The Early Settlement of the West c.1835-c.1862

• The Indigenous peoples lived in different groups called tribes
• The main 3 tribes are called:

  1. Sioux
  2. Comanch
  3. Apache
• Many tribes were nomadic hunted the milions of buffalo that were in the plains
• What does normandic mean?

  People who move from place to place
• The Lakota Sioux regularly moving from place to place, led a normanic lifestyle. In constrast the Mandans formed and lived in permament villages.
• Tribal warefare

  The aim wasn't necessarily to kill or seize land, but to perform acts of bravery such as stealing horses and counting coup
• What is counting coup?

  Getting close enough to an enemy to touch him
• Tribes were usually split into bands, and each band has a chief, and a council of elders. The chief didn't have complete control, but he would have earned loyalty over the years - this gave him influence over the tribe.
• Indigenous peoples didn't see land as something that could be bought or sold - land belonged to everyone.
• Most tribes belived that everything in nature contained spirits which they needed to keep on their side - ceremonies and dance rituals were perform to contact the spirits
• Buffalo were vital for Indigenous peoples. They used almost every part of the buffalo - meat for food, skin for clothing and tents, bones for tools and weapons
• Women did most of the work village or camp, while the men hunted and fought. Although men were head of the family, women owned the tipi (the family tent) and its contents, which gave them status
• Many tribes practised polygamy becase the dangers of hunting and warfare meat there were often more women than men in tribes
• What is polygamy?


  Polygamy is the practice of having multiple spouses at the same time.
• Settlers failed to understand the culture of the Indigenous peoples because it was so different to their own. This led to tension and conflict.
• US citizens initially lived only on the eat coast. Over time, settlements moved westwards and by the 1830s had moved just beyond he Mississippi river, attracted by the fertile farmland there
• Since the population was growing, the demand for land was also increasing
• There was a growing belif in govermoent and among US citizens that it was the USA's duty to expand westwards
• Thomas Jefferson, a former president beleived that land ownership and farming would create a healthy, moral population. Extra land could only be gained by expanding further west. Expansion proised freedom, independence and oppotunity
• Gradually, settlers began to move across the Plains towards the west coast, and some began tp settle on the eastern edges of the Plains themselves
• This created conflict between settlers and the Indigenous peoples of the Plains. The Indigenous peoples didn't like settlers moving across their land, and the two groups couldn't live together - the nomadic culture of the Indigenous peopes clashed with the desire of settlers to fence off and settle the land.
• Some of the land that settlers wanted to farm was occupied by the Indigenous tribes
• Many US citizens saw the Indigineous peoples' ways of life as inferior and uncivilised - they wanted them moved off the land so it could be farmed and settled
• In 1830, the Indian Removal Act was passed under Presidand Andrew Jackson-this authorised the president to grant tribes land on the Great Plans in exchange for the land in the East
• Before 1830 the government had pursed a policy of assimilating Indigenous peoples in the East - this means making them change their culture to become more like that of US citizens. But even though tribes like Cherokee made changed, people in the East didn't see them as equal
• Some tribes resisted removal. The Cherokees tried to resis through legal means, but they wre eventualy forcefully marched by US soldiers to the Plains in 1838.
• By 1840, most of the eastern tribes had been moved onto the Plains - around 70,000 - 100,000 people in total
• The intention was that Indigenous peoples would libe on the Great PLains, while settlers farmed land in the East - the Plains would be like one large reservation. The boundary between the two regions was known as the 'Permanent Indian Frontier'
• In the 1820s and 1830s the West was explored by mountain men who hunted animals to sell their skins. They didn't settle in the West, but they did establish westward trails that settlers would later use.
• Missionaries were among he earliest settlers on the west coast in the 1830s. Their aim was to convert the Indigeous people to Christianity
• Larger groups of people who wanted to make new lives for themsleves went to he west coast. The first of these was te Peoria Party in 1839. Other followed in the 1840s - their routes became known as the Oregon and California Trails
• When was the Great Migration?

  1843
• What were problems in the East that attracted Migration to the west?

  • Economic problems - Recession in 1837 caused banks to collapse and buisinesses to fail. Wages and profits fell and unemploymennt rose
  • Overpopulation - High levels of European immagration between 1846 - 1854 (mostly german and Irish), led to overcrowded cities, fewer jobs and a lack or land for people to farm
  • Disease - Overcrowding and poor sanity systems led to outbreaks of yellow fever and cholera
• What attrated people to the West?

  • A new start - Land was fertile and cheap
  • In 1841, Congress passed the Distributive Preemption Act, which allowed setters to buy 160 acres of land for a very low cost if they lived there for 14 months - they wanted people to settle in the West to strengthen the USA's claim to the land there
  • Gold - Gold was found at John Sutter's sawmill in California in January 1848. In December, President Polk confirmed that there was gold in the area. In 1849 there was a Gold Rush, as tens of thousands of people made the journey to Californiia, hoping to make their fortune
• Settlers also moved west because of a belief in Manifest Destiny

  • Many US citizens belived that they were destined to occupy and govern all of North America. Thye saw it as a god-given right
  • They belived they were superior to Indigenous people and that they should civilise the continent
• It took around 5 months to complete the 2000 mile jurney to the west coast. The journey had to be completed before winter. People travelled in wagons and made wagon trains with other settlers
• In 1846 the Donner Party, heading for California, tried a shortcut but they ended up trapped in deep snow in the Sierra Nevala mountains. Supplies were low and many starved to death. Of 87 travellers, less than 50 survived by eating those who died
• The journey was dangerous - as many as 10% would die on the way:

  • There were mountains and rivers to cross - this was difficult with heavy wagons
  • People suffered from food and water shortages, and diseases such as tyohiud and cholera
  • Accidents were common, such as falling under wagon wheels and accidental shootings

  The fact that people were wiling to make such a dangerous journey shows how much they wanted to move west
• Half of the estiated 100,00 people who went to California during 1849 did so by sea. This journey also took around 5 months and had its own difficulties - crowded conditions, sickness and storms
• Who were the Mormons?

  Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints