Settling the American West What images and people do you think of when we talk about the old west?

Settling the American Settling the American WestWest

What images and people do you What images and people do you think of when we talk about the think of when we talk about the

old west?old west?

Settling the American WestSettling the American West

How the West was Made

• The Western Frontier began in 1843 with the Oregon Trail, and ended in 1893

How the West was MadeHow the West was Made– The People

• Westerners were democratic, unrestricted, nationalistic, practical, and adaptive

• Escape the societal pressures, and the Civil War

The PeopleThe People

• Frontier life also made them coarse, violent, anti-intellectual, and wasteful of natural resources

• Most carried a Colt revolver or a knife for protection against snakes and predators

Transportation Transportation

• The Pony Express carried mail • Stagecoaches carried freight and

passengers (Wells Fargo & American Express)

• Steamboats ran the rivers (Mark Twain)

• The Iron Horse- Pacific Railroad Act of 1862

Economic Freedom Economic Freedom

– Vertical Integration• a company owns all parts of the

production process form raw materials to transportation to sales

• job opportunities in mining, logging, ranching, and farming

Economic FreedomEconomic Freedom

– Cattle Kingdom (1865-1885)• large ranches on thousands of acres

raised tens of thousands of cattle• Cowboys were used to drive cattle to the

railroad


• Cattle Drives – a typical drive was 2 weeks– wagon master drove the chuck wagon and

served as repairman, set up and broke down camp, and was the doctor/vet

– trail boss read the map to make sure the sure the herd was watered

– Boom towns sprang up to accommodate cowboys at the railhead


• Crime was relatively low, robbery and rape almost nonexistent (with the exception of trains and stagecoaches).

The Homestead Act The Homestead Act

• The government gave 160 acre grants to 400,000 individuals and families

• Life on the frontier– dealt with boredom, wild animals,

diseases, drought, and extreme weather

– worked from sunrise to sunset– ate 5 hearty meals a day

The Homestead ActThe Homestead Act

• Despite low pay, “sodbusters” stayed because of the independence farm life offered.

• Barbed Wire secured property rights for farmers


– Westerners found a level of independence and prosperity unheard of in Europe

– Many farms failed due to inexperienced farmers drawn by the promise of land

American IndiansAmerican Indians

What were Indian relations like What were Indian relations like sense colonization in America?sense colonization in America?

American Indians American Indians

– Indian Relations Sense Colonization• Initially peaceful• conflicts over land• treaties and misunderstandings• anger and war• eventual Indian defeat


– Great Plains Indians• nomadic lifestyle protected them from disease

that most other tribes suffered from• did not herd or breed animals they depended on• would often kill and entire herd of bison

because of the view that animal population was infinite, or that an escaped animal would warn all the other animals of the region

• Deadly warriors who were superior horsemen and skilled marksmanship


– Indian Policy Conflicts• Preservationists- proposed letting the

Indians roam free• Exterminationists- Indians should be

confined and killed• Assimilationists- help Indians learn

English, embrace Christianity, and adopt farming and ranching techniques


What problems do you see with What problems do you see with the three Indian policies?the three Indian policies?


– Indian Policy Conflicts• Preservationists- proposed letting the

Indians roam free unrealistic due to conflicting tribes

• Exterminationists- Indians should be confined and killed racist view

• Assimilationists- help Indians learn English, embrace Christianity, and adopt farming and ranching techniques culture conflicts and resistance


– The Reservation System• Dawes Severalty Act (1887)- put Indians

into free market system and attain full citizenship

• Government schools were created to help with the transition

• Created government dependency and depression

Documents

Settling the American West What images and people do you think of when we talk about the old west?