Conflict with the Native Americans Flashcards
Reasons for Westward Expansion
What are the different suggested reasons?
- There was no overriding motive - it just happened
- Once the first settlers arrived, more immigrants followed and reproduced
- It was a deliberate policy of the federal government as a part of ruthless and aggressive imperialism
Manifest Destiny
Reasons for Westward Expansion
What was the Manifest Destiny?
- The belief that God had chosen the white Americans to populate the whole of America
- It gave white Americans the divine right to populate the whole of the North American continent and spread Christian and republican values
- Incorporation into the US would bring freedom and liberty to other American territories
- It was used to justify white colonial expropriation of Native American lands
Westward expansion 1865 - 1877
What were federal territories?
- A way of forcing US government control over sparsely populated areas
- Land was divided into territories which were subject to US law
- Settlers were encouraged to move into them
- Once the population of a territory reached 60,000 they could apply to become a state
Westward expansion 1865 - 1877
What was the second gold rush?
- This began in the Black Hills of Dakota in the mid 1870’s
- Deposits of gold were found in Deadwood Gulch in 1875 and thousands of people moved there
- This violated the 1868 Treaty of Laramie which recognised the Black Hills as belonging to the Sioux but the government made no intervention
Westward expansion 1865 - 1877
When was the homestead act passed?
1862
Westward expansion 1865 - 1877
What was the homestead act?
- This released 160-acre plots of land, available to farmers for free as long as they promised to farm the land for at least 5 years
- By 1865 20,000 homesteaders had settled on the planes
Westward expansion 1865 - 1877
Name other Acts that followed the homestead act?
- The Timber and Culture Act of 1873 - gave homesteaders an additional 160 acres, provided 40 acres were planted with trees
- The Desert and Land Act of 1877 - offered a further 640 acres at $1.25 an acre provided some of it was irrigated
Westward expansion 1865 - 1877
Railroad act ?
How was the railroad bad for native americans?
change in passengers per year?
- Pacific Railroad Act, 1862 - authorised a transcontinental railroad to be built which was completed by 1869
- Railroads lured settler with ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes
- The trains disturbed buffalo herds and brought even more settlers to the plains, disturbing the Native Americans
- 1870 = 15,000 passengers per year, 1882 = 1 million passengers per year
The impact on Native Americans
When was the Sand Creek Massacre?
What was the Sand Creek Massacre ?
- 1864
- 700 poorly disciplined volunteer troops and cavalry attacked an undefended camp of the Cheyenne tribe
- Men, women and children were killed
The impact on Native Americans
When was The Battle of Little Bighorn?
What was The Battle of Little Bighorn?
- 25th June 1876
- George Custer and his men were sent to round up Sioux and Cheyenne tribes who had left the reservations and were refusing to return
- Without waiting for the rest of the force to arrive, Custer and his men attempted to encircle the Native American camp
- His unit immediately cam under attack and all 200 were killed
The impact on Native Americans
What was the Great Sioux War step by step?
When?
Broke out after what?
At first government did what?
Next what did they do? What was decided?
Finally What happened due to this?
- 1876
- Broke out after the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of Dakota
- At first the government tried to keep prospectors out but it proved impossible
- Next the government tried to do a deal with the Native Americans by offering to pay the $6 million but they refused
- It was decided that the Native Americans were being unreasonable so the Government demanded that all Native Americans return to their reservations by 31st January 1876
- Some never received the threat, some chose to ignore it
The decision was taken to remove the Native Americans from the Black Hills and after some setbacks a large and well-equipped army wiped them out
The impact on Native Americans
What were the reservation policy?
- This was the policy of forcing Native Americans to live on government controlled reservations
- This would enable the government to ‘Americanise’ them through conversion to Christianity, a formal education system and training to become farmers
- Life on the reservations was harsh and reliance on government aid was humiliating
