destroyed the herds ofuffalo, killing millions of them between 1870-1885.

Without the buffalo, the Indians had no way of surviving one Plains so had to move onto reservations or starve to

eath.

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American West Overview Add Need