Changes on the Western Frontier

The Lure of Silver and Gold• The discovery of

gold and silver in Colorado in 1858 and Montana in 1864 drew thousands of hopeful miners to the region

• Mining towns and frontier towns were called Boomtowns– Called so because “boom”

refers to a time of rapid economic growth

The Lure of Silver and Gold• Boomtowns– Had filthy, ramshackle living

quarters– Rows of tents and shacks with dirt

“streets” and wooden “sidewalks”– Rowdy places, prospectors fought

over claim– Thieves were hunted down• “Law and Order” was enforced by

vigilance committees, or self appointed volunteers who would track down and punish wrongdoers

The Lure of Silver and Gold• Boomtowns– Men were usually first to

arrive in the mining towns but women soon followed • Worked as laundresses or

cooks• Others worked at “hurdy-

gurdy” houses, where they waited on tables and danced with men for the price of a drink

The Lure of Silver and Gold• Boomtowns– Didn’t last forever,

eventually the mines were used up

– When the mines closed, so did the towns• They went “bust”• Soon became

“ghost-towns”

Comstock Lode- Virginia City, Nevada

• Best example of a boomtown turned bust is Virginia City, Nevada

• In 1859 Henry Comstock had a gold claim in Virginia City Nevada– Failed to find any gold, so he sold

the claim– Actually found pure silver ore, but

he didn’t realize it• Thought it was just sticky blue-

gray clay

Comstock Lode- Virginia City, Nevada

• Very quickly the person who bought the claim realized what was there and it became known as the Comstock Lode– Brought a flood of prospectors to Virginia City– So many people arrived that Nevada became

a state in 1864– Generated more than $230 million dollars

which helped the Union finance the Civil War

• By the late 1870’s the mine dried up and the town went “bust”

Ranching and Cattle Drives• While some people went to mine for

riches, others began herding cattle on the Great Plains– Most people believed that it was

impossible to raise cattle on the Great Plains• Lack of water and hard to digest

prairie grasses• However, there was a breed of

cattle from Texas that had adapted to these conditions… the Texas Longhorn

Ranching and Cattle Drives• The longhorns descended from

Spanish cattle that had run wild, and over many centuries a new breed- the longhorn- had emerged– After the Civil War, when

most of the livestock in the South had been killed, people began to round up the longhorns on the Plains as a means of food and living

Ranching and Cattle Drives• One obstacle that was faced by

ranchers faced, was transporting the cattle to the East– Had to move the cattle herd from

the ranching grounds to the Railroad lines where they could be shipped East

– This was called a cattle drive• Moving cattle long distances to a

railroad depot for fast transport to the East for great profits

Ranching Becomes Big Business• Ranching also prospered on the plains because

of the open range– Vast area of grassland that the federal

government owned– Covered most of Great Plains and provided land

where ranchers could graze their herds for free

• Soon range wars broke out, among ranchers competing for land– After much loss of life hundreds of square miles of

land was fenced off cheaply and easily using barbed wire

Ranching Becomes Big Business• The fencing in of the open

range with barbed wire changed the cattle industry for ever– Now livestock could be kept

near water and food supplies and ended the cattle drive

– Investors now had places to send their money to and caused overinvesting in the industry which in turn cause an oversupply of animals

Farming the Plains- Homestead Act• While some people tried mining and cattle

ranching, others tried their hand at farming the Great Plains– Most people had thought the are to be the

“Great American Desert,” and was not suited for farming

– To try to get people to settle in the area, the U.S. government passed the Homestead Act in 1862• Law that provided 160 acres of land in the

West to any citizen who would cultivate the land for five years

Farming the Plains- Life on the Plains• Not an easy life on the Plains:

– Lack of timber for houses meant you needed an alternative sod houses

– To get water you often had to hand drill a well 100 ft deep

– Summer temperatures reached 100°F, and winter was very harsh

– Prairie fires were frequent– Swarms of grasshoppers

would destroy crops

Farming the Plains- The Wheat Belt• During the 1880’s many farmers from

the Midwest moved to the Great Plains to take advantage of the land– These farmers planted wheat, and

started what would soon be called the wheat belt• Began at the eastern edge of

the Great Plains and encompassed much of the Dakotas as well as parts of Nebraska and Kansas

– Some wheat farms covered up to 50,000 acres and were called Bonaza farms

Farming the Plains- Homestead Act• From 1862- 1900 up to 600,000 families took

advantage of the Homestead Act– Several thousand of these people were

exodusters• African American who moved from the post-

Reconstruction South to the Great Plains– Only 10% of the land was actually used for

farming, the majority of it went to the railroads, cattlemen, timber cutters

• In 1889 the government increased the size of the tracts of land available and opened up the area of Oklahoma where land was sold out in one day

Farming the Plains-Farming Methods• Many new farming methods and inventions in

the 19th century revolutionized agriculture– Dry Farming or planting the seed deep in the

ground where there is enough moisture to grow– Steel Plow by John Deere could slice through

heavy soil (1837)– Reaping Machine by Cyrus McCormick (1847)– Grain Drill to plant the seed (1841)

• In 1830 producing a bushel of grain took 183 minutes by 1900 it took 10 minutes!

The Plains Indians• Great Plains were home to

many different tribes of Native Americans :– Sioux– Cheyenne – Arapaho

• Most tribes were nomads, who roamed vast distanced following their main source of food- the buffalo

Struggles of The Plains Indians• Unlike Native Americans, settlers

to the West believed that land should be owned and used for profit– Claimed that because the Natives

had not permanently settled on an area of land, they had not claimed the land • Thus the West was up for the taking

– Settlers would follow the railroad and wagon trails to claim the land for themselves

Struggles of the Plains Indians• The American Government in 1834 had

granted the entire Great Plans area as one big reservation – Americans create treaties that defined specific

boundaries for each tribe, after gold and silver was found

– This resulted in a lot of confusion and clashes between Natives and miners in the plains area

• The first such instance was in 1862 when the Sioux launched a major uprising in Minnesota

The Dakota Sioux Uprising• The Sioux had agreed to

live on a reservation in exchange for annual payments from the U.S. government– More often than not, the

payments were never received

– By 1862 many of the Sioux people lived in poverty and faced starvation

The Dakota Sioux Uprising• Chief of the Sioux, Chief Little

Crow asked local traders to provide food for them on credit– When the Indians got the money

from the government they would pay the traders back

– One trader replied, “If they are hungry, let them eat grass or their own dung.”

• Soon out of desperation, the Sioux started an uprising

The Dakota Sioux Uprising• Chief Little Crow was reluctant to lead the

uprising, wanted to fight against the government not the locals– Was unable to keep the angry Dakota Sioux

from killing hundreds of settlers in the are– After the rebellion was suppressed, a military

court sentenced 307 Dakota to death• President Lincoln reduced the number to 38• Some fled when the federal troops arrived

and became exiles in a region that bore their name the Dakota Territory

Red Cloud’s War• The Dakota Territory was

home to another Sioux Tribe, the Lakota– The Lakota had fought

hard to keep their lands both against other Natives as well as settlers

– Leading them were chiefs Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull

Red Cloud’s War• The U.S. Army suffered a major

defeat during “Red Cloud’s War” of 1866 to 1868– Army was constructing forts

along the Bozeman Trial, a trail used for mining in Montana

– Crazy Horse tricked one of the forts commanders into sending out Captain William Fetterman and 80 soldiers to pursue what appeared to be a small raiding party of Indians

Red Cloud’s War• Hundreds of warriors were waiting to ambush

Fetterman and his entire unit– Becomes known as Fetterman’s Massacre– Becomes known as the Battle of the

Hundred Slain• Skirmishes continued until the government

agreed to close the Bozeman Trial– In return, the Treaty of Fort Laramie 1868

stated that the Sioux would live on a reservation along the Missouri River• This was not signed by Sitting Bull

Massacre at Sand Creek• In 1864, Colorado territory governor was

unable to talk the Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples out of their hunting grounds – Which was wanted for their rich mineral

content – The governor ordered Colonel John M.

Chivington to get rid of the Native Americans. • Chivington, a former Methodist minister,

hated all Native Americans and publicly declared that all should be killed and scalped, including babies.

Massacre at Sand Creek• Chivington and the governor put

together a troop of volunteers who were willing to fight the Natives for their land– Before the group could really

organize, a bunch of Natives approached and asked for peace• Governor was informed of the

request and responded by asking what he was going to do with this troop if they couldn’t fight

Chivington

Colorado GovernorJohn Evans

Massacre at Sand Creek• Chivington promised the Cheyenne

peace if they would lay down their arms– They agreed and marched forty

miles to Sand Creek, where they would receive rations and await further instructions.

– By this time, the troops that had been assembled to fight the Natives were getting restless and seven hundred volunteers surrounded the peaceful, unarmed village.

Massacre at Sand Creek• On November 29th 1864, The

troops dismembered, tortured, and murdered around 163Cheyenne, two-thirds of them women and children– Eyewitness accounts reported

soldiers combing through the mutilated bodies in search of “souvenirs” such as scalps, body parts, and clothing.

A Doomed Plan for Peace• In light of the increasing conflicts with the

Natives, Congress formed the Indian Peace Commission– Proposed creating two large reservations on

the plains… one for the Sioux and one for other Natives living in the southern plains

– Agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs would run the reservations

– Army would deal with any groups who refused to report or remain there

The End of the Buffalo• Buffalo were rapidly disappearing as settlers

killed off thousands – Following the Civil War, professional buffalo

hunters invaded the area seeking buffalo hides – Most killed for sport and left unwanted parts to rot– Railroad companies hired sharpshooters to kill

large numbers of buffalo that were obstructing rail traffic

– The Army encouraged buffalo hunting as a way to force the Natives onto reservations

– By 1889 few buffalo remained

Battle of Little Big Horn• In 1876 prospectors overran the

Lakota Sioux reservation in the Dakota territory to mine gold in the Black Hills– Lakota figured if settlers violated

the treaty, why couldn’t they? So many left the reservation to hunt in southwestern Montana

– The government responded by sending George A. Custer and the Seventh Cavalry to stop the Natives

Battle of Little Big Horn• Custer underestimated the fighting

capabilities of the Lakota who also had help from the Cheyenne– One June 25th, 1876, ignoring orders and

acting on his own accord, Custer launches a three pronged • Broad daylight• Largest groups of Native Americans

ever assembled under Sitting Bull’s leadership

– Natives killed all of Custer’s 210 soldiers but one

Battle of Little Big Horn• Newspaper accounts portrayed

Custer as a victim of a massacre– Outraged people in the East– Army steps up its campaign

against Native Americans on the plains

• Sitting Bull fled with his followers to Canada– Most of the Natives were

rounded up and forced back to the reservation

The Dawes Act• Some Americans had long opposed the

treatment of the Natives such as Helen Hunt– Wrote a book in 1881 called A Century of

Dishonor• Detailed the years of unbroken promises and

injustices

– The events at Sand Creek and Little Bighorn sparked new debates on the issue

– Some believed Natives should be assimilated• A minority group’s adoption of the beliefs

and way of life of the dominate culture

The Dawes Act• In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Act which

was aimed at “Americanizing” the Natives– Allotted to each head of household 160 acres of

reservation land for farming– Single adults received 80 acres– Children were allotted 40 acres– Citizenship would be granted for those who

stayed on the land for 25 years– The land that remained after all Native got their

land would be sold to settlers with the proceeds going into a trust for Native Americans

The Dawes Act• The plan failed to achieve it’s goals– Some Natives succeeded at farmers or

ranchers but many lacked the training or enthusiasm for either

– Most found their land grants too small to be profitable so they sold them

• The Native Americans were doomed because they were dependent in buffalo for food, clothing, fuel and shelter– With the herds wiped out they had no way to

sustain their way of life

Tragedy at Wounded Knee• Native American resistance came to a

tragic end on the Lakota Sioux Reservation in 1890– Defying the orders of the government,

the Lakota continued to perform the Ghost Dance• A ritual that celebrated they day

when settlers would disappear and the buffalo would return and they would reunite with their dead ancestors

– Government feared it would lead to violence

Tragedy at Wounded Knee• The government blamed the latest

defiance's on Sitting Bull who had returned from Canada– Government sent police to arrest him– Was killed in a gunfight between the

police and his followers who tried to stop his arrest

• Shortly thereafter on December 28th 1890, the Seventh Calvary rounded up 350 starving Sioux and took them to a camp at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota

Tragedy at Wounded Knee• The next day, December 29th the

soldiers ordered that they give up all of their weapons– A shot was then fired, from which side

we don’t know but a gunfight ensued– The soldiers than opened fire with a

cannon – Within minutes the soldiers has

slaughtered nearly 300 mostly unarmed Native Americans

– The soldiers then left the corpses on the ground to freeze.