the american west Flashcards

Question

White settlers were suspicious of Plains Indians because:

Answer 1

They sometimes got caught up in tribal conflicts, and thought the Indians were attacking them.  They thought the Indians were an inferior race who would be wiped out.  Indians sometimes stole their cows and horses.

Answer 2

In 1851 the government organised the Fort Laramie Treaty to try to solve the conflict between Plains Indians and white settlers. Its aims were to:  Agree on fixed territories for each tribe  End conflicts between the tribes  Guarantee safe access for white migrants across the Plains

Answer 3

plains indians had to- end fighting between tribes -Allow migrants to travel through their land safely -Allow railroad surveyors to enter their land safely -Allow the government to build roads and army posts on their land -Pay compensation if their tribe broke the treaty in return the government would-Protect them from white settlers -Pay tribes an annuity (yearly payment) of $50,000

Answer 4

The government wanted one chief from each tribe at the talks, but Indian society didn’t work this way. Just because one chief had signed the treaty, it did not mean that every band would follow it.

Answer 5

Some tribes didn’t attend. Many of those who did were only there for the government food and gifts.

Answer 6

Plains Indians didn’t believe in fixed boundaries and land ownership. The agreed boundaries were not taken seriously. Some Plains Indians still hunted in other tribes’ territories.

Answer 7

The Treaty was in English, so not all the tribes understood it. The language and cultural differences meant that many of the Indians didn’t know what they’d signed.

Answer 8

…thus paving the way for reservations.

Answer 9

…thus undermining the Permanent Indian Frontier, and leading to greater white settlement of the Plains.

Answer 10

…thus taking away Plains Indians’ independence.

Answer 11

The American West had laws, but there were problems in making people obey them. Until the 1840s, migrant communities were very small and so there was little lawless behaviour. However, the California Gold Rush caused mass migration – in 1846 there were about 8000 nonIndians in California; by 1855 it was 300,000. Soon the existing California law systems were unable to cope with the number of people living there

Answer 12

There was violence and tension between the different ethnicities and religions in mining camps.

Answer 13

‘Claim jumping’ was common, where men would try to steal someone else’s claim if it looked promising

Answer 14

Prostitution and alcohol in the camps caused violent fights over women.

Answer 15

‘Salting a claim’: conmen would scatter a few flakes of gold on a worthless piece of land and then con a migrant into buying it.

Answer 16

Road agents were criminal gangs who waited outside camps to rob prospectors.

Answer 17

By 1850 many prospectors had found what gold they could, and mining companies moved in to mine the area properly. San Francisco’s population boomed because of -  former prospectors arriving in search of other jobs  Chinese migrants arriving following a famine in China Many could not find work and there was a crime wave in 1851. Rival gangs controlled areas of the city. Murder, theft and corruption was common.

Answer 18

Chinese miners were only allowed to work old claims  In California, Chinese miners were taxed more heavily  White people were encouraged to murder Californian Indians Racist crimes weren’t dealt with. American Indians, Chinese and black people weren’t allowed to be court witnesses in California.

Answer 19

The federal government decided the laws for each territory. (A territory could not become a state until it had a population of 60,000.) However, these laws were often not very effective.

Answer 20

Each territory had a US Marshal who was in charge of law enforcement. He could appoint deputies and order a posse (group of men) to help him hunt down criminals.

Answer 21

Communities could also elect a sheriff to keep the peace in their county.

Answer 22

Territories were huge, which made them very hard to control.  Law enforcers were badly paid, so it was hard to recruit them and many took bribes.  Sheriffs had no legal training so did not always act fairly.

Answer 23

Many people took the law into their own hands. Groups of vigilantes would capture, try and punish suspected criminals. Vigilante committees were effective but often unfair. A suspect’s guilt was usually decided before they were captured. Lynching was common.

Answer 24

Mining communities would agree their own set of rules, and set up their own court and judge. A recorder was chosen to write down all the claims made in the district, and who had made them.

Answer 25

conflict between the northern states (the Union) and the southern states (who broke away to form the Confederacy).

Answer 26

encouraged more people to settle and farm in the West. The government offered 160-acre plots of land called homesteads – a house with enough land to support a family.

Answer 27

Registering for a homestead plot cost $10, so it was affordable for ordinary people (e.g. ex-slaves).  Homesteaders had to live on and work the land themselves, and there was a limit on how many claims one person could file. The government didn’t want rich businessmen buying up all the land for profit.  As long as they were the head of a family, or single and over-21, anyone could file a claim for a plot. American Indians could not.  Once someone had lived on and worked the land for 5 years, they could buy it outright for $30 (known as “proving up”).

Answer 28

By 1876, over 6 million acres of government land had become homesteads.  Parts of the Plains were settled for the first time.  In Nebraska, the population grew so much that it became a state in 1867.  It encouraged immigration from Europe.

Answer 29

Only 16% of public land was homesteaded. Far more was sold to railroads or cattle ranchers.  60% of homesteads were never “proved up”.  More homesteads were formed by railroad companies and squatting than by the Homestead Act.  Rich landowners still found ways to abuse the system: e.g. by filing claims in employees’ names.  Many people filed claims in order to sell it on for a profit afterwards.

Answer 30

They needed savings of around $1000 to get started  They quickly ran out of money during spells of no rain These problems were made easier by several factors.

Answer 31

The railroads made homestead life easier because:  Homesteaders could visit relatives more easily  People could order products  They created towns where people could trade and socialise

Answer 32

Windmills (1854) were used to pump water out of the ground for crops.  Barbed wire (1874) was used to fence off crops from livestock.  Sulky ploughs (1875) were able to plough the tough Plains ground.

Answer 33

A religious group called the Mennonites found that “Turkey Red” wheat grew well in Kansas, leading to excellent grain exports. They had emigrated in 1873 from Russia, where they had farmed similarly tough land.

Answer 34

Homesteaders could claim a further 160 acres of land if they agreed to plant trees on a quarter of it. Trees were important because they acted as a wind break and provided timber for building and fuel.By 1878, 16m acres of land had been claimed under this act. However, in most cases the trees died because there wasn’t enough water. People also claimed land only to sell it on for profit.

Answer 35

The Pacific Railroad Act encouraged transcontinental railroad building. The government wanted to connect the agricultural West to the big northern cities.  The Union Pacific started in Nebraska and built west;  The Central Pacific started in California and built east. The two ends met at Promontory Point, Utah, in May 1869.

Answer 36

Building a 2000km railway was difficult and expensive. No private company would risk taking it on. Disagreements - the North wanted to connect California with its big cities (e.g. Chicago) but the South wanted the railway to come through the southern states.

Answer 37

The government loaned each company $16,000 for every mile of track built ($48,000 for mountain areas).  They also gave the companies large areas of public land along the railroad for them to sell -After the southern states left the Union in 1861, the northern states could decide where the railroad went. They chose a route from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska.

Answer 38

First Transcontinental Railroad.

Answer 39

-Farmers could transport crops to sell in the big Eastern cities -Encouraged European immigration – each company had a Bureau of Immigration -Settlers could buy products from the cities -Made travelling West quicker and cheaper -Towns along the route grew rapidly

Answer 40

Integrated western territories into the East Many felt “Manifest Destiny” was achieved -Increased trade - economic benefits

Answer 41

-Plains Indians moved away from rail route -Declining buffalo numbers – the tracks destroyed grassland and brought hunters -Indian attacks on railroad builders led to conflict with the Army -Allowed even more white settlers to invade Plains Indian land

Answer 42

Growth of the cattle industry – cattlemen could now move and sell cattle in the big cities

Answer 43

The first new towns created by the railroads were known as “Hell on Wheels”. Lawlessness was worst in cow towns – especially after pay day, when cowboys would celebrate in saloons and brothels. Thomas Smith was the marshal of Abilene, Kansas. He successfully banned guns – until he was murdered in 1870. Smith’s replacement was sacked because he was useless, and the town leaders decided to just ban cowboys from the town.

Answer 44

After the Civil War many ex-soldiers came to the West. Many of them were unable to find work, and so they formed outlaw gangs. The Reno Gang carried out several large train robberies in the 1860s. They were eventually caught by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency – but shortly after their arrests they were lynched by a vigilante mob.

Answer 45

Things were good in the North…  There was high demand for beef. A cow was worth $40.  Meat production had been industrialised, so it was quicker and cheaper. However, in the South…  There was little demand for cows.  Beef prices had dropped. A cow was worth $5.  The Longhorn cattle in Texas had gone half-wild, having been left unmanaged during the war.

Answer 46

In 1867, the railroad reached Abilene, Kansas. A cattle trader called Joseph McCoy had an idea: Abilene would make an ideal transit point for cattle drives…  McCoy bought 450 acres of land at Abilene and built stockyards, a rail depot and a hotel.  He then spent $5000 on marketing to promote Abilene. The venture was a success. Abilene became the first major cow town and McCoy became very rich. Between 1867-72, 3 million cattle were driven along the Chisolm Trail to Abilene.

Answer 47

The Goodnight-Loving Trail was established by Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving to sell cattle directly to reservations and forts in the West.  In 1866 they drove 2000 cattle to Fort Sumner - the American Indians there were close to starvation because of poor government planning.  They sold 800 of the cattle for $12,000 (a much better price than they would get in Texas), and Loving then sold the remaining 1200 to businessman John Iliff in Colorado.  Loving was killed by Comanche Indians in 1867. Goodnight later made a successful deal with John Iliff to transport cattle all the way to Wyoming on the Union Pacific Railroad.

Answer 48

In 1861 Colorado Territory was created. There was a great demand for meat in Denver City, but until 1870 it had no railroad connection

Answer 49

In the 1870s the beef industry thrived. Cattle ranching on the Plains grew. The industry was dominated by very rich cattle barons who owned enormous ranches. These men also controlled local politics to defend their own interests.

Answer 50

 John Iliff realised that if he could keep a herd of cows on the Plains, he could supply beef to the Colorado mining towns without having to drive the cattle up all the way from Texas.  Iliff created a massive ranch (a farm for raising cattle) on the Colorado Plains, with a herd of 26,000 cattle.  In 1872 he won a contract to supply beef to 7000 Sioux Indians. He became Denver’s first millionaire.  This marked the start of open range ranching – where cattle roamed freely across large areas of the Plains

Answer 51

Ranching needed lots of land (at least 2000 acres), so ranchers used public land. When the Homestead Act came in, ranchers used several tactics to block homesteading on their land.

Answer 52

ranchers-filed claims under the Homestead Act for the best bits of land - the areas with springs and waterholes. Ranchers divided the land so that ranches and public land was all mixed together – making the public land impossible to access.  They got relatives and employees to claim homesteads, then hand over the rights to them  They took homesteaders to court, knowing they wouldn’t be able to pay the court costs.  They threatened homesteaders and accused them of stealing cows.

Answer 53

Ranchers annoyed homesteaders because their cattle often wandered onto fields and ate crops. Homesteaders annoyed ranchers because (it was claimed) their sheep ate all the grass and spread disease. Ranchers put up fences to keep out sheep, but homesteaders would just cut them. Long-running conflicts often developed into range wars between ranchers and homesteaders.

Answer 54

 Cowboys worked in outfits led by a trail boss.  Herd owners would hire an outfit to deliver their cattle by an agreed time. Cattle drives could take several months.  Each outfit had about 12 cowboys, a chuck wagon (food wagon) and a wrangler (who cared for the horses).  There were many challenges and risks, such as stampedes, outlaw gangs and crossing Indian territory. Cowboys slept in the open, taking turns to stay up and keep guard.

Answer 55

Many ranches didn’t employ cowboys over the winter, so they sometimes got other jobs (e.g. barmen). Some stayed on to repair equipment and plan ahead.  In early spring cowboys had to round up the cattle. Cattle were branded to show which ranch they belong to.  Life on the ranch was hard work, so cowboys were usually young. Cowboys lived together in a bunkhouse on the ranch.  Ranches often has strict rules, e.g. no gambling.

Answer 56

Ranches on the Plains were much closer to railheads. This meant that cattle drives only took days, rather than months.

Answer 57

The Plains had harsh winters that Texas did not. Cowboys had to deal with ice and blizzards, and often spent lonely winters staying in sod houses or cabins out on the ranches.

Answer 58

 Under the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty tribes had to let railroad surveyors onto their land.  Railroads took away Indians’ land and disrupted the buffalo.  The government “extinguished” any Indian rights to land along the rail routes.  Some tribes (e.g. the Pawnee tribe in 1870) agreed to move onto reservations.  The Northern Pacific Railroad caused conflicts.

Answer 59

As cattle numbers increased, buffalo numbers decreased.  Because they could no long hunt buffalo, some Indians worked as cowboys – this took them away from their traditional way of life.  Cattle trails went through Indian land, leading to conflict with cowboys.  Many tribes would demand payment from cowboys to pass through their land.

Answer 60

In California, gold prospectors murdered Indians who were in the way of possible gold claims.  Immigration from all over the world brought new diseases which killed many Indians.  New towns developed. Their Western culture was totally alien to Indians.  When gold was found in Montana in 1862, thousands travelled there along the Bozeman Trail, despite it being Lakota Sioux hunting ground (this went against the Fort Laramie Treaty)

Answer 61

The government continued to move Plains Indians onto reservations. They promised that Plains Indians would:  Not lose any more land  Be protected from attack by whites  Be given yearly payments (money/food/equipment) Some tribes moved because they had no other choice – it was the only way for them to survive. The government’s promises sounded good, but tribes soon realised they were rarely carried out. Many had to be forced onto reservations by the US Army.The government thought reservations would be good for Plains Indians, because they could learn about farming, Christianity and white American values. However, they had serious negative impacts:

Answer 62

-They showed no understanding of Indian culture. Indians were taken a long way from their sacred places, and often put with their enemies. -Indians were given the poor land that whites didn’t want. Farming was very difficult. They often relied on food from the government. -White settlers complained about the size of reservations. The government used any excuse to reduce their size. -The agents who ran reservations (on behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs) were often corrupt.

Answer 63

In 1868 President Ulysses S. Grant put forward a Peace Policy to calm tensions between Plains Indians and the Army.  Corrupt reservations agents were replaced with Quakers, who were known for being fair and peaceful.  Ely Parker was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs.  A $2m budget was given to properly care for Indians.  Parker pushed for more radical change. He wanted Indians to be treated as wards, meaning the government should decide what was best for them and treat them well if they obeyed.

Answer 64

In August 1862 the starving Dakota Sioux raided Agency buildings for food and supplies, then burned them down. -They also attacked settler towns and army forts, killing around 600 white people (including women and children). -400 Dakota Sioux warriors were arrested, and 38 hanged. The rest were moved to even poorer reservations. -Bounties were offered for the scalp of any Dakota Sioux found in Minnesota. Little Crow was shot, scalped and beheaded in 1863.

Answer 65

Little Crow was a chief of a band of the Dakota Sioux tribe in Minnesota. The Dakota Sioux bands had agreed to move to two small reservations in 1851. They had given up 24m acres of land in return for $1.4m, plus a payment of $80,000 every year.However, the small reservations didn’t have enough food to survive and the government stalled its payments and food supplies. This was because the Dakota Sioux had $200,000 of debts with traders that it refused to pay – in 1858 they were made to sign away half of their reservation to settle the debts.

Answer 66

In the Treaty of Fort Wise (1861) the Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs agreed to move to a reservation in Colorado, but many of the young warrior brotherhoods (called the Dog Soldiers) rejected it. They often fought with gold prospectors who crossed their land. Black Kettle was a Cheyenne chief.

Answer 67

On November 29th 1864 Colonel Chivington raided Black Kettle’s camp at Sand Creek – carrying on even when the camp surrendered. Chivington and his men killed over 130 people, including women and children, and took their body parts as trophies. Black Kettle escaped to warn other tribes. The massacre seemed to prove that the white Americans couldn’t be trusted. The Dog Soldiers attacked white forts and settlers in retaliation. In 1865 a new treaty was agreed. It said the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes would move to a new large reservation, and the massacre survivors would get payments. However, the government didn’t stick to its deal. Instead, in 1867 the tribes were moved to a reservation half the size of what they were promised, and no compensation was paid to the survivors. Black Kettle died in another massacre in 1868.

Answer 68

Red Cloud was a respected chief of the Lakota Sioux tribe. He chose to fight the government because they wouldn’t stop gold prospectors using the Bozeman Trail, which went through the tribe’s hunting grounds. He was also supported by two other leaders, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

Answer 69

The Lakota Sioux attacked soldiers and forts. There were around 3000 Indians against 700 US soldiers. Fetterman’s Trap: In December 1866, a group of 80 men led by Capt. William Fetterman were led into a trap and killed. The Lakota Sioux surrounded Fort Phil Kearny, trapping soldiers inside and stopping people using the Bozeman Trail. The government realised that their old approaches were not working. The second Fort Laramie Treaty was signed in 1868.

Answer 70

 The Bozeman Trail was closed.  Red Cloud agreed to take his people to a reservation in Dakota.  This new reservation was to be exclusively for the Sioux nation (i.e. no Army forts). . Not everyone agreed with Red Cloud signing the treaty. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse refused to sign.

Answer 71

Dry farming was a new technique of preparing the soil so that it trapped rainwater under the surface. It worked well for wheat. It was popular, but droughts in the 1890s meant it didn’t become widespread until the 1900s.

Answer 72

Wind pumps solved one of the biggest problems on the Plains: the lack of water. They pumped water from deep underground. Daniel Halladay designed a windmill that swung round automatically as the wind changed direction. Windmills needed lots of maintenance and early wooden ones weren’t very strong. Steel windmills (1880s) were much more effective.

Answer 73

New inventions helped make farming easier. Machines like the steel plough and seed drill helped with dry farming. Farming was made faster and easier, so farmers could farm larger areas. Farmers became more successful and bought more and more industrial products – this boosted the economy.

Answer 74

Barbed wire (1874) was used to fence off homesteaders’ claims, protect crops and stop livestock roaming. Early types rusted and broke, but these issues were fixed by the 1880s.

Answer 75

The beef bonanza of the 1870s meant that the open range became overstocked. This put an end to open range ranching.  There were too many animals on the Plains. All the grass was eaten up and the soil eroded.  Because so much beef was available, there was a fall in demand. Beef prices fell.

Answer 76

A very harsh winter in 1886- 87 killed off 15% of the open range herds. Temperatures hit as low as -55°C The cattle that did survive the Great Die-Up were in poor condition. This made them difficult to sell, so prices dropped even more. The big ranches on the Plains struggled the most because they couldn’t possibly save such a large number of cattle.

Answer 77

After 1887, the most viable ranches were small ones.  Small herds were easier to manage, especially during droughts and winters.  Smaller herds reduced the supply of beef, so prices went back up.  Ranchers focused on high-quality meat with pure-blooded breeds of cow.

Answer 78

Many ranchers went bankrupt and moved back east, so more homesteaders moved in. There was less demand for cowboys. Many became ranch hands. Their lives became less adventurous:  They looked after horses, mended fences and harvested hay.  They lived in uncomfortable bunkhouses with strict rules.  They patrolled the boundary between two ranches (‘riding the line’).

Answer 79

After the Civil War there was lots of racism towards black people in the South. Many white people couldn’t accept that slavery had ended. As a result, some black people moved to the West. Benjamin Singleton, a former slave, helped hundreds of black people move to Kansas after he settled there in 1873. In 1879 40,000 people set off west after a rumour went round that the whole of Kansas had been given to ex-slaves to settle. The people who took part in this large-scale migration were called Exodusters.

Answer 80

 Important individuals such as Benjamin Singleton and Henry Adams, who encouraged migration.  Better jobs in the West and the chance to build a new life.  Kansas had a reputation as an anti-slavery state.  The Homestead Act pulled people to the West with the promise of free land.  The Biblical story of the Exodus meant some migrants had faith in God to help them.

Answer 81

By 1880 there were over 40,000 black Americans in Kansas. Some new settlements were founded by black Americans.

Answer 82

Black migrants were left with the poorest land because the best bits had already been taken. Many couldn’t afford the admin fee for claiming their homestead.

Answer 83

The Kansas government set up an association to help black migrants suffering from yellow fever, and gave a small amount of temporary funding to get them started.

Answer 84

Most white settlers thought that the black migrants should go back to the South, and shouldn’t get any government help

Answer 85

The Exodusters in Kansas were better off than they had been in the South, but were poorer than the white settlers. The movement ended as those in the South gradually heard about the reality in Kansas. After 1889 some black Americans moved out of Kansas in a second smaller wave of migration

Answer 86

In 1889 the government opened up the middle section of Indian Territory to white settlement(Some Indian land had already been sold in 1887, when tribes’ lands were broken up under the Dawes Act.) The land was divided up into 160-acre sections. At noon on 22nd April 1889 the first land rush began - thousands of hopeful settlers rushed over the boundary to claim a section as theirs.There were 7 land rushes in Oklahoma from 1889-1895. The largest was in 1893, when 8 million acres were opened up. By bringing in more white settlers, the Oklahoma Land Rush pushed the Indians out even more.

Answer 87

Billy the Kid (aka William H. Bonney) was a famous outlaw in the West.  He grew up in mining camps in New Mexico and became involved in horse theft and cattle rustling.  He got involved in a range war (the Lincoln County War) in 1878. His side lost, but he swore he would kill everyone who was to blame for the death of one of his friends.  Billy and his gang had hideouts all around the county. He was notorious for breaking out of jails – the justice system was too weak to deal with him.  A new sheriff, Pat Garrett, was given the task of bringing Billy to justice.  Despite being caught by Garrett and sentenced to death, Billy made a dramatic escape from jail. Garrett tracked him down and killed him at Fort Sumner in 1881.

Answer 88

Wyatt Earp was a law enforcer in the West.  In 1880 Wyatt was hired as the deputy sheriff of Tombstone, Arizona Territory. It was a boom town controlled by rich businessmen.  Wyatt and his brothers clashed with the Clantons and the McLaurys - two prominent local ranching families whose cowboys were involved in rustling and robberies.  On 26th October 1881 there was a gunfight at the OK Corral near Tombstone. (A corral is an enclosure for cattle or horses). The Earps killed members of the McLaury and Clanton families.  Trouble continued. When Virgil Earp (one of the brothers) was killed, Wyatt killed his murderers in revenge.  The Earps were forced to leave Tombstone. Their violent approach to the law had only caused more conflict.

Answer 89

Range wars were conflicts over areas of land on the Plains. The most famous was the Johnson County War in Wyoming.

Answer 90

Wealthy ranchers owned huge ranches and held key roles in local government and law. They were hit hard by the Great Die-Up of 1886-87. The big ranchers used their influence in the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) to ban small ranchers, who they accused of stealing their cattle.

Answer 91

Ordinary people were fed up of the big ranchers taking what they wanted. In 1889, homesteaders Ella Watson and Jim Averill were killed by rancher Albert Bothwell, who wanted their land. In 1892 the small ranchers and homesteaders decided to hold their own spring round-up, to claim any unbranded cattle before the WSGA could.

Answer 92

planning- The WSGA planned to invade Johnson County. They hired 22 gunmen to kill 70 rustlers.  They raised $100,000 of funds (mostly for legal fees)  They paid the gunmen $5 a day, plus $50 for every rustler they killed failure-‘The Invaders’ failed. They tried to attack the KC Ranch, but its owners Nate Champion and Nick Ray held them off all day. Sheriff Angus raised a posse of 40 men to catch the Invaders. Many local citizens joined in and they surrounded the Invaders at the TA Ranch. trail-The Invaders had to be rescued by the US Army. Their trial was biased:  They had powerful friends – the state governor, the judge, good lawyers.  The trial was moved out of Johnson County to Cheyenne, where the jury was more likely to support the ranchers.  The lawyers dragged the trial out until the prosecutors ran out of money. The charges were then dropped.

Answer 93

Rich, respectable cattlemen thought it would be a good idea to kill 70 people  More importantly, many people thought it was wrong and stood up to them (vigilante justice)

Answer 94

The Battle of the Little Bighorn was significant because the US Army was defeated by the Sioux nation. This defeat changed government policy.

Answer 95

In 1874 many prospectors began searching for gold in the Black Hills, part of the Sioux hunting grounds in Dakota. This was a breach of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. The government offered to buy the Black Hills, but the Sioux refused. The government then said that the Sioux had broken the treaty because they were attacking prospectors. Thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors left their reservations to join leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The government gave them 60 days to return, or else they could be attacked. By spring 1876 7,000 Sioux had set up camp, ready for a war with the whites. US Army commander George Custer found a camp of 2,000 warriors in the valley of the Little Bighorn. Although he should have waited for backup, he went ahead and attacked with only 200 cavalrymen. Led by Crazy Horse, the Sioux killed Custer and all of his men. Public opinion now turned against Plains Indians: it was felt that they should assimilate (become like white Americans) or die…

Answer 96

1-The army forced the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes back onto their reservations. They once again became dependent on the government 2-Previous treaties were now ignored. The government forced the Sioux to give up land, including the Black Hills. 3-More military control of the Plains. There were more soldiers and forts, and Sioux’s weapons and horses were taken.

Answer 97

The Wounded Knee Massacre was the last clash between the Army and the Sioux.

Answer 98

The Wounded Knee Massacre was the last clash between the Army and the Sioux. Wovoka, a Paiute Indian, claimed to have a vision that said if the Indians danced the Ghost Dance, the Great Spirit would bring all their dead back to life and a great flood would carry the whites away. As the Ghost Dance spread through the reservations, President Harrison ordered the Army to take control. Sitting Bull was killed in an attempt to arrest him. At Wounded Knee Creek, the Army opened fire on warriors as they danced the Ghost Dance. 250 Sioux Indians were killed – half of them women and children. Public opinion generally supported the Army.  People seemed to agree that ‘out of control’ Indians should be killed  It was seen as revenge for Little Bighorn. In 1890, the government announced the end of the Indian Frontier.

Answer 99

1890 In 1890 the Indian Frontier officially ceased to exist, and the first national park was created (Yosemite) to protect the little areas of wilderness that remained

Answer 100

Hunting of the southern herd peaked in 1872-74, when hunters killed 4.5m animals  The northern herd was protected by the Sioux reservation until 1876; it was exterminated by 1883.

Answer 101

Their hide (skin) was valuable for leather. The rest of the animal was often thrown away.  Railroads brought hunters in from the cities.

Answer 102

The government supported the extermination of the buffalo:  The treaties had clauses saying that any Indian hunting rights only lasted as long as there were buffalo to hunt  With no buffalo to hunt, the Indians were forced to farm and be more like white people  No buffalo made railroad building and ranching easier

Answer 103

 Some tried farming, but their crops often failed  They depended even more on the government for food  Many starved and died of disease

Answer 104

The government gradually made the reservations smaller to force the Indians out of their way of life.

Answer 105

The government took away the power of tribal chiefs and abolished special Indian courts in 1885

Answer 106

Government agents bribed Plains Indians with food or supplies in return for good behaviour. Some Indians joined the Indian Agency Police, where they were looked after reasonably well.

Answer 107

Plains Indian children were sent to military-style schools off the reservation. They were brought up as Christians and encouraged to abandon their Indian way of life.

Answer 108

With the buffalo gone the Plains Indians could no longer support themselves. Most didn’t have the skills to farm and became more dependent on the government. Disease, alcoholism and depression spread through the reservations

Answer 109

In the 1880s the government decided that reservations only encouraged Indians to live as part of a tribe, rather than as individuals. Getting rid of reservations would free up land for settlers, reduce costs and force Indians to assimilate.

Answer 110

The Dawes Act was like a Homestead Act for Plains Indians.  Each Indian family was given a 160-acre plot of reservation land  Single people got 80 acres and orphans 40 acres  Plains Indians who accepted and left their reservation could become American citizens  All the reservation land left over was sold to whites (e.g. in Oklahoma)

Answer 111

The Dawes Act is significant because it made life for Plains Indians even harder. The small, poor quality plots made farming very difficult – many gave up and sold their land to whites

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the american west Flashcards

migration and early settlement.

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