In the Wake of WarChapter 17

Gold… Gold… Gold...▫ Western development was driven by the lure of gold

and other precious metals.  Towns formed when minerals were found and deserted once they were depleted.  Eventually major corporations would retain most of the profits. while bad for lone prospectors, it served to promote the growth of the railroad system as gold and silver needed to be shipped out.  When someone found a reserve of minerals it was called

a "Strike"▫ Law was hard to enforce with the rapid shifts in

location and the land barrier between the East and West

▫ Some of the towns remained, fueled by the stores set up to supply the influx of hopeful prospectors. often those who didn't find anything stayed in the West and took up other jobs, too ashamed to go home empty handed.

Big Business and the Land Bonanza

▫ Homestead Act of 1862, limited landholdings to 160 acres. the cost of moving to the every expanding frontier was

not worth the 160 acres. those who could, rarely had the skills to run a farm The Timber Culture Act of 1873 doubled the land if they

planted trees on it. This inspired the Timber and Stone act of 1878 which

gave an acre of forest for $2.50 even though it was difficult to replant trees in the western territory.

▫ 47.7 million acres of reserved land was opened for sale and by 1888 speculators had devoured 5.6 million acres.

▫ Huge "Bonanza" farms were seen, encouraged by the railroad systems and new machinery,

▫ they were unable to cope with the prolonged droughts in the late 1880’s

The Plains Indians   • Buffalo

▫ Food, tools, shelter▫ Dung for fuel▫ Religious significance

• Horses▫ Faster/Easier way to hunt buffalo▫ Provided faster transport▫ More effective way to fight▫ Allowed an increased size of teppees and number of

possessions because horses could pull more than dogs, who had done the job previous horses

• Early white men▫ Treated well▫ Gold rushers used as an excuse for the government to

begin to isolate Indian tribes on to territories

Indian Wars    • Miners/White settlers start forcing tribes out of granted

territories• Civil War

▫ troops pulled out of West to assist war▫ Indians start fighting back using guerrilla warfare▫ Whites and Indians slaughter each other

• Government's new strategy in 1867▫ All Plains Indians were to be confined on only 2 small

reservations▫ Tribes split into two groups- Treaty and Nontreaty

• Nontreaty tribes fought back using guerrilla tactics, but had to surrender after a while due to starvation and military force 

• Corrupt government officials stole good supplies going to tribes, angering both Indians and other government officials

• Watch this from 5:16 or 5:30 to 6:20

Destruction ofTribal Life• Buffalo hunted to brink of extinction

▫ Indians starved▫ Indians without shelter

• Final loss of Indians' culture▫ White schools built on reservations▫ Citizenships granted to those who

abandon tribal life▫ Overall, whites were attempting to

(and succeeding in some areas to) "civilize" the Indians

• Report to the President by the Indian

• Peace Commission, January 7, 1868

White Violence and Vengeance• "We was always in season"- Black Southerner• Violence was widespread towards blacks.• Lynching and torture were main methds of

violence.▫One man had his fingers, and toes cut off, his

face skinned and was then burned alive. • Thousands watched and in one white

southerners words, everyone watched, "with unfeigning satisfaction.”

• Black women started to became religious and reformist leaders.

The West Afterthe Civil War• Industrialization as beginning t0

take form in the west.• Large amounts of Chinese

immigrants poured into the west and became cheap labor.

• Competition for jobs between the native westerners and the Chinese caused problems and violence to arise.

• Chinese were called, "Groveling worms” • 1879- Chinese were denied the right to vote• 1882- Chinese immigration was banned from the U.S.

for 10 years.• Animosity towards foreigers will stay present in the

west.

Racial Views After Civil War• Booker T. Washington

▫Booker T. Washington Atlanta Compromise Speech

▫believed in working with what they had▫segregation ▫tolerance, gain education▫tried to help common people

• Blacks after Reconstruction▫segregated for "safety”▫slowly lost rights▫Civil Rights Act nullified▫became "paid" slaves

 Congress Ascendant

• A graduated income tax was enacted during the civil war ▫ Was repealed at the end of the civil war▫ Was re-enacted in 1894▫ Then was declared unconstitutional in 1895

• Politicians were "clinging to long to outworn issues”• Another critic wrote "congress does not solve the

problems, the solution of which is demanded by the life of the nation”

• Though many thought of the senate as ignorant and selfish, they were actually very wise and intelligent with a great sense of statesmanship 

• The House of Representatives was one of the most disorderly and inefficient legislative bodies in the world at the time after reconstruction

 Congress Ascendant cont.

• Nothing was ever accomplished because all the statesmen were too worried about smoking their cigars and reading their newspapers

• The only thing that separated the two parties were their ethnic and political backgrounds, as well as where they came from

• Different ethnic groups and religions voted according to their beliefs; there were almost just as many Republican voters as Democratic voters 

• The economical status of the candidate greatly influenced who he received votes from   ▫ The blue collar workers who worked as farmers, laborers

and shopkeepers were evenly split between the two parties in most elections 

▫ Between 1856 and 1912  a Democrat was only elected 2 times, but  most of the elections were extremely close

The PoliticalAftermath of War

• Republicans controlled the South with an iron fist

• Political Issues of the Time: • The Bloody Shirt - treatment of blacks, and

the hostility towards carpetbaggers in the South was a powerful emotional issue

• Veteran's Pensions - organizations such as Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) put pressure on Congress to supply  pensions for Union Veterans

• Tariff Control - most people believed in putting a tariff on imported goods, but both sides toyed with the idea to protect their party's interests

• Currency Reform - paper greenbacks were distrusted, and people debated whether or not to withdraw them to prevent deflation

• Civil Service Reform - Federal Bureaucracy expanded, more federal employees, vast increase in corruption in Federal Government

WesternRailroad Building• Private investors were reluctant to

invest in such a risky enterprise,especially when it would take yearsfor the benefits to roll in

• Public Railway Act--1862▫ gave builders of Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads five

square miles of public land on each side of the track▫ land divided equally between railroad property and

government property• Some Railroad lines got government funding, but speed

became a factor with the building of such lines, as they had to be completed as quickly as possible▫ Central Pacific is an example of this, as it was built as quickly

as possible, and, in the process, wasted a great deal of money, was poorly built, and expensive to maintain.

▫ Great Northern railroad, by contrast, was built using private capital, meaning it was carefully planned, economically efficient, and it was the only transcontinental railroad not to go bankrupt during the depression of the 1890.

Cattle andRanching• Cattle used to roam freely.• Population growth

demanded more food +easier transportation viarailroad = More Cattlemen

• 1880 improvement to the stock.• Open-range didn't require you to own very much

land.• Larger companies dominated the industry.• Desert Land Act of 1877 allowed anyone to buy

640 acres of land at $1.25 an acre along as they irrigated it by 3 years.

• Many fraudulent claims were made. • Overcrowding became a problem.

Barbed-Wire Wars• Barbed-wire was invented in 1874

lead to "Barbed-Wire Wars”• Cattle used to be able to move to safety during

storms and find water during droughts but now they had no where to go.

• Overproduction drove the price of beef down.• Land was being overgrazed.• 1886 stock was so bad it was recommended that

farmers sell their cattle at the lowest price they had ever been or else endanger the whole heard.

• After free-range style ended the industry became very organized and business-like.

• Large companies went bankrupt and independent operators sold out.