Settling the American West

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

2. Settling the American West How the West was Made • The Western Frontier began in 1843 with the Oregon Trail, and ended in 1893

3. How the West was Made • The People • Westerners were democratic, unrestricted, nationalistic, practical, and adaptive • Escape the societal pressures, and the Civil War

4. The 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Economic 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

8. Economic Freedom • 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

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

10. 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

11. The Homestead Act • Despite low pay, “sodbusters” stayed because of the independence farm life offered. • Barbed Wire secured property rights for farmers

12. Economic Freedom • 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

13. American Indians What were Indian relations like sense colonization in America?

14. American Indians • Indian Relations Sense Colonization • Initially peaceful • conflicts over land • treaties and misunderstandings • anger and war • eventual Indian defeat

15. American Indians • 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

16. American Indians • 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

17. American Indians What problems do you see with the three Indian policies?

18. American Indians • 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

19. American Indians • 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