Chapter 8- The winning of the West Flashcards
How big was the Wild West and what sections were there in it? Who lived there
The Wild West was 2500km of wilderness
Made up of the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Great Basin
300,000 Native Americans lived there. There was a Mormon settlement in Utah but apart from that the only white people were traders, prospectors and trappers.
What deterred people from settling in the West?
Indians willing to defend their lands
Belief that plains were not farmable
What influence did gold finds have on westward expansion?
Pike’s peak in the Colorado rockies. People moved East from California and West to. Discovered in 1858, within a year 50,000 ‘fifty-niners’ had made their way to the diggings
Comstock Lode, prospectors poured into Nevada in 59. In 1861 Nevada was a territory and in 1864 a state
How was much of the civil war financed?
The union funded through gold and silver finds partly
Did the civil war slow down the settlement of the west?
Not really
Western militias defended settlers from Indian attack as the normal army moved Eastwards
Which three important acts were passed in 1862? Why could they be passed at this time?
The Homestead Act
The Morrill Land Grant Act
The Pacific railroad Act
They had previously been blocked by southern congressmen, did the civil war actually encourage western expansion?
What groups of Indians were there in 1865?
Plains Indians
Survivors of the Five civilised tribes (in the Indian territory)
Small tribes between the rockies and the Sierra Nevada. Like the Nez Perce (north) and the Apache (south)
Peaceful farmers like the Navaho in the south west
How much land did Native Americans have in 1865?
Half the total area of the current USA
Which group of Indians gave the most resistance to white settlers?
The plains Indians
How many plains Indians were there in 1860?
250,000
What different tribes make up plains Indians?
Sioux
Dakotas
Cheyenne
Comanches
Pawnees
Kiowas
Wrap his
What was the plains Indians way of life? How were different tribes different?
Hunting the buffalo
(Buffalo was used for food,clothing and shelter)
They had physical, linguistic and cultural diversity
Some were traditional allies and others bitter enemies
They struggled to present a United front due to these differences
Why were the Plains Indians dangerous for white settlers?
Hunting and riding ability meant they had good military skills
Nomad lifestyle meant three were elusive
War was the main energy for men, war was considered the noblest of activities and a sign of manhood and honour
Dying in battle was considered the hugest fulfilment, the religious beliefs sanctioned this. They saw torture as a way of showing worthiness of divine protection and scalping and mutilation was justified as it stopped them becoming a spirit world threat
How did the Federal Government deal with the plains Indians?
They tried to reach some accommodation with the tribes
1851 at Horse Creek near Fort Laramie. Most plains tribes agreed to accept limits to their hunting territories. In return the tribes were promised gifts and annual payments
This was designed to cut down intertribal warfare and to allow the Feds to negotiate with each tribe separately.
How did the Federal Government treat the Indians after 1851? What
Did not honour Indian treaties
Kansas Nebraska bill meant tribes were pressured to make further concessions. By 1860 most of Kansas and Nebraska had been cleared of Indians
Gold Rush into Colorado in 1859 meant those lands guaranteed to the Cheyenne and Arapaho were taken over
The Bureau of Indian Affairs was very corrupt, they cheated the Native Americans. Congress was also mean in grating funds
What was the impact of the civil war on Plains Indians?
Western militia units replaced soldiers sent to the east. In 1865, 20,000 soldiers in the West (double the 1860 figure)
This was because the union was reliant on western gold
What happened in the Sioux war in Minnesota?
1862, the Dakota Sioux were not given their yearly supplies
Sioux tribesmen, angry, killed or captured 1000 white Americans
Militia units defeated them
38 men hanged
Dakota lost their lands in Minnesota
What was the Sand Creek massacre?
Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs accepted treaty banishing them westward from Colorado
Those who didn’t want to raided the trails and mining camps. The territory governor told them to gather at Fort Lyon at Sand Creek where they were promised protection. 1864
However Colonel John chivington attacks the camp. Indian pregnant women disembowelled and Indian children clubbed to death.
In 1865 the Cheyenne survivors surrendered unconditionally and they lost their Sand Creek lands
What fighting happened in the South West? Indian wars
The Chiricahua Apaches led by Cochise were very successful at attacking white settlers and soldiers
Kit Carson put down the Mecsalero Apaches in 1863, crushed the Navaho in 1864, defeated the Kiowas at Adobe Walls in 1864
What events marked the start of the ‘conquest by kindness rather than extermination policy? Why and when?
1865, congress create a joint committee to investigate the tribes and their treatment. They also authorised a treaty Commission to approach the Sioux tribes of the upper Missouri
Some Easterners felt sympathy for Native Americans. Humanitarians like William Lloyd Garrison became active in Indian Reform.
They wanted reservations and the education and civilisation of Indians
Name some plains tribes?
Cheyenne, Dakotas, Comanches, Pawnees, Kiowa, Arapahos
When was Red Clouds war?
1865-67
What was the medicine Lodge treaty?
1867 ended with agreements that some plains Indians would accept lands in western Oklahoma
Fort Laramie 1868 resulted in Sioux tribes being given lands in the Black Hills of Dakota
Govt offered money and supplies to ease transition, only alternative to extinction
When was the great Sioux war?
1876
Led by Sitting Bull
Led to battle of Little Bighorn, Custer killed
