Unit 1
Section 1
Relied on Buffalo Food, clothing, and shelter Nomadic Did not believe in or even understand land ownership 200,000 lived on the Plains
Stopped moving Indians west Wanted land for white settlers Decided to take Indian lands Indians moved onto reservations Decline of Buffalo Grasslands declining Hunting increased For sport not necessity
Sand Creek Massacre 1864 450 Arapaho and Cheyenne men, women, and children killed in Colorado Col. John Chivington Congress condemned actions but punished no one
Little Big Horn 1876 Gen. George Custer v. Sitting Bull (Sioux) Montana Sioux Victory! Palo Duro Canyon Comanche's Ended wars on southern plains
Ghost Dance Movement Religious movement that inspired hope Newspapers reported it signaled an uprising Sitting Bull killed while trying to be arrested Wounded Knee Massacre 200 unarmed Sioux killed Ended Ghost Dance Movement
NW Chief Joseph attempted to take his people to Canada Turned back
Chief Joseph and Nez Perce Captured by army after 1300 mile chase "I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say, "Yes" or "No." He who led the young men [Olikut] is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are -- perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."
SW Apache leader Geronimo led raids against settlers Goyathlay (One Who Yawns) Captured in 1886
Bureau of Indian Affairs established assimilate or Americanize Dawes Act Reservation system Encouraged to farm Had to renounce tribal loyalties Most reservation land eventually taken Carlisle Indian School
Helen Hunt Jackson A Century of Dishonor
Section 2
Gold Discovered in Colorado 1858 Ran out quickly Klondike Gold Rush Difficult to mine Silver Comstock Lode Nevada Lasted 20 years before running out
Origins Spanish ranchers in west Cattle (longhorn) and Sheep Demand for Beef New large eastern cities needed beef Railroads made this possible
Cattle Drive Cowboys drove cattle on trails Chisholm Trail Trails led to railhead towns Abilene and Dodge City Cattle then shipped to meatpacking centers Chicago, Omaha, St. Louis
End of the Open Range Joseph Glidden barbed wire Allowed ranchers/farmers to fence in livestock ending open grazing Weather Harsh winters of 85 and 86
Section 3
Lack of water Windmill driven pumps Lack of lumber Soddies Dugouts Bonanza Farms Huge farms Eventually failed
Grange Came from Patrons of Husbandry 1867 Oliver Hudson Kelley Taught farmers how to: Organize Form cooperatives Results: Gave rise to Farmer s Alliances Southern Alliance Colored Farmers National Alliance Speakers traveled to towns to educate
Homestead Act 160 acres of free land to heads of household Pacific Railway Act Gave land to RR companies to build west More land than needed given Morrill Land Grant Act Gave land to states to build colleges Agricultural and mechanical colleges ISU, KSU, MSU, PSU
Oklahoma Land Rush 1889 Gave away unassigned Indian lands RR sold extra land
White settlers Farmers from South A-A Exodusters Fled south Europeans Economic opportunity Germany, Scandinavia, Ireland, Russia Chinese Gold rush and RR building
1890 Census Declared frontier closed Frederick Jackson Turner The Frontier in American History Self-reliance and independent nature of American culture fostered the frontier