American west 1.3 Flashcards
why did white settlers fear Plain indians? (3pts)
1)White settlers were caught up in raids, thinking they were being attacked
2)Then made stories of being attack from there misunderstandings of situation
3) Were worried Plain Indians would scalp men’s head and enslave women and children
what views did white settlers have on Plain indians
Whites though they were superior.(racism) [So when Plain Indians stole there horses, they were angered]
why did the plain Indians experience problems with food?
Settlers killed lots of buffalo for MEAT and caused buffalo stampedes as they didn’t know how to control them
Why did the shortage of grass create tension between settlers and plain indians?
The Oxen and horses ate lots of grass on oregon trail. meaning there was lots of competition between both sides to feed there animals.
Why was there government pressure to interfere with Plain Indians?
Settlers believes Indians would attack them. So wanted government to build forts so army could protect them.
What was the for larmie treaty of 1851?
was used to ease tension between settlers and plain indians. It promised an
()end in tribal raids
()allow safe passage of white settlers along Oregon trail
()agree to live in fixed territories
What were the consequences of the fort larmie treaty? (4-)
choose council representatives: Us wants one chief representing whole tribe. unusual for plain indians.(SIUOX not pick chief, so picked warrior, conquering bear from Brule sub tribe.)
get representatives from all other tribes Some not interested in negotiations. Only there for free food and gifts
Agreeing boundaries Us Gov want boundries on map produced, although plains indiands were used to nomadic lifestyle. so travel long distances
translator problems treaty written in English, not enough people to translate, so was misunderstandings
what were the treaty agreements of fort larmie treaty?
plain indians:
+end tribe fighting
+migrants travel safely through land
+ railroad componies safely enter land
+gov build roads through PI land
+army forts built
+compensation payed if treaty broken by Plain indians
Gov:
protect plain indians from white
pay $50,000 a year, if they kept to treaty terms
Why was the fort larmie treaty important?
-Introduced reservations( restrict plain indians into reservations)
_Whites could freely travel across the 1834 permanent indian frontier
_First formal relationships between plain indians and whites
what were the problems with fort larmie treaty?
~there was a lack of understanding between groups. Plain indians not like one tribal chief…….
~Some plain indians misunderstood what they signed for due to translationd and cultural differences…..
~ Plain inidans sill believed they could hunt in an tribes land. boundaries were non-existant
~ indians became dependant on American government for resources
what were the consequences of the problems with the fort larmie treaty
<>Plains fought between tribes, which Gov viewed as breaking terms
<>migrant trespassed into Plain Indian land. without US army stopping them
what event encouraged lawlessness in the west?
The gold rush. (before would work together to survive, reducing lawlessnes)
How the the population of California grow after the Gold RUSH?!!!!!
8000, by 1850. and in 1855 was 300,000
what were the problems of law and order?
-camps grew to quickly for effective law enforcement
- claiming gold(was claim jumping)
- con men
-“road agents” robbing prospectors from gold
- prostitution
-racism
-San Francisco gangs
What did con men do to claims?
people salting a claim, by sprinkling gold flakes on worthless land. Conning people to buy it
What was claim jumping?
people stake a claim and, if looked promising. people would try to steal it.
Why did people move to Sam Francisco in mid 1850?
Prospectors “worked out” there plots. So no more gold. Leading to ordinary prospectors who didn’t have skill to mine underground. To migrate
moved to San Francisco to get employed in companies to find gold
How many Chinese migrated in 1851and what was the impact?
18000 famine in china migrated from 2000(in1851) to 20,000 (in 1852)
Why did gangs take control of Sam Francisco sin 1851?
Law officers were corrupt(ineffective). Resulting in gang members strolling into saloon. Killing and robbing a person.
Why did racism towards the Chinese increase?
-Chinese prevented working on new claims(only old claims).
-but despite this still we’re successful. So Americans rob, and murdered Chinese. Destroying there camps.
What attempts by the federal government were there to stop lawlessness?
1.Stated that once territory has population of 60,000 . It could be a state. Meaning they could apply own government (own legal system)
2.when population over 5000 people. They could elect sherif to keep order
- Each territory has governor, three judges and a US marshal
What were US marshals?
Police officer in charge of district, and order any man to join posse. To enforce law
What responsibilities did a sherif have?
To keep peace in area.
By:
-issuing warrants
-making arrests
-Delivering prisoners to jail
What consequences were there of the government’s methods to tackle lawlessness?
-sherif had to cover huge territories. Some 200,000km in area
-communication of lawlessness was slow. People could only travel by horse
–not enough law officers to cover areas
In territories
-Federal gov not spend much money on law enforcement. So it became difficult to recruit officer. So they criminals bribed them to avoid arrest
-officers did not have legal training. So favored friends over others people . Increasing tensions for people
How did mining camps try to avoid lawlessness?
-as they didn’t have easy access to legal system to settle money and land disputes.
/communities created a list of rules to govern mining
-started own courts with respected members being judges. Caused corruption and unfairness
-BONUS( recorder, chosen to record all claims made and who claimed them)
What where vigilante committees and why did they form?
—a group of ordinary people who though courts were corrupt. So suspected law breakers themselves instead of using law systems. Captured them. (Around 200 men in committee)
-By 1851. 89 suspect captured and tried in San Francisco. 15 were hanged.
How successful were the vigilantes committees?
-reduces problems of crime
-trails would not be fair. As suspects got lynched. Meaning vigilante members were violent.
What was lynching?
People take law into their own hands. And executes(hangs) someone they suspect of a crime.
Why did lawlessness to racism not improve in American west?
-US government was racist
•encouraged discrimination on chinesese
• taxes Chinese miners more than US settlers
• banned Chinese and American Indians being witness in court(apparently untrustworthy)
