American West Flashcards
The plains Indians
Plains Indians included Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho. they lived on the great plains, their homeland.
Indians lived in tribes led by chiefs like sitting bull/red cloud.
Lived nomadic lifestyle, constantly moving and not settling down, following the migration of buffalo, living in tipis and ridding on horses
HORSES: main method of survival, essential for travel and warfare
BUFFALO: the source of Indian survival, they used it for everything: food, clothing, tipis, weapons and trade
Early migration west
After the first pioneers, jed smith discovers the orgon trail in 1824.
The 3,200km trail was the first that could be saftely used by wagons to cross the rockies/blue mountains
between 1841-69 400,000 people crossed the trail, heading west
Causes of migration
Settlers migrated due to economic depression 1837, gold rush, religious persecution
Manifest Destiny
was a white Americans duty/right to spread and colonies all USA
Group of 300 heading for California fail to use Oregon trial, take an untested route
90 people take shortcut, stuck in mountains over winter, leads to cannibalism and half the group die
Mormon migration 1846/47
Joseph smith leads Mormons lots of persecutions against due to religious beliefs e.g. polygamy & anti slavery
Smith was killed, Brigham young leads west to promised land, salt lake valley
Plans route & supplies, builds winter quarters, leads 150 man advance party to plot route. 70,000 arrive by 1869
Young ensures survival in salt lake by building irrigation, paying for Mormons to move, new towns las Vegas/salt lake city and becoming self sufficient
The Gold Rush 1849
Gold discovered in California 1848 and settlers come using California trails
Forty miners arrive in new towns like san Francisco
California’s population rises to 300,000 with growth of businesses like saloons, shops, and farming
Led to lawlessness in mining towns; gangs & claim jumping and violence
American civil war 1861-65
After civil war, parts of east ruined, encourages migration west
African Americans slaves freed, encouraging migration (Exodusters)
Homestead Act 1862
Government passed act to encourage settlement on the Plains, all people but Indians/confederate can apply
160 acres for $10, after 5 years costs $30 to own the land.
6 million acres ‘homesteaded’ by 1867 grew to 200m by 1900
Conditions tough, 60% of people quit
Timber culture act: 160 more acres if you plant trees
Pacific Railroad Act 1862
government passes Act to create first transcontinental railroad
rail companies loaded $61m and given 200m acres of land to encourage settlers
completed in 1869, 2000km long
new towns like Denver, settlement increased, over 400,000 head west
helped growth of cattle industry with opening of Abilene, 1867 the first cow town
helps law and order in the west
Navigate impact on Indians: affects buffalo migration and buffalo bill kills 4280 in a year, Pawnee tribe forced onto reservations and reduces Indian territory. helps cause war
Exoduster movement 1879
Blacks in southern US face racism & poverty despite ending of slavery
Benjamin singleton encourges migration west to kansas, a free state which has land and is welcoming to blacks: he calls this and exodus
By 1879, 40,000 ex slaves (Exodusters)had migrated to kansas for a new life
However land was tough, they could not afford farming equipment and faced hostility from whites. Ended by 1880
Dawes Act 1883
Splits up the Indian lands in Indian territory (e.g. Cherokee and Cheyenne land) into 160 acres per Indian family
2 million acres left free for white settlers which causes the Oklahoma land rush
Oklahoma Land rush 1899
1889 border opens for settlers to ‘rush’ and claim land in Oklahoma
By 1895 there were 7 land rushes claiming nearly 10 million acres of Indian land. Last big migration west
Problems of the plains
Lack of water, extreme weather, lack of trees, locust swarms, poor soil with weeds & isolated from people
Homesteading on the plains
first homesteaders built Sod Houses to survive, used buffalo dung for fuel and hand built well
Improvements in Farming
Railroad 1869: allowed homesteaders to trade and get the machinery needed to survive on the plains
