Chapter 30

1. Chapter 30 The Last Frontier: Winning and Losing the West 1865–1900

2. The Last Frontier • American Frontier • 1865: clear frontier line • 1890: no more frontier in U.S. • Americans rapidly occupy west • Useless land • Most thought West would never be settled • Rocky Mountains • Great Basin • Great Plains

3. The Last Frontier (cont.’d) • Native peoples of the West • Great Basin: Ute Paiute, Shoshone • Southwest: Pima, Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, Apache • Oklahoma: “Civilized tribes” from east • Great Plains: Nomadic tribes that cling to own ways • Plains culture • Depend on bison and horses • Economy dependent on bison • Nomadic • Warlike, fighting for horses, women, courage

4. The Last Frontier (cont.’d) • Destruction of Buffalo • Railroaders hire hunters to kill Bison • Buffalo hides sensation back East • Railroaders promote slaughter to protect rails • By 1889 less than 1,000 buffalo alive

5. Last Indian Wars • Many military men felt Indians were in the right but had to fight them • Sand Creek Massacre 1864 • Innumerable small skirmishes • Colorado militia massacre peaceful Cheyenne • Colonel Chivington • Fetterman Debacle 1866 • Captain Fetterman led men into a trap • Chief Red Cloud outsmarted him • Custer’s Last Stand 1876 • George Armstrong Custer leads 265 men • Attacks Sioux, Cheyenne at Little Bighorn • Indians totally defeat Custer and men • Army gains control of Sioux, Cheyenne

6. Last Indian Wars • Chief Joseph and Nez Perce • 1877 tried to flee to Canada • Army followed • Caught just 25 miles from border

7. The Indian Wars (cont.’d) • Good intentions, tragic results • Helen Hunt Jackson, A Century of Dishonor • Congress passes Dawes Severalty Act • Unsuccessfully tries to make Indians farm • Poor land, Indian culture unsuited to farming • Wounded Knee 1890 • Wovoka begins Ghost Dance • Bases new religion on redemption • Make whites vanish; buffalo come back • Army massacres Ghost Dancers at Wounded Knee

8. The Cattle Kingdom • 1870: U.S. raises 23.8 million cattle • 1900: U.S. raises 67.8 million cattle • Buckaroos • Cattlemen provide East with cheap meat • First long drive in 1850s • Most workers Mexican: vaqueros • Dress practical adaptation of work clothes • Meat for millions • Transcontinental railroad reaches to Abilene • Joseph G. McCoy begins long drive, 1867 • Cowboys drive longhorns to rail towns • Huge profits • Cow towns exciting places for cowboys

9. The Cattle Kingdom (cont.’d) • Disaster in the cattle kingdom • Cattle overgraze prairies, damage ecology • Blizzard, drought hit in 1886 • Disasters end long cattle drives • Cattlemen turn to ranching • King ranch immense • Oh give me a home • Reality little resembles legends • Many cowboys Mexican, black, young • Cowboys seldom involved in gun fights • Cowboys need skill with horses, ropes

10. The Wild West in American Culture • Wild West play-acting • Ned Buntline’s dime novels • Romantic Western heroes • Mythical world enamors public • Palisade, Nevada stages fights for public • American heroes • Legendary heroes often tarnished • Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show • Frederick Remington’s art • Owen Wister’s The Virginia

11. The Mining Frontier • Gold and silver • Make numerous new strikes • Discover gold, silver, copper • Incredibly rich deposits • Mining Camps and Cities • Speculators risk all • Efficient mining requires capital, expertise • Major investors move into mines • Mines finance America’s growth

12. Discussion Questions • Examine the society of the Plains Indians. What role did the buffalo play in their lives? How did the destruction of the buffalo affect the Plains Tribes? • Describe the demise of the western Indians. Specifically address how they were finally defeated. • What happened at Wounded Knee in 1890? What role did religion play in the this tragedy? • Examine the development the cattle kingdom. What parts did technology and market play in this development?