Chapter 13: Settling the West

American History

Growth of the Mining Industry

Discoveries of gold, silver, and copper deposits in the West brought interest from the East, as well as settlers

Prospectors used two types of mining Placer mining: extracting shallow

deposits of ore Quartz mining: digging deeper beneath

the surface Findings of deposits caused boomtowns

to erect, but with towns brought crime Prospectors fighting and thieves Vigilance committees came to enforce

the law

Bonanzas in the West Women also traveled to the West in search

of wealth owned property and were community

leaders worked as cooks or in laundries worked at “hurdy-gurdy” houses, dancing

with men for a drink Mining towns spurred up in the Dakota

Valley, Colorado, and Montana Ex. Pike’s Peak

Expansions in these Western portions brought on the building of railroads connecting to these towns transformed Denver into the 2nd largest city

in the West led to rapid development of the Great Plains

Cattle Ranching While many went to the West in

search of gold, others began cattle ranching

Mexicans introduced cattle ranching in the Western states grew in part because of open range,

or vast land owned by the government, that could be used for grazing

gave them the tools to herd cattle Beef prices soared due to feeding

armies during the Civil War and the building of railroads in the West

The Long Drive The long drive was a long journey cattle ranchers made with

their cattle to railway lines in order to sell their cattle began with a spring roundup of open range cattle owners could identify their stock by branding them; unidentified cattle

were mavericks cowboys, or former Confederate soldiers escaping Reconstruction,

herded the cattle north to the rail lines When business grew, “range wars” would commence between

competitors range became fenced off with barbed wire to protect herd]

Long driving ended from barbed wire fencing and overproduction of cattle, causing prices to drop and ranchers becoming bankrupt

Settling the Great Plains

The settlement of the Great Plains came from the following: building of railroads across the West desire to cultivate the land Homestead Act: for a $10 fee, an

individual could file for a homestead, or a tract of public land used for settlement

Life proved difficult in the Plains lack of trees and water temperatures were high in the

summer and cold in the winter pestilence

The Wheat Belt Many new techniques were used to farm

the Great Plains Dry farming: planting seeds in the ground

deep enough where moisture was Sodbusters cultivated this land, but lost

land due to drought, wind erosion, and overuse of land

New machines, such as mechanical binders and threshing machines, were used

Many farmers moved to the Great Plains to grow wheat, due to the conditions of the Plains was suitable for wheat growth The Wheat Belt These farms were bonanza farms because

they created a lot of revenue

Plains Indians Most Plains Indians were

nomads, or peoples who traveled in search of food

As settlers came into the Plains, they deprived them of their hunting grounds, broke boundary treaties, and forced them to relocate to new territories Indians retaliated by attacking

stagecoaches, wagon trains, and ranches

Dakota Sioux Uprising The Dakota Sioux agreed to live on

reservations in Minnesota in exchange for annuities, or payments to reservation dwellers Annuities were taken from them by traders and

merchants In 1862, Congress delayed these annuities,

causing the Sioux to starve Chief Little Crow led an uprising against

traders Hundreds died before troops came to St. Paul

to stop the uprising 38 Indians were executed for the uprising, and

many others fled to reservations in the Dakota territory

Fetterman’s and Sand Creek Massacre

Troops were deployed to keep Indians in line stirred up more hostility from the Lakota Sioux

attempted to protect hunting grounds Troops suffered a surprising defeat from the Sioux in Wyoming

Fetterman’s Massacre-Chief Crazy Horse set up a trap for Captain William Fetterman

Cheyenne Indians kept attacking settlers coming through their territories

Governor John Evans requested Chief Black Kettle and his Cheyenne to negotiate peace at Fort Lyon Sand Creek Massacre-Evans and troops massacred Cheyenne trip

Indian Peace Commission

Congress formed the Indian Peace Commission in 1867 in order to establish peace with the Plains Indians proposed creating two large reservations for the Sioux and

southern Plains Indians, which would be run by agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs

U.S. army would deal with those who did not comply Plan was doomed, however

pressuring Natives to sign treaties would encourage chiefs to not comply with the terms

many who moved to the reservations experienced the same conditions as the Sioux: poverty, despair, and corrupt traders

Custer’s blunder at Little Bighorn

In 1876, fortune hunters overran the Sioux reservation in the Dakotas to mine Sioux left and went to hunt in Montana

General Alfred Terry and Lieutenant George Custer led an expedition to intercept the Sioux, led by Sitting Bull Custer led an ambush in broad daylight that

ended in a massacre-Battle of Little Bighorn In inspiration of the Sioux victory at Little

Bighorn, the Nez Perce, led by Chief Joseph, refused to move to a smaller reservation Surrendered after being intercepted by U.S.

forces and relocated to Oklahoma

Wounded Knee Defying the orders of the government,

the Sioux performed a Ghost Dance, or a ritual that celebrated the hope that one day, the settlers would be gone, the buffalo would return, and the Natives would reunite with dead ancestors

In an attempt to control the situation, police came to arrest Sitting Bull Gunfire was exchanged, and Sitting Bull

was killed The remaining Native fled, and U.S.

forces chased the Natives to Wounded Knee Creek, where they massacred 200 Lakota men, women, an children

Assimilation Many Americans disagreed with the treatment of Native Americans

Believed that the situation would improve if the Natives would assimilate, or become absorbed, by society if they were landowners, breaking down reservation into individual allotments

The idea of assimilation came into law in 1887 with the Dawes Act Promised head of households 160 acres of land, 80 acres to single adults,

40 acres to children, and the remaining reservation land sold to settlers, with proceeds going to Native American trusts

Dawes Act and assimilation proved to be a failure Many Natives weren’t experienced or enthusiastic about farming, so they

sold their lands Many were angry and heartbroken over the selling of their reservations Many were reliant on the Plains lands, and few were willing to make

changes