Ch 26 PPT: Great West & Agricultural Rev

Ch 26 PPT: Great West & Agricultural Rev.

CH 26 TMWK

1. Describe the geographic location of Native Am settlements

Clash of Cultures on the Plains

·  1860 Native Americans: 360,000

·  White soldiers/settlers spread cholera, typhoid, smallpox. They hunted buffalo and grazed livestock.

·  Federal govt signed treaties with chiefs: 1851 Fort Laramie, 1853 Fort Atkinson –beginning of reservation system, established boundaries for territory of each tribe; Tried to separate 2 great Indian groups to north and south, around White settlements.

·  1860’s: herded Indians to smaller areas – “Great Sioux reservation” in Dakota Territory and dozens of southern Plains tribes in “Indian Territory” in Oklahoma.

·  Surrendered land when promised to be left alone and provided with food, clothing, supplies.

Decreasing Native Population

·  1864 Sand Creek, CO: Militia massacred 400 Indians who were promised immunity.

·  1866 Bozeman Trail: Sioux war party ambushed Capt. Fetterman’s command; killed 81 soldiers.

·  1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie: federal govt abandoned Bozeman Trail and “Great Sioux reservation” was guaranteed to Sioux tribes.

·  1874 Custer’s “scientific expedition” – went to Black Hills of S. Dakota (part of reservation) and discovered gold. Gold seekers swarmed to the land. Sioux response = warpath. (1876) Colonel Custer and his 264 men were killed.

·  1877 Nez Percé battle in Oregon: Govt tried to herd Chief Joseph and 700 Indians onto reservation; they fled north to escape to Canada. Captured/sent to reservation in Kansas. (40% died of disease)

·  Apache Tribes (Arizona and New Mexico) led by Geronimo: Govt pursued them in Mexico; they surrendered

Tmwk

2. Pg 598 How far north did the Nez Perce flee?

2a. Describe in geographic terms where the battles took place.

Tribe Locations and Battles with Indians

Factors that Caused Submission of Plains Indians

1. Building of transcontinental railroad

2. Death by disease

3. Firewater (liquor)

4. Near extermination of buffalo

Bison

·  1865 - 15 million buffalo grazed on western plains.

·  Used for: food, fuel from dried dung, hide to make clothes, lariats, harnesses.

·  Railroad construction gangs used buffalo for food. William “Buffalo Bill” Cody killed 4,000 in 18 months.

·  1885 - less than a thousand left.

End of the Trail pg 602

·  Helen Hunt Jackson: book A Century of Dishonor -about the govt - poor treatment and dealing with Indians stirred up moral senses. (novel: Ramona)

·  Christian reformers: educational facilities

on reservations (to assimilate Indians to White society)

·  Outlawed Sun Dance (Ghost Dance)

·  Battle of Wounded Knee (Wounded Knee Massacre) – U.S. Calvary killed 200 Sioux.

Tmwk

3. Pg 602 Describe how Native Americans lands vanished What areas did the Indians live at?

1887 Dawes Severalty Act:

-dissolved tribes as legal entities

-wiped out tribal ownership of land

-set up individual families with 160 free acres. If Indians behaved like “Whites”, would get title to the land and citizenship in 25 years.

-Remaining reservation land to be sold to railroads and White settlers; money used to “educate and civilize” Indians.

**Ignored and disregarded Native American culture

**Tried to make rugged individualists out of Indians

**Forced assimilation

**By 1900, Indians lost 50% of 156 million acres they had 20 years earlier.

Ø  1934 Indian Reorganization Act: restored the tribal basis of Indian life. Return to local self-govt. Restored management of their assets (mainly land)

Mining

·  1858: Discovery of gold at Pikes Peak (CO)

·  1859: Comstock Lode of gold/silver in Nevada.

·  When gold seekers decamped, areas became ghost towns.

·  Precious metals: helped finance Civil War, facilitated building of railroads, intensified conflict between Whites and Indians.

Tmwk

4. Pg 605 Describe what the map is showing.

Beef Business and the Long Drive

·  Grassy plains of Texas: supported grazing of long-horned cattle.

·  Transcontinental railroad and refrigerated railcar enabled cattle to be shipped to stockyards. Result: industrialized meatpacking industry came into existence.

·  “Long Drive”: Texan cowboys (many were Blacks) drove cattle grazing on grass through unfenced and open plains to railroad terminals - called “cow towns”.

·  Later, new settlers built barbed wired fences – inhibiting the “long drive”

·  Developments: fenced ranches, winter feed, produce meatier animals, industry organization.

·  Wyoming Stock Grower’s Association: Controlled the state and legislature.

TMWK

5. Pg 610 Choose 2 areas and list some crops/livestock grown in those areas.

6. Pg 611 Describe a trend shown from the graph.

Farmer’s Frontier

·  1862 Homestead Act: allowed settlers to acquire up to 160 acres of land by living on it for 5 years, improving it, & paying $30.

·  Helped families who couldn’t afford to buy.

·  500,000 families participated.

·  Issue: Great Plains=little rainfall -thousands of homesteaders forced to give up land due to drought.

·  Railroad: major role in developing agricultural west thru selling crops.

·  Settlers pushed beyond 100th meridian = low rainfall.

·  New technique: “dry farming” -shallow cultivation of seed planting depth. Later contributed to “Dust Bowl”

·  Planted tough strains of wheat, resistant to cold/drought (from Russia).

·  Govt financed irrigation projects – dam building, 45 million acres irrigated in 17 western states.

Far West Comes of Age

Ø  New western states: Colorado, N/S Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming.

Fading Frontier

·  By 1890: 1st time in U.S. - frontier line no longer evident.

·  1893 Frederick Jackson Turner’s famous essay: "The Significance of the Frontier in American History”: about closing of the frontier. “Am. History has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the west.”

·  Govt land set aside for nat. parks – 1872 Yellowstone, 1890 Yosemite and Sequoia.

·  Free acreage brought immigrant farmers west.

·  When farmers failed or miners were out of luck - moved to western cities: Denver and San Francisco. After 1880, Pacific coast most urbanized

·  Most Native Am. live in west today, as well as most Hispanics and Asians.

Farm Becomes a Factory

·  High prices persuaded farmers to grow “cash crops” – wheat or corn.

·  Farmers became tied to banking, railroading, and manufacturing. Why? Expensive machinery to plant/harvest crops = loans and debt. America became world’s breadbasket due to increase in harvests, reliance on railroad to transport/sell crops: result – farming became big business.

Deflation Dooms the Debtor

·  Prices of crops determined by world output.

·  Low prices and deflated currency = main issues of farmers – prices forced down due to inadequate money supply.

·  Surplus of grain lowered crop prices.

·  High interest rates on mortgages: 8% to 40%, caused loss of farms.

·  Farm tenancy widespread – by 1880: 25% of Am. farms were operated by tenant farmers. Led to debt and depression for these farmers.

Unhappy Farmers

·  Farmer’s nuisances: grasshoppers, cotton boll weevil, floods

·  Their land was over-assessed and paid high taxes.

·  Bought high-priced manufactured goods, but sold crops at low prices.

·  Difficulties due to harvester trust, barbed-wire trust, fertilizer trust - who controlled output and raised prices.

·  Over-production of crops caused decrease in prices

·  Paid high rates to transport their grain by railroad and to store grain in warehouses.

Farmers Take their Stand

·  1867 Organized National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry (The Grange): Leader Oliver Kelley – goal = enhance lives of isolated farmers thru social, educational, fraternal activities. (picnics, concerts, lectures)

·  Changed goals from individual to farmer’s collective. Improvements: established co-operatively (co-ops) owned stores for consumers and co-operatively owned grain elevators/warehouses for producers.

·  Grangers went into politics (“Granger Laws”) – to regulate railway rates and storage fees charged by railroads, warehouses, and grain elevators.

·  Greenback Labor Party formed – addressed issues such as declining farm prices, high railroad rates, govt deflationary policies.

Prelude to Populism (Populists)

·  1870s Texas Farmer’s Alliance formed to socialize and to break grip of railroad and manufacturers through cooperative buying/selling.

·  However, weakened because they ignored issues of tenant farmers, sharecroppers, farmworkers and excluded Black farmers.

·  1880s Colored Farmer’s National Alliance

·  1890s From the Alliances new political party emerged: People’s party AKA Populists–

-  called for nationalizing railroads, telephone, telegraph

-  wanted graduated income tax

-  to create new federal sub-treasury (to provide farmers with loans for crops stored in govt warehouses until prices rose)

-  wanted free, unlimited coinage of silver

(pamphlet: Coin’s Financial School)

-1892 they won congressional seats.

Coxey’s “Army” and Protest

·  Populists argued farmers/laborers were victimized by oppressive economic and political system.

·  Unemployed began protesting.

·  Jacob Coxey marched to Washington: demanded govt help unemployment by an inflationary public works program and issuance of $500 million in tender notes.

·  Coxey and followers were arrested

Pullman Strike of 1894

·  150,000 members in American Railway Union organized by Eugene Debs.

·  Pullman Palace Car Company had a model town for employees.

·  Hit by depression, Pullman Co. cut wages by 1/3, but kept rent the same for company houses.

·  Workers went on strike: overturning Pullman cars (stopping operation of railcars)

·  Govt made court injunction to break the strike.

·  Federal troops sent to crush Pullman strike.

·  Eugene Debs- 6 months imprisonment.

Golden McKinley and Silver Bryan

·  1896 Election: Issue of coining silver.

·  Republican candidate William McKinley supported by Marcus Hanna (gave his own money) – platform = gold standard, and pro-protective tariff.

·  Democrat Candidate William Jennings Bryan – platform= inflation and silver standard, famous Cross of Gold speech “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” (some democrats disagreed and sided with Republicans.)

·  McKinley won: 271 to 176 electoral votes

·  Showed Bryan’s lack of appeal to farmers, even though they wanted a silver standard. Plus factory workers had no reason to support inflation since they lived on a fixed income.

·  Outcome = victory for big business; showed future of presidential politics was in the cities.

·  Election ushered era of Republican presidential dominance of 16 years. Also less voter participation, weakening of party organizations, fading of the money questions and civil service reform.

·  New issues: regulation of industry and welfare of the laborer.

Republican Reign

·  McKinley kept away from reform. Gave business free rein - trusts allowed to develop without serious constraints.

·  1897 Dingley Tariff Bill: amended until tariff came to 46.5% rate.

·  Prosperity returned, farm prices rose.

·  1900 Gold Standard Act: provided paper currency be redeemed freely in gold.

Populist Party

Granger Laws

Frederick Jackson Turner

A Century of Dishonor

Farmer's Alliance

Coxey's Army

Homestead Act

Election of 1896

Dawes Severalty Act

Grange

National Grange of Patron's of Husbandry