Ch. 17: Development of the West, 1877–1900
Rapid white settlement displace Indians
Indians & whites use environment differently
Subsistence vs. exploitation/profit economies
West’s resources vital for industrialization
Many human & environmental costs
Whites envision area “west” of Mississippi River as land of economic opportunity White actions also shaped by racism 1
The West 1. Native Americans & The West 2. Expansion & Infill 3. Western Society 4. The Railroads 5. The Final Fling
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I. Native Americans and the West
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A. Native American Subsistence Cultures
Had been shaping environment for centuries
Very different groups, but 4 main activities:
1) crops (corn); 2) livestock (sheep/horses);
3) fishing/hunting (bison); 4) trading/raiding
Most participate in large-scale interaction of goods/ideas (migrating bands & trade/raid) Often fight over access to herds/land/water 4
A. Native American Subsistence Cultures (cont.)
Plains Indians (Pawnees) depend on buffalo and alter environment to support horses Southwest Indians (Navajos) focus on sheep herding and build elaborate irrigation systems Northwest Indians (Clatsops) fish salmon on large-scale and like others, engage in trade Buffalo/salmon decline and loss of land to whites undermine Indian economies
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B. Slaughter of Buffalo & Decline of Salmon
Whites (with Army help) kill many bison to facilitate railroad & agricultural expansion Accelerate buffalo decline that starts with over-hunting by Indians for trade w/ whites Diseases from white-owned livestock & less grazing area also contribute to dramatic drop
1820: 25 million bison; 1880: < 1,000
White-owned fisheries over-harvest salmon 6
C. Transformation of Native Cultures
Extensive white violence against Indians Young men (majority of whites) view Indians w/ contempt as inferior competitors
Both Indians and whites commit atrocities
Native American population decline
Vulnerable to white disease;
Less mobile because of women/children;
Adopt bad white habits (alcohol, prostitution) 7
D. Lack of Native Unity; Territorial Treaties
Indian divisions: 200 spoken languages
100s of separate bands
No tribal centralization; tribal chiefs weak
Wars & raids between bands prevent unity
US Government hurt Indians by (a) imposing treaties (loss of land) by force; (b) refusing to protect land/rights reserved by treaty for Indians from white encroachment 8
E. Reservation Policy
US Gov’t push Indians to least desirable lands by force and with promise of government aid
Indians become less independent economically
Reservations further weaken Indians politically
Supreme Court define Native Americans as non-citizen wards of USA Constantly face white encroachment 9
Red Cloud's Delegations, 1868
Red Cloud's Delegations, 1868 Red Cloud (seated, second from left), with other Oglala Sioux, visited President Grant at the White House to argue for his people's right to trade at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. His clothing, unlike the traditional Native American dress of the other chiefs, reflected his desire to negotiate with whites on equal terms. ( National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.)
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Map: Western Indian Reservations, 1890
Western Indian Reservations, 1890 Native-American reservations were almost invariably located on poor-quality lands. Consequently, when the Dawes Severalty Act broke up the reservations into 160-acre farming tracts, many of the semiarid divisions would not support cultivation.
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F. Native Resistance; Indian Wars
Some (Pawnees) resist trade with whites and try to preserve traditional subsistence practices Whites respond with organized military acts Destroy Cheyenne band (1864), Nez Perce band (1877), Ute band (1879) Little Big Horn (1876): Indians defeat whites White advantages: more supplies (often starve Indians) & pursue Indians relentlessly 12
G. Reform of Indian Policy (1870s–80s)
White reformers push “civilizing” Indians with education, private property (assimilation) Few Indians in Indian Rights Association or Women’s National Indian Association Reformers assume Indian culture (gender roles) inferior and should be changed Dawes Severalty Act (1887) convert Indian communal lands into private property 13
G. Reform of Indian Policy (cont.)
Dawes Act reverse reservation policy
Indians with private property become citizens
Allow whites to buy unallocated land
Create boarding schools for Indian children to teach them white culture (Carlisle in PA) US Gov’t still use force Massacre Lakotas at Wounded Knee, SD (1890) to crush Ghost Dance (revival of traditions)
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H. The Losing of the West
Under Dawes Severalty Act, Indian landholding dramatically decline!
Whites cheat Indians into selling private lots
Accelerate economic ruin for Indians
Schools demoralize Indian children (not accepted in either Indian or white culture)
West won at Indian expense
Indians still casualties of this aggressive era 15
2. Expansion & Infill
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A. Land for the Taking: Federal Incentives 1860-1900—Federal land grants
48 million acres granted under Homestead Act 100 million acres sold to private individuals, corporations 128 million acres granted to railroad companies
Congress offers incentives to development
Timber Culture Act 1873
Desert Land Act of 1877
Timber and Stone Act of 1878
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B. Mining and Lumbering
Unlike Indians, quest for rapid wealth via resource extraction motivate whites 1000s move to West (mid-1800s) to mine for gold/silver/metals Search as individuals, then sell successful finds to large companies Lumber companies grab millions of acres in Northwest, often through fraud Oil drilling start in Southwest
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Gold miners with sluice, c. 1850
Gold miners with sluice, c. 1850 At first, gold miners worked individually, each with a shovel and pan. By the 1850s devices like the one shown here, a "long tom," were making mining a cooperative venture. Miners shoveled clay, dirt, and stone into a long and narrow box, hosed in water at one end, stirred the mixture, and waited for the finer gravel, which might include gold, to fall through small holes and lodge under the box. (The Hallmark Photographic Collection, Hallmark Cards, Inc. Kansas City, 19 Missouri) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Map: The Development and Natural Resources of the West
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The Development and Natural Resources of the West By 1890 mining, lumbering, and cattle ranching had penetrated many areas west of the Mississippi River, and railroads had linked together the western economy. These characteristics, along with the spread of agriculture, contributed to the Census Bureau's observation that the frontier had disappeared; yet, as the map shows, large areas remain undeveloped.
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Map: Mining and Cattle Frontiers, 18601890
Mining and Cattle Frontiers, 1860-1890 The western mining and ranching bonanzas lured thousands of Americans hoping to get rich quick.
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C. The Ranching Frontier
Cattle ranching mushrooms after 1860s
Population growth create demand
Railroads make bulk transportation possible
Drive cattle 1,000+ miles from TX to rail link
Long drives inefficient; shift to raising herds near rail links Profitable open-range ranching develop on Plains with massive use of government lands 22
Barbed Wire
Massive cattle ranching conflicts with expanding commercial farms and sheep herds West lacks materials for traditional fences Mass production of new barbed wire solve conflict; ends Open Range (reflect link between West/East, rural/urban) Wire accelerates farming on Plains Ranching & meatpacking become big business (same as mining & commercial agriculture) Often negative effects on environment
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Early Varieties of Barbed Wire
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“Don't Fence Me In”
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D. Farming the Plains
Commercial agriculture develop
Require adaptations to climate & terrain
100s of 1000s of whites migrate (1870s–’80s)
Railroads promise instant riches to lure them
Global population growth create demand
Farm life on Plains very difficult
Hard work, essentials (water, fuel) scarce
Map 17.3—rainfall line divide settlement 26
Map: Agricultural Regions, 1889-1900
Agricultural Regions, 1889-1900 In the Pacific Northwest and east of the 28-inch-rainfall line, farmers could grow a greater variety of crops. Territory west of the line was either too mountainous or too arid to support agriculture without irrigation. The grasslands that once fed buffalo herds now could feed beef cattle.
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1) Hardship on the Plains
Weather unpredictable (heat, storms, blizzards, floods, prairie fires), plus insects Homestead Act (1862) disperse settlement and create social isolation
Also lonely b/c many settlers = bachelors
Many later abandon farms for cities
Mail-order companies & extension of RFD postal service diminish isolation some 28
2) Mechanization of Agriculture
Vital to success of commercial farming Huge increase in production with less time & labor = agricultural revolution
Farms feed urban populace
Cities supply farming machines
Railroads link two areas
Governments fund research to help agriculture
Stronger, productive crops; combat disease 29
E. Irrigation
Public & private interests use technology & organization to create commercial agriculture Irrigation already exist; southwestern Indians, Spanish, & Mormons develop early systems Whites in West reject English / Eastern US riparianism (users of water not diminish flow downstream) Whites use prior appropriation to award water rights to whoever claims it first 30
E. Irrigation (cont.)
Because of conflict over scarce water, whites organize public bodies to regulate usage
WY take control of water, 1890
CA organize farms into irrigation districts
CA = leader in irrigation & create most profitable fruit/vegetable farms in USA Newlands Reclamation Act (1902) promote irrigation, not conservation 31
3. Western Society
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A. Complex Communities
West = multiracial society: whites, Indians, Hispanics, Asians, African Americans
NM: Indians and Hispanics mix (mestizo)
200,000 Chinese immigrate before 1882
Blacks found all-black towns (Nicodemus, KS)
Women = minority of population; usually travel west with husband; independence limited Make money through domestic services 33
B. Significance of Race
For control, whites stress importance of race Classify nonwhites into either Indian, Mexican, “Mongolian”(Asians), or black “races” Whites assume nonwhite “inferiority” permanent and create 2-tier labor system
Nonwhites work unskilled, low-pay jobs
Whites take property of any who attain land
Ban marriage between nonwhite men & white woman
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C. Legends of West
Many easterners see West as place of lawless hedonism (Tombstone, AZ) Some thieves and opportunists become folk heroes (Clantons/Earps, OK Corral, 1881) Novelists and self-promoters (Buffalo Bill Cody) romanticize life in “Wild West”
Most westerners not gunfighters or gamblers
Most struggle to survive 35
4. The Railroads
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A. Railroad Construction
USA hold ⅓ of world’s rail track (1900) Diverse labor crews (Chinese build tracks east from CA; Irish immigrants build tracks westward) Railroads spur steel, coal, & other industries
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A. Railroad Construction (cont.)
Create new cities and tie them into a national/ global economy of goods & people
Many towns boom from railroads
Others lose (stock failures, loan defaults)
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B. Railroad Land Grants
Huge government subsidies spur construction
US Gov’t give 180 million acres to rail companies
Land for track, plus extra to sell to fund construction
States give another 50 million acres
Towns buy rail stock/bonds, plus offer loans
As private companies, railroads want aid, but fight government regulation 39
Railroad Land Grants
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Railroad Land Grants
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C. Standard Gauge; Standard Time
Link separate railroads together (1880s)
Railroads alter conceptions of time & space
Measure distance in time to travel, not miles
Before railroads, time vary from place to place Railroads need standardization; create 4 time zones (1883) that become national time Railroads spur engineering profession 42
Railroad Standard Time Zones
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5. The Final Fling
Changing views of Far West
“Frontier thesis” treated West as cradle of individualism, innovation New Western History sees West as arena of conflicting interests, erosion of environment 44
A. O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma, OK!
Settlement of Oklahoma 1889 – 1907
Land open to white settlement
Land Rush in 1889
Other portions opened
Merging of Oklahoma and Indian Territories in 1907 to form State of OK 45
Map: The Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889-1906
The Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889-1906 Lands in Oklahoma not settled by "Sooners" were sold by lotteries, allotments, and sealed-bid auctions. By 1907 the major reservations had been broken up, and each Native American family had been given a small farm.
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Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889
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OKC Post Office, 1889
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B. Conservation (1870s); Admission of New States
Some Americans support preserving natural resources by limiting exploitation
Yellowstone, WY = 1st national park (1872)
John Muir found Sierra Club (1892)
Businesses & westerners (both out for quick profit) oppose conservation Map 17.2: USA admit numerous states 18891912 48 states compose USA until 1950s
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