Changes on the Western Frontier

1. Changes on the Western Frontier Chapter 5

2. Cultures Clash on the Prairie • Great Plains – grasslands extending beyond the central part of the US. • Horse – changed way of life for N.A – travel, hunt, and war between tribes • Buffalo – everything – page 207. • Family • Spirits

4. 2,000 pounds, six feet tall at the humped shoulders - the Buffalo-"Bison"...Its spirit was praised before every hunt with a tribal ritual dance. The buffalo supplied virtually everything that the Plain Indians needed to stay alive; food, clothing, tools, and housing.A.  Brains -  hide, preparationB.  Skull  -  ceremonies, sun dance, prayerC.  Horns -  cups, fire carrier, powderhorn, spoons, ladles, headdresses, signals, toysD.  Tongue - best part of meatE.  Rawhide -  containers, clothing, headdresses, food, medicine bags, shields, buckets, moccasin soles, rattles, drums, drumsticks, splints, cinches, ropes, thongs, saddles, stirrups, knife cases, bull boats, quirts, armbands, lance cases, horse masks, horse forehead ornaments, bullet pouches, beltsF.  Buckskin -  moccasin tops, cradles, winter robes, bedding, breechclouts, shirts, leggings, belts, dresses, pipe bags, pouches, paint bags, quivers, tipi covers, gun cases, lance covers, coup flag covers, dollsG.  Hoof & Feet -  glue, rattlesH.  Meat -  (every part eaten)  pemmican (converted), hump ribs - immed., jerky (converted), inner parts eaten on the spotI.  Four Chambered Stomach -  first stomach content: frostbite & skin diseases, liner: container for carrying and storing water, cooking vesselJ.  Bladder -  sinew pouches, quill pouches, small medicine bagsK.  Skin of hind leg  -  moccasins or bootsL.  Buffalo Chips -  fuel, signals, ceremonial smokingM.  Tail -  medicine switch, fly brush, lodge exterior decorations, whipsN.  Bones -  knives, arrowheads (ribs) , shovels, splints, winter sleds, arrow straighteners, saddle trees, war clubs, scrapers (ribs), quirts, awls, paint brushes (hipbones), game diceO.  Muscles -  sinew: bows, thread, arrows, cinches, glueP.  Hair -  headdresses, saddle pad filler, pillows, ropes, ornaments, halters, medicine ballsQ.  Whole Animal - totem, clan symbol, white buffalo sacred, adult yellow rare-prizedSource:Akta Lakota MuseumChamberlain, South Dakota

5. Settlers Pushed Westward – Why? • b/c of silver and gold • Railroad (RR) • RR influenced government policy dealing with the N.A. –pushed on to reservations – ignored. • Sent the army to force them on to these reservations.

6. Sand Creek Massacre – 1864 – Cheyenne - safe on their reservation in CO. • John Chivington, his men killed over 150 of them in a surprise attack. • Fetterman Massacre • Treaty of Fort Laramie - The government did agree to close the Bozeman trail if the Sioux agreed to live on a reservation • Sitting Bull

7. Search for gold in the Black Hills • Custer’s Last Stand • Custer and his men, some 200, defeated. They were very outnumbered by about 2,000 Sioux. The Sioux were eventually captured, Sitting Bull surrendered and they moved on to reservation.

8. The Battle of Wounded Knee • Ghost Dance movement • Preserve way of life • Alarmed the military • Wounded Knee - 1890 • 300 unarmed Sioux killed in minutes, including children. • This officially brought an end to the Indian wars.

9. The Destruction of the Buffalo • Buffalo numbers began to drop rapidly • Fur traders – killed many for robes • Tourists killed them for sport • RR killed to feed workers • Indians main source of food, clothing, shelter, and fuel.

11. The Government Supports Assimilation • Helen Hunt Jackson wrote - A Century of Dishonor (1881). • Many supported assimilation - become a part of white culture by not practicing their beliefs and way of life.

12. Dawes Act – 1887 – did away with reservations and gave NA individual plots of land, 160 acres • This forced NA to own land, something they did not believe in. • Rest of reservation would be sold to whites and money was to be given to the NA, but it was not. If the Indians behaved like “good white citizens”, they would get full title to their land and receive citizenship after 25 years.

14. BEEF BONANZAS AND THE LONG DRIVE • When Civil War ended TX had several million cattle, used only for their hides b/c no way to get meat to market. • Transcontinental railroad facilitated transportation of meat to cities • Beef tycoons like the Swifts and Armours emerged • Refrigerator cars An early refrigerator car design, circa 1870. Hatches in the roof provided access to the ice tanks at each end of the car.

15. "Long Drive" Cowboys herd cattle on a ranch in Colorado. • Mexican ranchers taught the Americans how to be ranchers. Longhorns – the cattle in TX brought from Spain. • Cowboys were in high demand when RR’s increased in the west because the cattle had to get to the market towns.

16. Growing Demand for Beef • Growing cities led to demand for more beef. • The Cow Town • Joseph McCoy – convinced Abilene, KS to become the “cow town.” Used the Chisholm Trail– major trail from TX to KS – look at map page 209 – know this trail!!!!

17. The End of the Open Range • Overgrazing of the land • Bad Weather - 1885 – 1886 winter was harsh, followed by a summer of drought that destroyed the grass. 1886 – 1887 – another harsh winter that wiped out the cattle. • Barbed Wire– invented by Joseph Glidden. This kept cows out of farmers land, causing an end to the open range. This helped end the cow boom. Led to fence wars between farmers and ranchers.

18. Settling on the Great Plains • RR brought many to the plains. • Land - cheap and fertile , but there were a lot of hardships • Hardships • Cost a lot of money • No farming experience • Climate was wide ranging • Water was scarce • Men had to leave to earn cash while waiting for crops to come in

19. Settlers Move West • How get land??? RAILROADS AND GOVERNMENT • RR received land grants from the government – 170 million acres. • Union Pacific and Central Pacific – transcontinental RR. Met in Promontory Point, UT. • RR sold land not used to farmers

20. 1862 – Homestead Act– 160 acres of land – 160,000 families. Most abandoned their land because it was too hard to farm. • Exodusters – Af-Am who left the South and went to Kansas to become farmers. • Only 10% of land settled by families. • 1889 – Oklahoma territory opened up to settlers. • Boomers • Sooners

22. The starting line for the first Oklahoma Land Rush, April 22, 1889. Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, five days after the Oklahoma land rush of April 22, 1889. Perhaps as many as 20,000 prospective landowners surged into what was formerly Indian Territory

23. The Closing of the Frontier • 1890 – Census Bureau declared frontier no longer existed. • Frederick Jackson Turner – Frontier Thesis – America’s social development has always been based on the idea of moving west and starting over.

24. Settlers Meet the Challenges of the Plains • droughts, floods, fires, blizzard, locust plagues, raids by outlaws, and NA. • Homes made of turf, or sod – called soddies. • Families - self-sufficient • Technical support for Farmers – made farming faster! • John Deere’s steel plow • Cyrus McCormick – reaping machine • harrow to break the ground

25. Agricultural Education • Morrill Land Grant Act –land given to states to sell – money used to start agricultural colleges. • Research for new machinery to increase productivity. Scientific and mechanical methods of farming were taught.

26. Farmers in Debt • New machinery - expensive. Borrow to buy • Price of crop good, could repay loan, price of crop bad, couldn’t repay and had to borrow more for next crop. • Bonanza Farms – specialized in one crop. Usually started by a business or RR and hurt the farmers because they had the money to buy the equipment. • drought could wipe out a farmer • RR hurt farmers also by charging high rates

27. Farmers and the Populist Movement • cycle of debt - mortgaged farms to buy more land to grow more crops to make money to pay off debt • RR taking advantage of farmers - high rates to move crops East, high rates to store crops.

28. Economic Distress • Monetary Policy –federal govt plan for the make-up and quantity of the nation’s money supply. • taking Greenbacks (Civil War $) out of circulation • 1873 – Congress put the nation’s currency on a gold standard - reduced the amount of money in circulation because the money in circulation had to be backed by gold • “Gold bugs” – favored this. “Silverites” did not.

29. Farmers - want more money back in to circulation - PAY OFF DEBTS!!! • Bland-Allison Act – 1878 – more silver ($2-4 million/month), increasing the money supply. Treasury bought only what it had to and did not circulate much of it. • Sherman Silver Purchase Act – 1890 – increased the amount of silver the government had to purchase.

30. The Farmer’s Alliance • 1867 – Oliver Hudson Kelly – started the Grange – provide a social outlet and educational forum for isolated farmers. • Led to Farmer’s Alliances – led lectures on lower interest rates, attacked monopolies like the RR – wanted federal regulation of RR and more money in circulation.

31. The Rise and Fall of Populism • Populism – People’s Party. They wanted reforms for farmers and other workers. • The Populist Party Platform • Increase in circulation of money – MORE SILVER • Progressive Income Tax – percentage of taxes owed increases as income increases. • Government ownership of communication and transportation • U.S. Senators elected by the people • 1 term for President and Vice President (remember corruption in government – tied to big business for contributions!!) • Secret ballots • 8 hour work day and restrictions on immigration – WHY???

32. The Panic of 1893 • Farmers way in debt. • More RR than markets • 1893 – Philadelphia and Reading RR – bankrupt, others followed. • People began to trade paper money for gold. Stock market crashed, price of silver decreased sharply. • 15,000 businesses, 500 banks closed. 300,000 people lost jobs.

33. Silver or Gold • 2 political parties divided by regions and money. • Republicans – NE, business owners, RR – wanted gold standard, less money in circulation. • Democrats – S and W, farmers and laborers – wanted gold and silver (bimetallism) in circulation – more money in circulation • Election of 1896 – focused on currency – which metal would be the basis for the nation.

34. Dem/Pop – William Jennings Bryan • Rep – William McKinley • Bryan and the “Cross of Gold” speech - page 223 • Bryan could not carry the urban and industrial centers. McKinley wins the election. During his administration, Congress returned the nation to a gold standard, the silver movement died, and Populism died.