Westward Movement Review Alex Chen Plummer/Period 1 February 12th, 2003 Chapter 14 (Things, Ideas, Etc:) 1: Reservations Reservations were areas for Native Americans set aside by the government. Native Americans had to be confined within a reservation if they were to still follow their traditional customs, and if they moved out of a reservation, then they would have to adopt customs that were more like the customs of the white men, as the Native Americans would call them. Reservations were important in the westward movement because when Native Americans were unconfined to reservations, then they could move wherever they wanted to move, and when white settlers wanted to settle on their lands, then battles would often break out. When reservations were set aside for Native Americans, then white pioneers would be free to move around wherever they wanted to without being disturbed by Native Americans, provided that they stay off the reservations of the Native Americans. 2: Oregon Fever Oregon Fever was basically a malady that gripped many Americans in the eastern United States in the 1840s. This type of fever, unrelated to Mountain Fever, Typhoid Fever, or any other kind of fever, was a very unique type of fever, and there was little raise in body temperature, although the increase of temperature could be minute, due to the anxiety of the people who fell prey to Oregon Fever, which does cause the heart to beat a little faster. The main symptom of Oregon Fever was basically the yearning to settle in Oregon; and the cause of the illness was primarily due to the often exaggerated accounts of Oregon, written by families living in Oregon, such as the Whitman and the Spalding family. The only cures to this disease were to either go on the Oregon Trail and to settle onto Oregon, or to attempt to allay one s anxiety to Oregon. Oregon fever was important to the westward movement due to the fact that if not so many people suffered from the malady, then not as many people would be willing to endure such an arduous and treacherous journey across the continent to settle in the lush valleys of Oregon. 3: Manifest Destiny In the year 1845, a newspaper editor John L. Sullivan first coined the term manifest destiny, which was basically the belief that the certain fate of the United States was to stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Soon after Sullivan coined the term, many other Americans also adopted the idea of manifest destiny, and the idea was used as a justification for the US annexation of Texas, Oregon Country, California, as well as other territories gained after the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. People who supported the idea of the manifest destiny were known as expansionists, as they wanted to expand the area of the United States. Literally, the term manifest destiny basically means An obvious inevitable fate, and the fate was the fate of the United States to stretch from ocean to ocean. It is important for the Westward Movement as it justifies the fact that it is the inevitable fate of the United States to stretch from ocean to ocean, and the idea gathered support for the annexation of western territories.
4: Mountain Men Mountain Men were pioneers of the Rocky Mountain West who ventured to the mountains to hunt and trap animals for fur, and they were important in the fur trade of the United States. As they ventured into the mountains more and more, they came to know the terrain of the Rocky Mountain West very well, and many mountain men, including Jim Bridger and Jedediah Smith guided early settlers through the treacherous terrain of the Rocky Mountains to settle in Oregon and California. Without these helpful Mountain Men, many greenhorns would have become lost in the Oregon Trail, especially in the time when the trail wasn t necessarily well marked in the early 1840 s. Mountain Men also adopted many Native American customs, and often mingled with Native Americans. The Mountain Men were important to the Westward Movement because they were the first people to gain knowledge of the mountains of America, and with this knowledge, they then started guiding greenhorns along the trail. Jim Bridger also built Fort Bridger in 1843, which served as an important fort and stop point along the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails. Mountain Men also discovered important places along the Westward trails, like the renowned South Pass, which had a very gradual ascent through the Continental Divide, and they also blazed trails to the destinations of where the pioneers wanted to go. Without the helpful Mountain Men, the westward expansion would certainly be delayed, with less people having an interest in moving out to the west due to their inexperience of the terrain. Those who were interested in moving out west would often become lost without mountain men to guide them, especially considering that the majority of pioneers were greenhorns. In fact, Oregon Fever would probably have never been spread without the Mountain Men, for Jim Bridger guided the Whitman family to Oregon, and the Whitmans would later spread Oregon Fever, which was certainly a contagious disease. 5: Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a trail which settlers took in order to settle in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. It was approximately 2,000 miles long; 1,000 miles from Independence to South Pass, and 1,000 miles from South Pass to the Willamette Valley. The journey usually took from 5 to 7 months, depending on a wagon s pace, the amount of days a wagon would rest, cutoffs taken, as well as sundry other conditions. Usually, wagons would move on an average of 15 to 20 miles per day, but the amount greatly varied with the weather and terrain conditions. Pioneers journeying along the Oregon Trail did not face an easy journey, even when the knowledgeable Mountain Men guided them. They faced treacherous rivers to cross, steep hills to climb and descend, thick dust, disease, deserts, and merciless weather. Out of every 10 immigrants along the Oregon Trail; around 1 of them would die along the trail, which was often marked by many graves. Despite the difficulties, however, the pioneers who completed the journey on the Oregon Trail could derive great pleasure, both from the magnificent sites of the trail as well as from the satisfaction of completing such a large task. The typical pioneer of the Oregon Trail traveled on a covered wagon, pulled by oxen. Most people traveled in wagon parties, consisting of many wagons and often hundreds of people. The approximate start and end dates of the Oregon Trail were from 1843 to 1861, but a few wagon trains did travel on the Oregon Trail in the late 1800s, in ever decreasing numbers. The approximate path of the Oregon Trail would start at Independence, Missouri, and then would follow along the Kansas River, and then northwards to the Platte River, where
wagon trains would reach Fort Kearny, built in 1848 to assist westward immigration. Pioneers would then follow the Platte River for a few hundred miles, and would then follow the North Platte River when the South Platte River branched off from the Platte River. Along the North Platte, wagon trains would reach Fort Laramie, and then would continue along the North Platte until it turned southwards, when the wagon trains would then follow along the Sweetwater River westwards. As they were following the Sweetwater River, wagon trains were also crossing the Rocky Mountains, but the ascent was so gradual through the Rocky Mountains that many people even forget that they were passing the Rocky Mountains as they moved through South Pass, a short distance west of where the Oregon Trail branched off from the Sweetwater River which they had followed. After passing South Pass, the trail would then come to a fork. The main route traveled southwards to Fort Bridger, while some wagons took the Sublette Cutoff, which was a rougher and drier trail. The two cutoffs met again at the West End of the Sublette Cutoff, and then would head northwest to Fort Hall; passing Big Hill and Soda Springs along the way. Once wagon trains reached Fort Hall, they would meet the Snake River, which they would follow for hundreds of miles, and another cutoff sprung off from the train near Fort Boise, where wagon parties would either choose to cross the treacherous Snake River and visit Fort Boise, or would take the South Alternate Route, where they would not have to cross the Snake River, but where they also encountered dry and desolate terrain. After the cutoff and the main trail met again at East Cow Hollow, the trail would follow the Snake River northwards until they reached Farewell Bend, a bit north of the Malheur River. There, pioneers would bid farewell to the Snake River and would travel towards the northwest through the Blue Mountains, beautiful but relatively steep as well. Eventually, wagon trains would reach the Umatilla Valley, where there was another fork along the trail. Certain wagons would travel northwards to visit Fort Walla Walla and the Whitman Mission, burnt in 1847, while others would take a shortcut, bypassing the fort. The trail met up near the Columbia River, and would then follow the Columbia River westwards, until they reached The Dalles, were many pioneers had another choice: to raft down the Columbia River or to go on the Barlow Toll Road, opened in 1845. The Columbia River was a treacherous river to raft, especially for inexperienced greenhorns, but was a quick way to the Willamette Valley; and pioneers also had the option to visit Fort Vancouver. Meanwhile, the Barlow Toll Road cost money, and was slower than the Columbia River, but was also a safer route. However, it was still not a safe route, as pioneers would have to traverse the worst hills that they have ever faced: Devil s Half Acre and Laurel Hill. After those obstacles, however, the Barlow Toll Road would later reach the Willamette River a short distance west from the steep downhill descent from Laurel Hill. The Oregon Trail was important to the Westward Movement because it provided an overland route to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and many pioneers traveled on the trail. Because of the large amount of people traveling along the trail as well as others taking other routes, the population of Oregon eventually boomed, and Oregon became a state in the year 1858. Before 1846, Oregon was part of Oregon Country, in a state of joint occupation between Great Britain and the United States. The first settlers in Oregon helped settle Oregon, and strengthened the hold of the Americans over lands south of the 49 th parallel. Due largely to those settlers, James K. Polk of the United States was able to sign a treaty with Great Britain ending the joint
occupation of Oregon. These settlers also set up a provisional government in Oregon, and paved the way for future American settlement of Oregon. 6: Gold Rush The Gold Rush was an event in 1849 that attracted many settlers in California. In early 1848, John Marshall discovered gold on the American River on the property of John Sutter, while building a sawmill. The news eventually leaked out later in the year, and starting in the year of 1849, thousands of people took the California Trail to search for gold in California, and all of the rushing forty-niners marked an event called the gold rush. The gold rush was very important to the Westward movement, as it attracted thousands of settlers to California, who later helped California become a state in 1850, and set up communities in California, despite the previous hardships in the first years of living in California. 7: Alamo The Alamo was an abandoned Spanish mission near the city of San Antonio. In the year of 1836, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a siege on the mission of the Alamo, which had a small Texas garrison consisting of frontier fighters Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett commanded by William B. Travis. The Texans fought valiantly in the battle of the Alamo, and held off Santa Anna s force for 10 days, but eventually there was a breach in the northern wall of the Alamo, and the Mexican soldiers rushed in the mission, slaughtering all of the people within, with the exception of a few civilians. While the Alamo was considered to be a victory for the Mexicans in the Texan War for Independence, it did cost the Mexicans a significant tolls in their military, and the battle also helped increase the morale of the Texas army, which was eager for revenge against the Mexicans. The battle cry Remember the Alamo was developed after the battle, and was certainly a helping factor in the morale of the Texan army, as I stated previously. The Alamo was important to the Westward Movement because it inspired the Texan army to fight harder, and increased morale may have helped the Texans win their war for independence, which later led to the annexation of Texas in 1845 by the United States. 8: San Jacinto San Jacinto was the decisive battle between Sam Houston and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, which was considered to be the final battle of the Texas War for Independence, and it took place on April 21 st, 1836. The Texans, commanded by Sam Houston with a force of 800 soldiers launched a surprise attack on the Mexicans, commanded by Santa Anna, with a force of 1,500 soldiers. The Texans shouted the battle cries Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad as they charged into battle against the Mexican army, and defeated the Mexicans easily, within 30 minutes. General Santa Anna was also captured in the battle, and Sam Houston released Santa Anna after the battle, with the terms that Santa Anna should withdraw his troops to Mexico and should end the war with Texas. The casualties for the Texans under Sam Houston were very low; with 6 deaths and 30 wounded people, while the Mexicans suffered very high casualties in the battle. This battle was important to the westward movement because it had secured the Texans against the Mexicans, making them officially an independent country, ripe for the annexation of Texas by the United States.
Chapter 14 People: 9: James K. Polk James K. Polk (1795-1849) was the 11 th president of the United States who served from 1845 to 1849. He was a Democrat who supported the manifest destiny of the United States, and was also the first dark horse to win the presidency (A dark horse is a little known candidate).. Under his leadership, the United States fought in the Mexican War, and expanded greatly to its present size, with the exception of the Gadsden Purchase. The territories of Oregon Country and all of the territories that Mexico had surrendered to the United States were all gained during his presidency (Texas was actually gained through a joint resolution signed by President John Tyler).. Before James K. Polk won the presidency in the close race against Henry Clay, he adopted the campaign slogan Fifty-Four forty or fight! This slogan helped him gather support among expansionists, although he avoided war with Great Britain when he signed a treaty with Great Britain in 1846, ending the joint occupation of Oregon Country, and setting the boundary of the Oregon Country at the 49 th parallel. He also was determined to acquire California, but the Mexican government refused to acknowledge the envoy whom Polk sent for the territory. As a result, he decided to recommend war against Mexico, and used a trick to gather up public support for the war with Mexico. During the beginning of Polk s presidency, the United States had an area of disputed land with Mexico, which was the area between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River. He decided to command Zachary Taylor to deploy his forces on the north bank of the Rio Grande, which the Mexicans and Americans both claimed. The Mexicans considered this deployment as an invasion of their land, and attacked Taylor. Polk announced that Mexico had shed blood on American soil, and asked Congress to declare war on Mexico, and it was declared on May 13 th, 1846. This conflict, however, did cause great resentment against Polk among people in the Northern United States, who felt that Polk only wanted to declare war over Mexico by a desire to expand the area of slavery. The Mexican War lasted for around 1.5 years, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war on March 10 th, 1848, although Polk was reluctant to accept the terms at first. James K. Polk still remains as one of the most controversial presidents ever, and while many people believe that he was one of the nation s greatest presidents; others believed that he was a greedy man who only desired to extend the area of slavery. James K. Polk was an important figure in the Westward Movement, because he was a president who expanded the area of the United States by a large amount, leaving it ripe for American settlement. 10: John Sutter Johann Augustus Sutter, who later Americanized his first name to John (1803-1880), was a Swiss immigrant, pioneer, and a business, who fled to the Sacramento River Valley in 1839 to escape financial debt. He built Sutter s Fort in 1842 near the junction of the American and Sacramento Rivers, and the fort quickly became a center of commerce and trade. He assisted early emigrants to the Sacramento Valley region, but he was financially ruined after the gold rush of 1849, in which most of his land and property was stolen away from him. He abandoned his fort in 1852, and in deep debt now; he lived in seclusion in the Eastern United States for the rest of his life. He was important to the Westward movement, as he provided food and shelter to early settlers who immigrated to the Sacramento River Valley and also developed a plan of
Sacramento, California. He also provided shelter and comfort to many of the forty-niners, but was not repaid for his generous deeds to the forty-niners. 11: Zebulon Pike Zebulon Pike (1779-1813) was an explorer who explored the Louisiana Purchase, although he explored areas unexplored by Lewis and Clark. He was first commanded in 1805 to lead an expedition north to find the source of the Mississippi River in present-day Minnesota. However, he erroneously defined the source of the Mississippi River as Leech Lake; but his other notes still gave out valuable information. In July 1806, he was dispatched to another mission to explore the Southwest, especially along the Arkansas and the Red Rivers. He set up a camp near present day Pueblo, Colorado, and led an expedition northwest where he encountered the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, and attempted to scale a mountain peak that was later named in honor of him: Pike s Peak. However, he was unsuccessful, and described the mountain as an impossible mountain to summit, but his statement turned out to be wrong later on. He also attempted to cross the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River, near present day Canon City, Colorado, and he also described the Gorge as an impossible Gorge to cross, but he was also wrong. After establishing a temporary camp near present-day Pueblo, Colorado, he went on expeditions exploring the Southwest, but was apprehended by Spanish officials, and was later released at the border of the United States. While his notes were never as detailed as the notes of Lewis and Clark; they were still useful in many situations, especially his notes on Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was later killed at the battle of York in 1812. Zebulon Pike is important for the Western Movement as he took notes of the places where he explored, and some of the notes were especially valuable, like I previously stated. 12: Jedediah Smith Jedediah Smith (1798-1831) was a Mountain Man who was the first American to enter California from the east, and to return back to the east using an overland route. In 1824, he belonged to the party who rediscovered the famous South Pass. He was a trapper and fur trader who explored much of the West, but he did experience quite a lot of misfortune. His party was attacked by Native Americans three times; the last of the attacks which killed him in 1831. Jedediah Smith was an important figure in the Westward Movement as he had explored vast areas of land in the American West, and made some pretty significant discoveries and achievements in his short lifetime. 13: James Marshall James Marshall (1810-1885) originally set out for Fort Leavenworth at the age of 18. In 1844, he decided to move out west again, and arrived at Sutter s Fort in July 1845. He was one of the settlers who helped stage the Bear Flag Revolt with John Fremont, and then served in Fremont s California Battalion for the remainder of the revolt. Afterwards, he formed a partnership with John Sutter to construct a sawmill along the American River in exchange for a portion of the lumber obtained. On January 24 th, 1848, while performing a certain task in constructing the sawmill, he looked down through the water of the American River, and saw gold. He immediately reported the fact to John Sutter, who wanted everyone to keep the fact quiet, but the news leaked out and a gold rush was sprung in 1849. The gold rush did harm James Marshall, however, as he was unsuccessful in obtaining recognition of his discovery, and his
sawmill also quickly failed when all of his employees went to look for gold. James Marshall then wandered around California for the rest of his life, and eventually settled in a homesteader s cabin, where he created a subsistence garden, and he died in 1885. James Marshall was important to the Westward Movement in the fact that he discovered gold on John Sutter s property, and when the news leaked out, a gold rush was triggered, spewing out the gold rush of 1849 and the population of California boomed as a result of the gold rush. 14: Santa Anna Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, (1794-1876) or Santa Anna for short, was the president of Mexico during the Texan War for Independence, and was also the president of Mexico during the Mexican War. In the Texan War for Independence, he did win victories at the Alamo and at Goliad, but a surprise attack from Sam Houston defeated his forces at the battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna was captured in the war, but released when he made the promise to end the war and to withdraw his forces. He was later forced into retirement, but gained fame in another battle, which helped him become the president of Mexico again by the start of the Mexican War in 1846. However, at the famous battle of Buena Vista, the forces of Zachary Taylor defeated Santa Anna s forces, even though Santa Anna s forces outnumbered the forces of Zachary Taylor by a large amount, and the fault of the defeat of the Mexicans in the Mexican War fell largely in the shoulders of Santa Anna. After 1853, he was deposed form office, and never held public office again. He was important in the Westward Movement and the Manifest Destiny of the United States, by being such a poor and arrogant commander and president in both the Texan War for Independence and the Mexican War, and if he was not the commander at the time of those wars, then history may have been different, and Texas may have never even won its independence in the first place, which does not leave it open for annexation by the United States. 15: Joseph Smith Joseph Smith (1805-1844) was the founder of the Mormon religion, and by his own description, his first direct divine revelation was at the age of 14. As he grew up, he experienced more divine encounters, and later versions of his divine encounters instructed him to translate a history of ancient inhabitants of North America written on tablets of gold stored on a nearby hillside. These translations were published in 1830, and were known as The Book of Mormon. He founded the Mormon church shortly after he published The Book of Mormon, and he had shown immense charisma which even amazed people hostile to him. Many people were hostile to the Mormons, and Joseph Smith had to move many times, his latest settlement being at Nauvoo, Illinois in the year 1839. In 1844, the city of Nauvoo grew to around 15,000 people and the number of members in the Mormon church also grew rapidly. Joseph Smith also announced that he would run for a presidential electron in 1844, but opposition to Mormonism reached its climax due to this announcement. Joseph Smith was later jailed and charged for allegedly inciting a riot after he attempted to destroy a newspaper that exposed the practice of polygamy by the Mormons. Before he could be tried on his charges, a mob broke out and lynched both Joseph Smith and his brother. Joseph Smith was important to the Western Movement in the fact that he had founded Mormonism, as well as the city of Nauvoo on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The Mormons would later depart from
Nauvoo to settle in the Great Salt Lake of Utah in 1846 (They reached the region in 1847, but wintered near Omaha in 1846). 16: Brigham Young Brigham Young (1801-1877) was the leader of the Mormons after the lynching of Joseph Smith in 1844. He decided that in order to practice the religion of Mormonism peacefully, his Mormons would have to find a place far from other people. In order for him to lead an exodus to the Great Salt Lake, he divided the Mormons into small groups, and led the first group west in 1846, where he established a camp near present-day Omaha temporarily to spend the Winter of 1846-1847. In April of 1847, he then led a small advance party west, moved swiftly near the Oregon Trail but away from other pioneers, branched off from Fort Bridger, crossed the Wasatch Range of the Rockies, and reached the Great Salt Lake in July 1847, where they established a city known as Great Salt Lake City, which became their permanent home. The route, which Brigham Young led the Mormons through, is known as the Mormon Trail, and would be used for future Mormon settlers. The Mormon Trail was known as the most organized of the Western trails, but Mormons still faced the dangers that all other white pioneers faced, plus the additional danger of intolerance of the Mormon religion. Brigham Young had almost total control of the Mormon community, but it was an advantage for the Mormons, as Young was a benevolent leader and most Mormons believe that he was inspired by God, so they accepted Young s advice without question. The Mormons were also very successful where they settled due to the leadership of Young, and Salt Lake City is still predominantly a Mormon city in present day 2003. Chapter 18: (Things, Ideas, Etc.) 17: mining camps Mining camps were basically villages that were sprung up near gold mines and life in the gold mines were uncomfortable, expensive, and often very dangerous. They were often overcrowded, and in the first mining camps, there was no real way of enforcing law in mining camps, so crime was rampant in the mining camps. Vigilantes were often formed, who were people who took law and order into their own hands. There were many heavy drinkers and reckless gamblers in the mining camps. Shopkeepers near the mining camps would charge very high prices for what they sold to the miners, as there were no other reliable sources of supplies for a long way. These shopkeepers were often the people who made the most money in mining camps. Most people mining gold in mining camps did not gain what they expected, and were not very lucky at all. Despite the problems of the mining camps, the majority of people in the mining camps wanted to live at peace with each other, and wanted an orderly government, but the problem was that many camps sprung up too quickly to actually establish an orderly and decent government. Still, many mining camps eventually became boomtowns when the government in the camps was improved, while other mining camps were abandoned when the gold in the region ran out and miners ran off to find gold strikes in other lands. Mining camps were often very important in the westward movement, as many camps in rather remote regions in the west have become pretty large cities due to their stature as a boom town early in their lives after in a period of being a mining camp. Certain examples include Denver, Colorado, Sacramento, California, and Boise, Idaho. If these cities were not previously mining camps, then much of their culture
would probably have been lost, and they probably wouldn t have even existed on the map. 18: Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode was an extremely rich deposit of silver near Reno, Nevada. A bonanza strike occurred in 1859 near the Comstock Lode, but in order to extract the ore from the quartz and to refine it, expensive and advanced technology would be required, something that the discoverers of the Comstock Lode could not afford (A bonanza is an extremely rich deposit of silver or gold). Despite the advanced technology required to make the ore useful, around 15,000 people swarmed into the region of the Comstock Lode over the next few months after the Lode was discovered. The Comstock Lode covered an enormous area, and it ran along the face of Mt. Davidson. It was 50 feet thick and nearly a half-mile deep at one point, in fact. The Comstock Lode was important to the westward movement in the fact that it was a bonanza, which attracted miners to the region, and there is now a metropolitan area that springs out from the area around the Comstock Lode, so the mining camps eventually became boom towns, not ghost towns. 19: Black Hills The Black Hills were an area of rugged hills in the Dakota Territory where gold was discovered in 1874. After gold was discovered, miners by the hundreds came to the Black Hills to look for gold. However, the area was controlled by Sioux Indians, and the lands were even promised by the government to the Sioux Indians, but the federal government broke its promises to the Sioux and opened the Black Hills to settlement. The Sioux were infuriated, and when George Custer attempted to attack them, he was defeated at the Battle of Little Bighorn. However, the Sioux were defeated in later battles and had to give up their hold on the Black Hills region.. 20: Homestead Act In the year of 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act, which was meant to encourage settlement of much of the west. This act promised settlers 160 acres of land but only after they have lived on the land for at least five years have improved the land. This act provided an opportunity for many farmers to rush to the Great Plains and to settle on the Plains for a large amount of land with little cost. The population of many states on the Great Plains boomed rapidly, as a result, and from 1860-1900, more new land was opened to farmers than during any other time during the first 200 years of the history of the United States. However, despite the rewards promised with the Homestead Act, Homesteaders still faced many problems. West of the 98 Longitude line, 21: Little Bighorn The Little Bighorn was a battle fought between General George Custer and the chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The Little Bighorn is also a river for which the battle is named after. Lieutenant Colonel George Custer advanced against the Sioux in the valley of the Little Bighorn, and was actually ambushed. After he was in the valley of the Little Bighorn, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull surrounded George Custer and wiped away his entire force of Custer, killing all of Custer s men. However, this battle was the last great Native American victory in the Indian Wars, and it was just a battle that was won. Eventually, in retaliation for the Sioux victory, the federal government sent a large amount of troops to displace the Sioux, and they fled the area, many, including
Sitting Bull, of which fled to Canada. However, many Native Americans faced starvation in Canada or where they escaped, and later surrendered to the United States, and were forced to return to their reservations. This decisive battle did delay the westward movement of settlers to the Black Hills area for a temporary while as the Sioux victory did cause fear among the miners who wanted to mine gold in the Black Hills, but it also resulted in a retaliatory force that wiped away the major Sioux military presence over the Dakota region. 22: Dawes Act The Dawes Act was a law passed in 1887 that was originally supposed to help Native Americans out, and it signaled a change in the government s Native American policy. The Dawes Act was designed to divide up reservation lands and to give Native American families plots of land to farm on. The Native Americans would have to be supporting the plot for 25 consecutive years, and at the end of the time, then the Native Americans would become the full owners of the plots of land that they were given, and could become citizens of the United States. Unfortunately, the Dawes Act broke the tribal organizations of Native Americans, and many Native Americans were not very good farmers, especially the semi-nomadic Plains Indians. It was designed to help Native Americans adapt to white ways, which signifies that the government didn t necessarily respect the cultures of the Native Americans back then. This law doesn t have a major connection with westward movement, as it was passed a few years before the frontier had been closed by the US Census Bureau, but it also gave white settlers more lands to settle on, due to the fact that many plots of land were not given to Native Americans. In fact, the Native Americans lost over 60% of their land under this act, which was probably an act not necessarily designed to help the Native Americans. 23: Long Drive The Long Drive was basically the practice of bringing longhorn cattle north from Texas to the railroads in Kansas and other plains states, where cattle would be shipped to eastern markets. Before the cattle were shipped to eastern markets, they would be driven northwards at a pace of around 10 to 20 miles per day. 24: Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail was a particular trail along the Long Drive which started on the Nueces River south of San Antonio, and extended north to Abilene, Kansas, where the trail connected with the railroad. 25: Dry Farming Dry-farming was basically the practice of plowing deep into the soil of the Great Plains to bring up underground moisture, which was essential for the dry climate of the Great Plains. As a result of Dry-farming, life on the Plains became easier, with a new way to gain groundwater/ Chapter 18 People: 26: Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (1831?-1890) was a Sioux chief who was the victor of the Battle of Little Bighorn. However, after the Battle of Little Bighorn, he escaped to Canada, where he would be safe from the US army, but not necessarily from starvation. He later returned to the United States and surrendered, and was put onto a reservation. However, Sitting Bull was not content to stay on a reservation, and encouraged the Ghost
Dance among the Plains Indians, which was a dance for bringing a great chief to the world who would drive the whites out and to restore the buffalo to where they normally used to be. 27: Sioux The Sioux were a Plains Indian tribe, and were semi-nomadic hunters. They were often very war-like peoples and depended on the buffalo for food. They were among the last Native American tribes to be defeated, as they inhabited the last frontiers of the continental United States, and were very fierce warriors who many people feared. However, they were unable to hold out against the US Army even despite their battle victories, and were eventually forced onto reservations. The Sioux often hindered immigration in where they lived, as they would often attack settlers, and they were even hostile to the Lewis and Clark expedition (The Teton Sioux were, at least; there are many branches of Sioux). 28: George Custer George Custer was a veteran from the Civil War, and participated in several major battles in the war. However, he sometimes deliberately led his men into very risky situations in hopes of gaining glory as Custer would say. In June 25 th, 1876, he led a force of 264 cavalrymen toward what he thought to be a small Sioux camp. However, he really faced a large group of Sioux who would later surround him and would slaughter his whole force, as well as himself. He was not a particularly important figure in the westward movement, but after his defeat, the US Army took revenge and drove the Sioux army away. 29: Chief Joseph Chief Joseph (1840?-1904) was a chief of the Nez Perce tribe, and had promised to his father that he would never surrender his lands to the white settlers. He had shown great charisma in his speeches, and was one of the greatest Native American spokesmen. However, the government eventually insisted that Chief Joseph should move out of the way of white settlers, and to move to a reservation to Idaho. Due to the fact that he only had 55 men who were of fighting age, Chief Joseph reluctantly agreed to the government. However, while he was on the march to the reservation to Idaho, a few angry Nez Perce Indians killed some white settlers, and troops were being sent to capture them. Joseph as well as the other chiefs then decided to migrate to Canada, but when he was at the Bear Paw Mountains only 30 miles from Canada, US army cavalry units suddenly attacked Joseph s forces, and Joseph eventually surrendered, giving an eloquent speech afterwards. Once Chief Joseph was in a reservation, then settlers would be free to settle where Chief Joseph originally was, and more lands would be settled by white settlers. 30: William Cody William Cody was a former buffalo hunter and a scout, who made claims about slaughtering 4,000 buffalo in an 18 month period. He later started a Wild West show, which featured Indian dances, pony rides, steer roping, the sharp shooting of Annie Oakley, animals of many kinds, and even Chief Sitting Bull in 1885. 31: Zane Grey After the decline of dime novels, which were cheap paperback thrillers, authors like Zane Grey would still spread the myths about the Wild West in novels that she would write.
32: Annie Oakley Annie Oakley was a sharpshooter who was a major participant in the Wild West Show of William Cody. 33: Joseph McCoy Joseph McCoy was an Illinois cattle dealer who devised a plan to use railroads to move Texas cattle to city markets in the Eastern United States. He made an agreement with