The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution

1. The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution Chapter 26 1865-1896

2. The Clash of Cultures on the Plains • Due to white civilization, Indians had been forced to the Western plains which resulted in cultural changes • Apaches been displaced by the Comanches to upper Rio Grande valley in the 18th century • Mandans, Chippewas, Cheyenne had left the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers regions before the Civil War • Sioux displaced from the Great Lakes in the 18th century where they battled w/ the Crows, Kiowas, and Pawnees in the Great Plains • Horses had changed the Sioux and Cheyenne to where they lived in more permanent settlements & used to hunt buffalo • Disease again struck the Indians of the Plains as settlers entered the region • Whites also killed the buffalo for their own gains causing a near extinction of the species • The gov’t tried to make treaties but didn’t understand Native American society • By the 1860s, Indians were placed on smaller land area and only gave in when promised food, clothing & supplies • After the Civil War, Indians and the US Army fought • 1/5 of the Army on the Plains were African Americans called Buffalo Soldiers by the Indians b/c they though blacks hair was like the fur on a buffalo

3. Receding Native Population • 1866 Sioux war party tried to stop the construction of the Bozeman Trail & ambushed Cpt. Wm. J. Fetterman & 87 civilians at WY’s Bighorn Mts. (Fetterman Massacre) • Col. George Armstrong Custer, who fought in the Civil War led the crusade against the Indians • 1874 Custer had went to Black Hills, Dakota, where he claimed gold was discovered but was located in the Sioux reservation causing many people searching for gold • The herd of white people enraged Sitting Bull of the Sioux Indians • Custer as a result attacked the Sioux Indians where Custer was defeated at Little Big Horn • Chief Joseph in 1877 of the Nez Perce Indians in OR was left for Canada where he met w/ Sitting Bull after the Battle of Little Big Horn • However, Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce were forced onto a reservation in KS where 40% died due to disease • Geronimo, leader of the Apache tribes of AZ & NM, had his tribe tracked down by the military who were dispersed into Mexico, FL and OK • Indians were forced onto reservations in which was done for the completion the transcontinental railroads

4. Bellowing Herds of Bison • When white men 1st arrived to North America there were millions of buffalo • For the Native Americans, the buffalo provided food, fuel, clothing, lariats, and harnesses • The Kansas Pacific RR hired men like Buffalo Bill to kill the animals to insure that the railroad ran on time • Sportsmen also led to the almost extinction • By 1885 less than 1,000 buffalo remained on the plains

5. The End of the Trail • Helen Hunt Jackson of Massachusetts was writer of children’s literature and in 1881 published A Century of Dishonor and Ramona (1884) • Hunt expressed how the gov’t was unkind and ruthless to the Indians which gathered sympathy for the Indians • Some people felt that Indians needed to have better treatment while others wanted them contained and punished • Some Christian reformers would w/hold food in order to get Indians to assimilate into white culture and even had the Sun Dance outlawed • As a result the Indians used the “Ghost Dance” in 1890 in which they hoped to get rid of the white men • As a result in 1890 the Battle of Wounded Knee wiped out the Sioux and the Ghost Dance • Dawes Severalty Act 1887-dissolved the tribes as entities, took away ownership of land and established family heads w/ 160 acres and if they behaved they would get the title to their property and get citizenship in 25 years • Land that was no longer in the reservation system was sold to the railroads & the $ was used to educate the Indians • 1879 Carlisle Indian School in PA was established in which Indian children were taken from the reservations and taught English and white values and customs

6. Mining: From Dishpan to Ore Breaker • 1858-Gold discovered in CO causing “59ers” to rush to Pikes Peak • 1859-Gold & silver (Comstock Lode) was discovered in NV causing NV to enter into the Union by 1864 • Smaller claims happened in Montana & Idaho where Boomtowns were established • Even though many people came to the west for gold/silver there were many opportunities men and women • Women gained voting rights in WY (1869), UT (1870), CO (1893) & ID (1896)

7. Beef Bonanzas and the Long Drive • Cattle was also raised on the Great Plains, especially TX • However, the cattle had to be transported by train which resulted in the “beef barons” (Swifts and Armours) controlling the industry in Chicago and Kansas City • As a result, cowboys would herd thousands of cattle across the plains to the nearest train (long drive) depot like Dodge City, Abilene, KS, Ogallala, NE, Cheyenne, WY • James B. (Wild Bill) Hickok became a famous gunman in Abilene in order to maintain the law • Shot in 1876 • Eventually, ranchers fenced in property and the RRs expanded causing the end of the Long Drive • Ranchers also learned to breed animals w/ more meat in order to not over produce

8. The Farmers’ Frontier • Homestead Act of 1862-settlers could claim 160 acres, live it on 5 yrs, pay a $30 fee and own the land • Living on the plains was difficult b/c of scarce rain • Railroad companies offered Americans and immigrants cheap land • With the creation of the steel plow, the prairie lands were great for growing corn & wheat • Adaptations were to crops as settlers established farms into Kansas and Colorado

9. The Far West Comes of Age • Numerous states joined the Union between 1870-1890 • CO (1876), ND, SD, MT,WA, ID, & WY • 1896 UT finally entered the Union after polygamy was banned in 1890 • OK was one of the last regions opened up to settlers (April 22, 1889) • Became known as the “Sooner State” b/c within 1 year had massed the population to enter into the Union

10. The Fading Frontier • By 1890, all the territories were no longer unsettles • Frederick Jackson Turner-wrote “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” (1893); explains the settlement of the territories and the end of the frontier • “American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West” Turner • Yellowstone (1872), Yosemite (1890) & Sequoia (1890) were created as national parks to preserve the frontier • “Safety valve”-a theory where people could move from the city to the territories and establish farms during economic hardships; most people didn’t do this b/c they lacked $ to do so • However, the safety valve did attract immigrants to the frontier • The effects of western expansion led to the conflict w/ the Native Americans, introduction to Hispanic culture, rough environmental conditions caused struggle • In addition, it created a genre for writers like Mark Twain, Helen Hunt Jackson, Francis Parkman

11. The Farm Becomes a Factory • The life of farmers were also changing w/ industrialization • Farmers concentrated on “cash crops” like wheat or corn and used profits to buy manufactured products instead of making their own • Aaron Montgomery Ward (1872) printed its 1st catalog • Big farmers were associated w/ the banks, RRs and businesses • The steam engine led to the creation of tractors and that was faster than the plow • 1880s the reaper was created making it easier to harvest • New inventions in technology actually caused many to move to the cities to find jobs • Bonanza farms-primarily wheat, were extremely large and were like an outdoor grain factory • Become the large farms that exist today

12. Deflation Dooms the Debtor • Problem w/ cash crops-when demand was high, $ was good • 1880s-1890s prices for grain fell due to Russia & Argentina • As a result, deflation occurred and farmers struggled to make payments on loans • In addition deflation caused a shortage of money • After 1890 most farmers lived in debt and many faced foreclosures • Farmers were falling into the Old World form of feudalism

13. The Farmers Take Their Stand • Grange (National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry) was founded in 1867 • Grange was led by Oliver H. Kelley who was a farmer from Minnesota • Kelley hoped to achieve the enhancement of farmers lives through social, educational and fraternal activities • Grange held picnics, concerts and lectures along with a hierarchy system • Women-Maid to the Matron • Men-Laborer of Husbandom • By 1875 the goal of the Grange was to break the trusts that controlled the stores, elevators and warehouses • Grange eventually went politically and fought for regulation of RR rates and storage fees (Granger Laws) • However, many of the Granger Laws were fought in the higher courts where many of them were reversed b/c the big businesses could aff0rd expensive lawyers • Wabash decision (1886) from the Supreme Court-individual states had no power to regulate interstate commerce • Farmers then turned to the Greenback Labor Party & in 1880 nominated James B. Weaver for president • Gained 3% of the popular vote

14. Prelude to Populism • Farmers’ Alliance (1870s)-was founded to try to break the monopoly of the RRs & manufactures • The Alliance was weak b/c it didn’t include tenant farmers, sharecroppers or blacks • Colored Farmers’ Alliance (1880s) was established to try to get whites & blacks to cooperate but didn’t work due to the racial division in the South • From the Farmers’ Alliance in the 1890s, the People’s Party (Populist Party) was established • Mostly farmers who were frustrated w/ the system • Wanted nationalization of the RRs, telephone, telegraph, a graduated income tax and a federal “sub treasury” in which famers w/ loans could store crops in gov’t owned warehouses until prices rose • Free & unlimited coinage of silver • William Hope Harvey wrote Financial School (1894) which supported the Populist Party & idea of free coinage of silver • Mary Elizabeth Lease (aka Kansas Pythoness)-demanded people not to produce corn but challenge the system causing the Northeastern states to complain that Kansas wasn’t civilized

15. Coxey’s Army and the Pullman Strike • 1893 depression strengthened the Populist Party and allied with those who were unemployed • Jacob S. Coxey-OH quarry owner, went to Washington in 1894 to demand from the gov’t relief for the unemployed w/ a $500 million note from the treasury to create a public works program • Coxey on his way to DC was followed by supporters called Coxey’s Army & when they arrived they were arrested for stepping on the grass • Pullman strike of 1894-Eugene V. Debs, a labor leader of the American Railway Union, led a strike against a model town near Chicago • Employees had their wages cut but were still expected to pay for their rent • The Pullman strike resulted in employees stopping RR traffic • However, Gov. John Peter Altgeld didn’t think the strike was out of hand where as attorney general Richard Olney did & wanted federal troops to intervene • Olney believed that the strike was intervening w/ the delivery of the US mail & President Cleveland supported causing the strike to cease • Debs received 6 months jail • This was the 1st time that the gov’t was used to stop a strike and causing the Populist party to fade out

16. Golden McKinley and Silver Bryan • Election of 1896 • William McKinley (OH) was the Republican nomination & winner due to his record of being a Congressman • William Jennings Bryan (NE) was the Democratic candidate who supported coinage of silver • Bryan won the nomination after delivering his Cross of Gold speech which emphasized that the working class couldn’t be stopped and will be the martyrs for the cause • Bryan’s policy on silver, split the party with a group called the Gold Bugs-Democrats who believed in the gold system and tried to create their own nomination • Marcus Alonzo Hanna (businessman in iron) who helped McKinley win the presidency • Hanna stressed that the “function of gov’t was to aid big business.” & stressed the gold standard • Due to the split in the Democratic party, the “16 to 1” ratio caused the Populists to merge with the other Democrats to endorse Bryan

17. Class Conflict: Plowholders Versus Bondholders • Hanna believed that the campaign could focus on the tariff but Bryan didn’t take the bite forcing free silver to be a main issue • Bryan became feared by the East (big business) causing McKinley to accepted as saving the US • Hanna used the fear against Bryan’s campaign • Employers threatened workers if Bryan was elected causing many workers to vote for McKinley • The election of 1896 was a huge victory for big business & parties realized that campaigns could be won in the cities not the rural communities • The era after McKinley was called “the fourth party system” because the issues would focus on industrial regulation and labor

18. Republican Stand-pattism Enthroned • McKinley was a cautious president and didn’t pursue reform which allowed big businesses to reign • Treasury was lacking funding b/c the Wilson Gorman law wasn’t bring in enough $ • Dingley Tariff Bill was introduced in 1897 by Reed in which the tariff would increase rates but some didn’t think it was high enough • With the economy continuing to improve the silver issue faded • Gold Standard Act of 1900-allowed paper $ to redeemed in gold