Conquest of the American West & New South (APUSH)

APUSH Period 6: 1865-1898 The Conquest of the American West & the “New South”  THE CONQUEST & AMERICANIZATION OF THE WEST 1860s-1890s American Westward Expansion Alaska: -Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867. Referred to as “Sewar...

APUSH Period 6: 1865-1898 The Conquest of the American West & the “New South”  THE CONQUEST & AMERICANIZATION OF THE WEST 1860s-1890s American Westward Expansion Alaska: -Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867. Referred to as “Seward’s Folly,” the purchase was scrutinized by fellow Americans, but gold was discovered in the Klondike region in the mid-1880s. Native American Culture Collides -about 250,000 Native Americans lived west of the Mississippi River, referred to as the “Great American Desert” -Some of the most notable Indian tribes were the Plains Indians, which included the Sioux, Blackfeet, Crows, Cheyenne, and Comanches. -They were skilled in archery and horsemanship, excellent hunters and food gatherers (hunted buffalo for lodging, clothing, food, etc…). -Past government laws/actions caused heated situations but many Indians in the 1860s were put/migrated to smaller pieces of land called reservations to settle. This resorted in mass poverty and a loss of culture/living for the Plains Indians. Ghost Dance Movement -The Ghost Dance Movement promoted the -Many American settlers who moved out resurrection of the buffalo and the brewing West felt the land was a resource for the of a great storm that would drive white taking (Manifest Destiny) and desired to people back across the Atlantic. (Native move the Plains Indians out of the Midwest American/Christian cultural blending.) territories. This was also a direct response to the Ghost Dance Movement. Conflict among Settlers & Indians -Rapid industrial development and advances in communication/transportation created conflict among many Indians and settlers. -Sand Creek Massacre: Due to Sioux rebellions throughout the MidWest, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians suffered loss in having up to 200 of them killed by American militia. -Certain projects (roads through Sioux hunting grounds to gold-mining towns in Montana) were avoided to promote peace. Indian Wars (1860-1890) -Watch these videos to understand each conflict and its implications: Battle of Little Big Horn (1876) Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM4eQBp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc7fZonj fGIg. D1M. The Americanization Movement -Reservations were becoming an increasing failure and there was pressure to assimilate Native Americans into farmers or to have them give up their tribal loyalties and behaviors to adopt mainstream American values and customs. EX: Indian Appropriation Act (1871) and Carlisle Indian School (1879) -Dawes Severalty Act (1887): act passed by Congress that encouraged Indians to become private property owners and farmers. Reservation were broken apart and each family was given 160 acres of the reservation to use as a farmstead. -The 160 acres could not be sold or transferred for 25 years. Boarding schools were available for Indian children to attend to speed up the process of assimilating while Indian customs were discouraged.  Reactions -The American public publicly disproved of the treatment of American Indians in literature. -Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor looked at the past century (1800s) of mistreatment toward American Indians and exposed the federal government’s involvement in the West. The Development of the Transcontinental Railroad: Mining Towns -Mining towns were constructed throughout the West as gold/silver was found. -Vigilantes (self-appointed law enforcers, ex. sheriff) punished outlaws and eliminated corruption throughout these towns. -Other towns were known as “boomtowns” because their prosperity existed upon the gold /silver that was found there. -Big mining business companies needed natural resources like water to seperate the silt from the metals; this caused water shortages in these mining towns. The Development of the Transcontinental Railroad: Production -Production started with the work of private enterprises and land grants (Congress). -Two most popular enterprises were Central Pacific (Eastward from Sacramento, CA) and Union Pacific (Westward from Omaha, NE). They met railroad production at Promontory, UT in 1869). The Development of the Transcontinental Railroad: Labor -Labor: Recruits were mostly Chinese and Irish immigrants, who did not receive equal treatment than their fellow American workers. -1883: Northern Pacific Railroad connected St. Paul, MN to Seattle, WA. -The growth of cities/towns was dependent on where the transcontinental railroad existed. -Ten territorial states acquired statehood between 1864 and 1896 because of the movement of people to the West (railroads)  Farmers Settle the Plains -Cattle Ranching was seen as an acceptable way to make money by letting livestock feed off the land. -The open-range system had no fencing (property limits) and property owners rounded up livestock for their own benefit (cowboys). They would then transport the livestock using the railroads to eastern markets. -By the mid-1880s, barbed wire made it possible to fence property lines as a competitive market for beef emerged. Homestead Acts (1862) -government offered farm plots of 160 acres to anyone willing to live on land for 5 years, dig a well, and build a road. -Along with the pre-existing Preemption Act (1841), movement toward the West improved. -Despite this opportunity, hardships (weather, Indians, etc.) made life hard for these settlers. Over 500,000 families went out West.  Turner’s Frontier Thesis Closing of the (1893) Frontier Views – settling on the frontier Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier was a social leveler, breaking down Thesis class distinctions, fostered social and political democracy Reaction – would the United States be condemned to follow the patterns of class division and social conflict like Europe? Effects/Lasting Impact – large *Opening of the Oklahoma Territory movement to cities and (1889) created a land rush that industrialized areas. allowed “boomers” and “sooners” to settle out West.  Yellowstone National Park Act (1872) The federal government did not sell off all the land it had bought. It decided to hold and manage some of it in the form of “preservation parks.” In 1864, Yosemite Valley (CA) was used as a place for “public use, resort, and recreation.” In 1872, Wyoming’s Yellowstone Valley became the world’s first national park (2 million acres). THE “NEW SOUTH” 1860s-1890s  The New South Economic Progress Agriculture ○ Steel (AL), Lumber (TN), ○ Limited Diversification Tobacco (VA), Textiles (GA, NC, SC) New Crop Rotation – Peanuts, Sweet ○ Expansion of Rails Potatoes, Soybeans (George Washington Carver) Continued Poverty ○ Plight of poor farmers ○ Most growth due to northern financing Rise of Southern Farmers’ Alliances ○ Lack of education, limited (segregated) skills ○ Weak political leadership Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) *Watch this video concerning the Plessy v. Ferguson case that set up the “separate but equal” debate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj54KP16Il w.  The Jim Crow Era Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. These laws were enacted in the late 19th and early 20th Century. *The Jim Crow Laws brought disadvantages to African Americans in the following areas and more: -Loss of Civil Rights -Demise of black voter registration -Literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses -Vigilante “justice” -Lynching  The Promotion of African American Civil Rights -black leaders were divided on how to address racial issues Booker T. Washington -urged patience for racial progress, must achieve economic independence before civil rights. -encouraged working hard and eventually gaining white Americans’ respect to earn voting/full citizenship rights. W.E.B. DuBois -urged rapid, fast-pace racial progress, demands social and civil rights or be victim to racism. -encouraged the Niagara Movement, which denounced Washington’s ideas and pushed for education instead of skilled work for recognition.