Reconstruction & The Gilded Age (1865-1900) Flashcards
1
Q
What was Western Expansion and how did it impact the NAI
A
- When the Americans won their independence, security was a vital
issue Britain, France and Spain continued to have territorial
possessions and economic interests on the North American continent.
The undesirable presence of foreign interests created an impetus, in
the minds of Americans, to expand, own and occupy the vast lands
that lay to the west of the USA’s initial frontier - The philosophy of ‘Manifest Destiny’ – the belief that it was the
destiny of Americans to populate the content – added impetus to the
significant movement to the Far and Midwest that had begun in 1843,
when the first wagon train blazed the trail to Oregon - As settlers moved westwards in the nineteenth century, the
government broke promises and treaties, and the Indians were
systematically dispossessed of their lands - Forced on to ever-decreasing areas of the Plains, their lifestyle and
culture destroyed starving and abandoned the tribe became
increasingly hostile
-During the 1860s, hunger was primarily responsible for the
massacre of settlers in a series of clashes that came to be known
as the Plain Wars
2
Q
What was the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
A
-Part of a series of Indian treaties between tribes and the federal
government systematically reduced the lands that had once been
promised to the Native Americans forever
- Fort Laramie was an agreement between United States and the
Ogala, Miniconjou, and Brule brands of Lakota people - It established the Great Sioux Reservation which included ownership
of the Black Hills, and set aside additional lands as ‘unceded Indian
territory in areas of South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska - It aroused controversy among Indians due it’s complex language that
was not well explained in order to avoid arousing suspicion
3
Q
By the 1880s, what were the two divides in opinion upon how to deal with the NAI
A
- The ‘humanitarians’ believed that the Native Americans needed to
‘saved’ by the civilising power of the white man’s culture. These
views were strongly held by some politicians and some in
government circles - The ‘exterminators’ were of the view that Native Americans were
no better than vermin and should be wiped out once and for all.
These beliefs were dominant among the officers and generals in
the US army.
4
Q
What was the Dawes Act (1887) and explain its impact
A
- Gave Indians the rights of citizenship, including the protection of the
law and the requirement to pay taxes - Yet, for the most part - focused on specifically breaking up
reservations by granting land allotments to individual Native
Americans. - The purpose of the Dawes Act and the subsequent acts that
extended its initial provisions were purportedly to protect Indian
property rights, particularly during the land rushes of the 1890s, but
in many instances the results were vastly different. - Under the Dawes Act, Indian life deteriorated in a manner not
anticipated by its sponsors. - The social structure of the tribe was weakened; many nomadic
Indians were unable to adjust to an agricultural existence; others
were swindled out of their property; and life on the reservation came
to be characterised by disease, filth, poverty, and despondency.
5
Q
What was the philosophy behind the government policy of assimilation
A
- The US government had funded the survival of the NAI for decades
- The policy of assimilation was a way of ending this
- It was considered that if a person adopted white clothing and ways, and
was responsible for his own farm, he would gradually drop his Indian-ness
and be assimilated into the population - It would then be no longer necessary for the government to oversee
Indian welfare in the paternalistic way it had been obligated to do.
6
Q
How did Western Expansion impact the Buffalo population
A
- The completion of the first transatlantic railroad across the continent in
1869 accelerated the influx of settlers and brought the two cultures
increasingly into conflict - By the 1870s, buffalo skins were in fashion in the east and therefore in
big demand - White buffalo hunters killed thousands of buffalo, stripping their skins
and leaving he carcasses to rot - By 1875, the hers had been reduced by nine million and the animal so
precious to tribes was on its way to extinction
7
Q
What was the Sand Creek Massacre (1864)
A
- 675-man force of Colorado U.S volunteer Cavalry under the command of U.S colonel John Chivington attacked and destroyed the village
of Cheyenne - 70-500 NAI killed – two thirds of whom were women and children
- This disrupted the traditional Cheyenne power structure
- Among the chiefs killed were most of those who had advocated peace with white settlers and the U.S government
- The net effect of the murders and ensuing weakening of the peace faction exacerbated the developing social and political rift
8
Q
What was the battle of Little Big Horn (1876)
A
- led by general Custer, Native Americans won the battle
- Convinced some that the Native Americans needed better treatment.
9
Q
What was the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)
A
- Pine Ridge of the Ghost Dance spiritual movement, which taught that Indians had been defeated and confined to reservations because they
had angered the gods by abandoning their traditional customs - Many Sioux believed that if they practiced the Ghost Dance and rejected the ways of the white man, the gods would create a world anew and
destroy all non- believers - On December 29, the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers
under Big Foot, a Lakota Sioux chief, near Wounded knee
Creek and demanded they surrender their weapons - As that was happening, a fight broke out between an Indian and a U.S soldier and a shot was fired, although unclear from which side
- A brutal massacre followed in which an estimate 150 Indians were killed
10
Q
What impact did Native American Boarding Schools have on the NAI
A
- Set up as part of the government policy of assimilation
- Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded by the US Army officer Richard Henry Pratt in
1879 at a former military installation. It was particularly successful and by 1902 there
were 25 federally funded non-reservation schools in 15 states and territories, with a total
enrolment of over 6,000 students - Children were typically immersed in European-American culture through forced changes
that removed indigenous cultural signifiers. - These methods included being forced to have European-American style haircuts, being
forbidden to speak their indigenous languages and having their real names replaced by
European names to both “civilize” and “Christianize” them.
11
Q
What was the Code of Indian Offences (1882)
A
- Sought up and outlined by Interior Secretary Henry M. Teller, explaining that Indian
Customs were a great hindrance to the progress of assimilation. - Many within the Federal Government were resentful of the Native American cultural
practices, which in a few cases were the last aspect holding these
communities together. - A Court of Indian Offences, consisting of three Indians appointed by the Indian
Agent, was to be established at each Indian agency. - The Court would serve as judges to punish offenders. Outlawed behaviour included
participation in traditional dances and feasts, polygamy, reciprocal gift giving
and funeral practices, and intoxication or sale of liquor. - Penalties prescribed for violations ranged from 10 to 90 days imprisonment and a
loss of government-provided rations for up to 30 days.
12
Q
What was the Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock case
A
- In 1900, without Native American consent, Congress passed an Allotment Act that
divided the Kiowa-Comanche lands into 160-acre allotments to give to the Native
American residents of the reservation. - Those who accepted the allotments were also given American citizenship. The
“surplus” lands left after the allotment were to be sold to whites, and the Kiowa and
Comanche were to receive about one dollar per acre for these lands. - The Supreme Court supported the power of the US Government to revoke all treaties
made with Native American tribes - In making this judgement, the court described Native Americans as ‘an ignorant and
dependant race’ and ‘wards of the nation’ who were not citizens of the United
States and therefore had no rights - This judgement effectively established the right of Congress to revoke all treaties
and led to further acquisition of Indian Lands.
