Westward Expansion

Federal Legislation Encourages Western Settlement• Lots of people had moved west of the Mississippi River before

the Civil War seeking adventure or gold• During and after the war the federal government instituted laws

to convince more people to settle the West• The Homestead Act allowed for 160 acres to be given to a

settler who:• Was an American citizen (or in the process of becoming one)• Was 21 and the head of the family• Had to build a house on the property and live there at least 6 years• Pay $10

• By 1900 610,000 families had taken advantage of this opportunity, meaning the government gave away ~85 million acres

Federal Legislation Encourages Western Settlement• Another bill, the Morrill

Land Grant Act, gave states land to sell and then use the profit to build colleges• Land speculators and

families alike to advantage of the cheap acres

• Many agricultural and mechanical (A&M) schools were built from the Morrill Land Grant

Texas A&M University 2002 graduation ceremony (pictured-Dr. Bristo and former Sec. of Defense and former Pres. Of TAMU Robert Gates.)Texas A&M was established in 1876 under the Morrill Land Grant Act

Federal Legislation Encourages Western Settlement• Railroads also played a large role in westward settlement• The obvious reason is because with more access to transportation

more people could move out there• However, there is a secondary reason that railroads were

important• Union Pacific and Central Pacific RRs were given land to develop

plus 10 miles on either side of the track• The RRs often sold (for a high price) these lands to settlers or

businesses

Farming on the Great Plains• Farming was central to the early American identity• Many immigrants with families moved west to the Plains

• Lured by recruitment posters in Eastern cities• Settling in the Mid-West was extremely challenging

• Scorching summers and bitter winters• Contaminated water caused “prairie fever” (typhoid fever)• Blizzards, dust storms, and crop-eating insects were common

• By 1900, 2/3rds of all homestead farms had failed• Those who survived did so through cooperation and

interdependence• Men help each other with construction, while women lent support in

daily chores

The Transformation of Agriculture on the Plains• The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was established in

1862• By 1863, the USDA was teaching Plains farmers about new

farming technology and methods that could help them be successful

• Large bonanza farms rose as professional business models, using new technology to grow cash crops that could be sold back East and overseas• New technology and increased efficiency in the rise of bonanza farms

pushed down the number of Americans participating in agriculture (60% in 1860 to 37% in 1900)

The Transformation of Agriculture on the Plains• Despite short-term success, the bonanza farms faced long-

term trouble• Their high efficiency often led to over-production of grain, driving

prices down drastically• To compensate, farmers would plant more grain, which made the

prices even lower• Many farms failed and were foreclosed; farmers soon began to

organize to lobby for federal assistance and to protect their interests

Women and Minorities on the Plains• Life for Plains women was lonely and dreary• During non-harvest seasons, men would go out to search for

other work, leaving women alone on the farm for long periods of time

• O Pioneers! (Willa Cather, 1913) and Giants of the Earth (O.E. Rolvaag, 1927) novelized and portrayed the struggles of farm women

• Women were first given the right to vote in the West• In 1887, two towns in Kansas were the first to give women the

vote (one quickly had a woman mayor)• Wyoming became the first state to grant women the right to vote

• Wyoming calls itself “The Equality State”

Women and Minorities on the Plains• Many blacks moved west following the Civil War• Many lacked the finances and farming knowledge to be

successful• Much of the same racial prejudice they experienced in the South

was also present in the West• The Exodusters were the most prominent group of blacks to

settle the Plains, moving west in 1879• Still, less than 20% were successful

Mining and Lumbering in the West

• After the Gold Rush in 1849 fell flat, rumors of other areas full of gold arose• Pike’s Peak and Comstock (NV) were two places that saw huge

population booms due to the rumors• Even Californians moved East to strike it rich• Very little success was found in gold, but there was some success

in silver• Lumber companies also moved to the Northwest• The Timber and Stone Act sold lands that were unsuitable for

farming to “settlers” (a.k.a. lumber companies)• These companies quickly hired labor to cut down trees

Ranching in the West• Texas already had a profitable industry—ranching• Many of ideas about THE “West” comes from the long drives that

cowboys took to move cattle from Texas to KA or MO• The long drive was not efficient (took too long and lost a lot of

cows)• Farmers did not like the cowboys driving cattle through their

farms• Barbed wire was invented in 1873 and farmers immediately

started putting it up to keep cows out of their crops• This was the end of the open range system and cowboys

The Plight of Native Americans• Natives yet again found themselves losing land to Americans

despite treaties that had been signed• Expansion also changed the migratory patterns of buffalo

herds that the Natives depended on • We created a Bureau of Indian Affairs and created the policy

that all Natives would be moved to SD or OK and they would be transformed from savages to civilized people

• The Sioux resisted the most violently• They eventually agreed (after killing 88 Americans) to move to

the Black Hills of SD• Shortly after, gold miners rushed to the area to lay claim• Sitting Bull led many of the tribe off of the reservation that was

supposed to be theirs

The Plight of Native Americans• General George Custer was sent to get Sitting Bull and the

tribe• Custer and his 200 men were killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn• This was the last major victory Natives have had against the

American military• Reinforcements soon showed up and forced the Sioux back on

the reservation • When the Sioux attempted to leave the reservation again the

federal government killed 200 of the Sioux in the Massacre at Wounded Knee

The Plight of Native Americans• Other tribes also faced issues• The Nez Perce had been practicing a ritual called the Ghost

Dance which was a chant about how wonderful it will be when the white devil is gone• White soldiers were terrified of the Ghost Dances and brought in

troops to prevent them from behaving like that• Soldiers also made it a habit to slaughter the buffalo herds to

force the Natives to depend on the White man for food, etc.• The Dawes Act stating that their reservations would be broken

down into private property (remember that Natives were a communal society)• This would destroy their identity as tribes• Natives didn’t want to farm so they ended up selling “their” land

to speculators

The Plight of Native Americans• Oklahoma, a.k.a. Indian Territory, was opened for settlement• Whites ran out to stake claims (the “boomers” claimed land that

day while the “sooners” had come in a day or two early to lay claim)

• Today, University of Oklahoma are the Boomer Sooners (better known by Aggies as “land thieves”)

• By the end of the century almost all Natives were on reservations or being assimilated

The American Farmer and Populism

• Farmers were suffering due to policies made in Washington• Congress favored high tariffs which hurt the farmers• Also, due to unstable currency, the farmers were becoming really

nervous about their fates• During the Civil War we practiced “tight money” (less money

in the system)• Farmers were convinced that this was causing their financial woes

(not really though)• They also grew concerned when the federal government enacted

the gold standard meaning every dollar had to be backed by gold

The Grange and Farmers’ Alliances

• The Grange organization was found by the Western farmers• They worked together to develop discount systems for each other• They were convinced that the Railroads were taking advantage of

them• The Grangers were able to get members of the Greenback

Party elected; they supported their causes and the idea of printing more money• They could not get candidates elected in non-farm states though

• The Farmers’ Alliances took the place of the Grange movement (there was a “colored” version too)

The Grange and Farmers’ Alliances

• Their demands were laid out in the Ocala Platform, named after…you guessed it…Ocala, FL.

• The included:• Federal regulation of railroads• Putting more money in circulation• Create a state level department of agriculture in each state• The federal government maintain warehouse were surpluses

could be stores (the government would also pay the farmers for stuff that didn’t sell)

The Populist Campaign• The Farmers’ Alliance created the People’s Party (which then

became the Populists• The Populist Party was intended to appeal to workers• They adopted some of the Ocala Demands but they also

added:• Progressive income tax (which is what we have today)• Government ownership of transportation and communication

(yes for communication, no for some transportation today)• Direct methods of democracy including recalls, referendums, etc.)• Called for the 8 hour work day• Called for the direct election of Senators (becomes the 17th

Amendment)

Populism in the 1890s• Grover Cleveland was reelected in 1890 which angered the

Populists because he supported the gold standard• When the 1894 election came around William McKinley was

the Republican presidential candidate (a “gold bug”)• The Democrats put up William Jennings Bryan (a “silverite”)• His campaign speech included a comment saying “You shall not

crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!”• He could not win the northern states and thus lost the election

The Impact of the West on American Society• Dime store novels like Deadwood Dick: The Prince of the Road

romanticized the West as a place full of gamblers, hard drinkers, and stagecoach robbers

• Wild West Shows promoted by Buffalo Bill Cody and featuring Annie Oakley contributed to these myths as the showed mock battles with Indians, rodeos, and sharp shooting

• Others wrote more realistic about the west• Frederick Jackson Turner wrote the Turner Thesis which explains

that the frontier men and women were committed to self-improvement and democracy

• Helen Hunt Jackson wrote A Century of Dishonor which displayed the atrocities that the Natives were forced to endure

• These three authors show the different perspectives that people had about the “Wild West”