American West Flashcards
Indian removal act
28th may 1830
Forces Indians in east to move west
46,000 forced to move
Indian trade and intercourse act
30th June 1834
Set up permanent frontier guarded by army forts
Stopped whites selling guns or alcohol to Indians
Mexican American war
2nd feb 1848
Meant gained new territories eg California, Texas
Needed to cross Indian territory to get there
Indian appropriations act
29th feb 1851
Funds indians moving onto reservations
(Had some hunting land but buffalo migrated so whites hoped Indians would turn to farming)
Causes of moving across plains
Economic crash 1837- 25% unemployment
Farmland Oregon- fertile soil
Gold rush 1848 - 1849 100,000 people went to California
Mormons moves due to opposition
Manifest destiny
American Mexican war
Oregon trail (started and used by)
Discovered 1836
1840 Walker family use it
1841 - 60 use it
1843- 900 use it
1868- 400,000 had used it
Problems of Oregon trail
Had to cross raging rivers
Wagons could tip and kill
Could lose all possessions
Camping in open
Travelling in early morning while dark
Donner party
Group of 300 migrants and 60 wagons
Started may 1846
Well equipped but had kids and elderly
Fort Bridget July - half spilt off down Lansford Hastings route
Stretches of land without water or grass and raging rivers
Trapped mid oct in Sierra Nevada snow storms
Over half died the rest ate the dead to survive
Mormon migration
Forced to move due to: polygamy, supporting black people and Indians, bank crashed
Brigham young well equipped, scouted routes, survival skills, groups with variety of skills,
Wanted to migrate in spring 1846 in warm weather, hostility meant left in feb, congregated at Omaha trail but too late too start Oregon trail so waited till next spring
Treaty of fort Laramie
1851
Indians were attacking migrants
Made deal with conquering bull
Indians struggled with boundaries
Government would pay them annually and protect from white
Indians would stop fighting between tribes, allow railroad companies to work, roads to be built and pay compensation if broke rules
Indians didn’t understand what they signed up for- clear losers
Homestead Act
May 1862
Could pay $10 for 160 acres of land after 5years if planted 50 acres of land you could prove up and pay $30 to fully own it
Allowed millions to access farmland
By 1876 over 6 million acres of land had been claimed
The Pacific railroad act
Passed in July 1862
Railroad companies didn’t want Job as would cost a lot
Offered $160,000 and to pay $61 million
Central Pacific built from west and union from east
Offered 45 million acres and still nearly went bankrupt so sold land. Land was supposed to belong to Indians
Causes of plains settlement
Homestead act- more families encourage to populate plains
Railroad act- more could take advantage of transport links
Manifest destiny
Civil war- fresh start in plains
1887 Dawes Act
Indian tribes broken up
Less community
Worst quality land
Narrative account
8 marks CHRONOLOGICAL linking language Subject knowledge Final outcome
