Indian wars Flashcards
Railroads
often clashed with plains Indians
encouraged settling of the plains
expanded through native american lands, even violating treaties
railroad buffalo
encouraged hunting of the buffalo, to feed railway construction gangs and make money by transporting hunters
Ranchers
clashed with the plains indians when their cattle drives went through Indian territory
Lead to Indian attacks on ranchers and the cattle drives
Plains Indians unhappy with the reservation policy
Life on reservations varied
Navajos achieved piece and prosperity
Other tribes moved off their homeland and onto unfamiliar territory.
They were encouraged to farm land, which went against their culture and nomadic lifestyle
Little Crow’s war
Minnesota-1862
Little Crow was the chief of Santee Sioux, also known as the Dakota.
They were peaceful people but nearly starved because of a civil war, which lead to a delay in their payment from the government.
What caused the Little Crow’s War
In August 1862, after a unsuccessful hunt, they were starving and had no other choice to retaliate. In the end, hundreds of settlers and 100 settlers were killed, and the town of New Ulm was burned.
The Dakota was defeated at Wood Lake in September. 38 prisoners were hanged and most of the Dakota were expelled from what was left of their land.
Red Cloud’s war and the Bozeman trail
Bozeman trail was established to link the gold fields in Montana to the Oregon trail.
However, the trail passed through hunting grounds of the Sioux, which had been guaranteed to them by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851.
How did the Red cloud war start
Because the Americans broke the treaty, the Sioux plotted a attack, and created the Fetterman’s trap, which was a ambush and a major defeat for the Americans, where Fetterman and 80 of his men were killed.
Consequences of the Red cloud war
Meant that there was another Fort Laramie treaty in 1868, which created a large Sioux reservation and made the government promise not to build their forts on the Bozeman trail.
Differences between Northern and Southern states
Disagreed about slavery.
South used slave labour to grow cotton on plantations, whereas the North had abolished slavery
Both disagreed about new territories being free states or slave states
South feared that more slave states meant more power for the North, and abolish slave states.
What did the differences between the Northern and Southern states lead to
Due to the amount of states, the Southern states seceded in 1860 to form a new country-the Confederate States of America
The Homestead Act (1862)
gave each settler 160 acres of free land, if they farmed for 5 years. This opened 2.5 million acres for settlement and was open to everyone, including immigrants free slaves and single women. Between 1862 and 1900 it has been estimated that 600,000 people claimed land under the act.
It took 5 years to claim land to discourage speculators.
Importance of The Homestead Act
Opened up land ownership to ordinary people. Although there were problems, it helped to establish settlement on the plains.
The specific railroad act (1862)
To build a railway from East to West. They believed that it would make migration into settled land easier and would create national unity by connecting the West and East together.
It was the first transcontinental railroad, and work was completed in 1869. It encouraged further settlement into the west.
Benefits of the Railroad Act
Economic development was made easier because the markets between the West and East could now be linked.
People and supplies could be transported much more easily.
