american west

• Indian removals act

  1830 - pressured 46,000 plains Indians to move west of the Mississippi river as this was now their territory.
• trade and intercourse act

  1834 - enforced all Indian territory was west of Mississippi river in aim to separate whites and Indians on a permanent indian frontier.

  also prohibited whites settling on native lands and stopped whites trading guns to native americans
• permanent indian frontier

  policed and militarised by us forts separating Indians and whites
• beginning of westward expansion

  whites wanted to cross frontier

  us won war with Mexico 1848 and gained western states like California and in 1846 got Oregon from British control and Texas 1845. meant plains indians territory in the middle of white Americans territory.
• goverment support for westward expansion

  wanted whites to move into new territories, people had to safely cross plains lands using trails. us government forced Indians away from trails. permanent frontier changed now whites could cross.
• indians appropriation act

  1851 us government forcing Indians onto reservations with hunting lands allocated. continuation of moving plains Indians and reducing the amount of land.
• push and pull factors of western migrations

  • economic conditions in south
  • oregan farm land
  • oregan trail
  • gold rush
  • manifest destiny
• pull: economic conditions in south

  banks collapsing, 25% unemployment rate with people with jobs getting 40% wage cuts

  made people want to start fresh
• oregan farmland

  rich farming land west of rocky mountains, free farming land pulled people, a way needed through to oregan with wagons.
• the oregon trail

  opened 1836

  missouri to oregon

  publicise in 1825 by jedidiah smith

  by 1869 400K travelled

  first people whitman and spalding

  1834 900 travelled in the great emigration by marcus whitman 3,200 km long
• gold rush in 1849
• gold rush

  • 1849, 100k left east for california
  • by 1855 population 300K
  • population and economy of california grew rapidly
• positive consequences of gold rush on development of west

  • promoted image of west as a place to make successes
  • farming grew in California
  • money helped pay for railroad in 1868
• negative consequences of gold rush

  • rapid growth led to problems with law and order
  • new migrants enslaved or murdered indians
• things migrants needed to do when travelling

  • use oxen (strong and obedient can live on plains) but also very slow 3 km per hour
  • complete journey before winter
  • not to start until april so time for grass to grow
  • travel in large groups with people of ranged skills
  • bring food to live on for full journey
• problems with migration

  • illness
  • getting stuck
  • running out of supplies
  • at least 20,000 died on trail
  • cholera
  • fear of plains indians
• the donner party

  • 300 migrants in 60 wagons led by donner brothers in may 1846
  • in july group split at fort bridger leaving 80 migrants to try new short cut written by landsford hastings
  • short cut had never been done
  • caused party delays with hard to follow trail and rocky terrains with stretches of desert with no grass or water
  • party reached sierra nevada mountains in october with only half remaining
• mormon migration

  • 1846-47
  • 1844 mormons forced to leave illinois as joseph smith murdered
  • led by bringham young told by god to go to the great salt lake valley
  • reached the salt lake 1847
  • in april 1847 group of 150 mormons set off for 2000km journey to salt lake valley
  • they were well supplied
  • reached in july and as they got there a wagon train of 1500 set off from omaha same route
  • from 1847-1869 70,000 mormons followed the trail
• planning of mormon migration

  • brigham youngs leadership and planning left it successful
  • planned logistics of what each person needed to survive
  • consulted trail guides to prepare for the journey
  • migrants in groups with leaders to avoid splitting up
  • strict discipline and roles with a mix of skills
  • wagons in circle at night keeping livestock safe
• meeting the challenges of salt lake valley

  • the landscape was arid and harsh with the lake too salty and poor lands for crops
  • mormons obeyed brigham young causing them to work together
  • irrgiation systems from fresh water streams to grow crops
  • brought back products
• when was fort laramie treaty

  1851
• problems with plains farming

  • low rainfall
  • few trees
  • extreme climate
• white fear of plains indians

  white held racist views of native Americans thinking white was a superior race but also scared of them to be scalped or enslaved
• threats to plains indians food supply

  with increased migrants due to gold rush, it disrupted buffalo hunting for plains indians as they spooked them causing stampedes
• fort laramie cause

  response to tension between white migrants and plains indians. council of plains tribes aiming to end tribal conflict to protect white migrants
• problems with fort laramie treaty

  • choosing representative- government wanted one man to represent whole tribe, but indians society didn't work that way
  • representatives from every tribe- some didn't attend many just came for government food and gifts
  • agreeing boundaries
  • translating issues
• terms of fort laramie treaty

  plains indians had to:

  1. end tribe fighting
  2. allow safety to migrants through lands
  3. allow roads. built
  4. compensation given if breaking treaty
• terms of fort laramie treaty

  us government had to 1. ensure safety for indians

  2. pay annuity of 50,000
• grants peace policy

  • 1868
  • improved tensions by improving reservation management
• little crows war (1862)

  • 1851 dakota sioux agreed to move on reservations
  • in return for annuity
  • problems with treaty dakota sioux built up debts, reservations could not produce enough food to survive, traders held onto annuity starving the dakota sioux
  • 1858 had to sign away half of reservations to pay off debts
  • people were starving and agent showed no empathy
  • young warriors attacked settlers towns and forts 600 killed
• sand creek massacre

  • 1864
  • treaty of fort wise 1861 arapaho and cheyenne chiefs agreed to move on reservation east colorado
  • young warriors in brother hoods rejected and remained attacking prospectors
  • black kettle set camp at sand creek and colonel chivington led 700 cavalry in 1864 to raid black kettles camp claiming troops fought a battle against 1000 but massacred 130 men women and children
• red clouds war

  • 1866-68
  • bozeman trail broke fort laramie treaty going through lakota sioux lands
  • red cloud didn’t trust us government and realised they wanted to build forts along trail
  • fettermans trap = captain fetterman trapped by lakota sioux to ambush them
• second fort laramie

  • 1868
  • consequence of red clouds sucsess
  • closed bozeman trail
  • recognised great sioux reservation exclusive use to sioux nation
• new farming methods

  • dry farming - conserving water in soil by campbell so soil trapped rain water under surface, worked well with wheat
  • wind pumps by 1880s metal windpumps produced which required less caretaking
• the great die up

  • 1886-7 winter
  • temps -55*C
  • cattle weakened by overstocking couldn’t reach grass below and starved
  • 15% open herds perished
  • lead to the intro of smaller herds and ranches end of open range
• smaller herds

  • easier found when snowing
  • easier to provide for
  • easier to guard
  • reduced supply of beef
  • high quality meat
• exoduster movement

  1879

  • movement if freed slaves moving west to take up homestead act
  • lead by benjamib singleton movement to kansas
  • by 1879 40,000 set off west
  • Henry Adam’s promoted black emigration
  • kansas waa historically anti slavery
• by 1880 there were 43,000 black americans in kansas
• when was oklahoma land rush

  1893
• dawes act

  1887