Chapter 16 Study Guide PDF

Chapter 16 Study Guide THE SOCIETIES OF THE FAR WEST The Western Tribes - Pueblo Indians in the Southwest had permanent farming settlements (built adobe houses, grew corn, had elaborate irrigation systems, traded) before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1600’s, over time they all...

Chapter 16 Study Guide THE SOCIETIES OF THE FAR WEST The Western Tribes - Pueblo Indians in the Southwest had permanent farming settlements (built adobe houses, grew corn, had elaborate irrigation systems, traded) before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1600’s, over time they allied with the Spanish (later Mexicans) against the Apaches, Navajos, and Comanches of the region ➔ Pueblo/Spanish relations led to an elaborate caste system with the Spanish and Mexicans on top (controlled Santa Fe Trading centers and owned large estates), the Pueblos below them (subordinate but free), and Apaches, Navajos (some prisoners of war or enslaved), and women who left their tribes at the bottom (the ones at the bottom were known as genizaros, Indians without tribes) ➔ Caste system showed how the Spanish Empire in America focused on racial ancestry and hierarchy - Plains Indians ➔ The tribes had many differences between their alliances, conflicts, and way of life, but they also had common family based cultures and intimate relationships with nature (believed in it’s spiritual power) ➔ Roles were divided by gender: women= domestic+farming, men=hunting+trading ➔ Sioux (Lakota) Nation: hunted buffalo for food and clothes, relied on horses from Europe, nomadic, most powerful tribe in the Missouri River Valley and expanded in the early 1800’s, dominating most of the plains  - Many Indians were vulnerable to white diseases like smallpox which decimated tribes - Indians were outnumbered and had less weapons in war with Americans Hispanic New Mexico - Tao’s Indian Rebellion ➔ Following the American victory in the Mexican American War and their gain of the Mexican Cession as well as the exclusion of the Mexican ruling class in the new government, Native Americans and Hispanics in New Mexico feared that the new American government could take their land and threaten their societies so the Taos Indians rebelled in 1847, killing the new white governor and other white officials, eventually supressed by US Army and eventually New Mexico was taken from military rule and put under a teritorial government in 1850 (by 1870 the government was largely in the hands of white businessmen and the old Hispanic elite in New Mexico had lost much authority) - The US Army defeated many Indian tribes (Apache, Navajo, etc) in New Mexico that had been interfering with Hispanic societies there, led to many Mexican immigrants migrating to the Southwest where they found new economic opportunities, but eventually more railroads were built which allowed white Americans to get to them and take over, restricting them to low paying unstable jobs Hispanic California and Texas - Mission system collapsed in the 1830’s due to the new Mexican government reducing the power of the church after gaining  independence from Spain→ secular Mexican arisotcracy but eventually English-speaking immigrants overpowered the Californios (Hispanics living in CA) and excluded them from the gold mines and took their land (mostly in Northern CA) ➔ In the South, Rancheros (Mexican landowners who were involved in ranching and cattle) received business for their cattle from the Anglo-American migrants in the North but eventually drought and debt led to the decline of Mexican American ranching and of the overall Hispanic influence in California ➔ In Texas, Anglo-American mingrants took over after gaining the land as well and Hispanic influence declines due to competition with Anglo ranching, fraud, and coercion, Mexican rancher John Cortina led a raid of a jail in rebellion in 1859 freeing all of the Mexican prisoners and continued to rebel for years after but was eventually captured in 1875 The Chinese Migration - Many impoverished Chinese migrated to the US in search of a new life, some came as coolies (indentured servants, condition not much better than slavery), many came to CA during the Gold Rush (most of them were free and came on their own) ➔ At first the Chinese were welcomed in CA but then they were eventually seen as rivals and the foreign miners tax was put in place to try to keep them from gold mining (tax also worked against Hispanics), many started to work on the Transcontinental RR due to discrimination in the mines (they were paid very little and were preferred over white workers because they did not have  experience in labor organizations, the job was very harsh and eventually they went on strike but it was unsuccessful and suppressed by the Central Pacific RR Company by starving them) - The Chinese established Chinatowns as they lived and worked in cities ➔ Six Companies was established in San Fransisco (where the most Chinese immigrants were) and it was a social network to support the Chinese and give them aid, the organization fought against Chinese discrimination ➔ Tongs + Tong wars: Some Chinese formed secret societies called Tongs and some of them were violent and criminal, engaging in tong wars with rival tongs ➔ Many Chinese women were subjected to prostitution, The Chinese were poor and on a very low societal rank Anti Chinese Sentiments - Anti Coolie Clubs: emerged in the 1860’s and 70’s, wanted to ban Chinese employment because they accepted lower wages causing lower wages for white employees and took their jobs, they also boycotted goods made by Chinese labor, some clubs were violent and attacked the Chinese on the streets and even possibly started fires - Workingmen’s Party: political party of California, created by Denis Kearney (an Irish immigrant) that was based on hostility towards the Chinese - Chinese Exclusion Act: passed by Congress in 1882 due to political prssures that the Chinese were barbaric and had to be excluded because they could not be assimilated, banned Chinise immigration into the US for 10 years and prevent the Chinese already in the country from becoming citizens,  relflected the American fear of unemployment and labor unrest and the belief that excluding the Chinese would protect American laborers and decrease class conflict ➔ In 1892 it was renewed for another 10 years and it was made permanent in 1902 ➔ The Six Companies in San Fransisco resisted through organized letter writing campaigns and suing in federal court but neither of these had a big effect Migration from the East - After the Civil War people migrated to the West in millions, much higher rates than ever before, most migrants were from Eastern US but many were also immigrants from Europe ➔ Settlers were attracted to the gold and silver deposits, sod which was good for farming and ranching, and the shortgrass pastures for cattle and sheep ➔ The completion of the Transcontinental RR in 1869 increased settlement as well ➔ The Homestead Act encouraged settlement as it offered settlers 160 acres of land for cheap as long as the landowner agrees to work and improve it over 5 years, 160 acres ended up not being enough land for a functioning farm in the west even though it was in the east so homesteaders were struggling and many left their land, also the act did not account for the high cost of running a farm so many were struggling economically ➔ The problems caused by the Homestead Act led to the Timberland Culture Act in 1873 that gave 160 more acres of land if 40 trees were planted on it and the Desert Land Act in 1877 which gave 640 additional acres  at $1.25 per acre if they installed irrigation systems within 3 years ➔ Fraud within all of these acts as land speculators got additional land and then proceded to not improve it and for the Homestead Act people would file claims for the cheapland but instead of staying on it and improving it they would sell it to make a profit, they were called dummy homesteaders THE CHANGING WESTERN ECONOMY - The Eastern and Western economies became increasingly interconnected through railroads, cattle, mining, and more, the East served as a market for Western goods and as a source of capital to fund businesses Labor in the West - Laborers were scarce in the West as many people were far from urban centers and unable/unwilling to hire Native Americans so they paid high wages to get people to work for them, jobs were arduous and not secure, the end of a singular project would leave laborers unemployed, white people increasingly were unemployed because Chinese workers were hired as they could be payed less - Low social mobility in the West just like the rest of the US and even though the West was seen as an opportunity or all, people that were economically advantaged to begin with had more opportunity - The Western workforce was largely a dual force because even though it was very diverse, the nonwhites did much harder,  more dangerous, and unskilled labor such as on railroads and in mines that white laborers did The Arrival of the Miners - 1860-1890’s: gold rush, many flocked to the West to find gold and other precious metals - Pike’s Peak: district where gold was found right before the Civil war in 1858 (after the California Gold Rush), in the Colorado Territory, Denver became a “city” overnight as about 50,000 people came from all over looking for gold (it was a boomtown, a city that rapidly formed due to the gold rush), once the gold ran out the mining boom abruptly halted - Comstock Lode: Mostly silver and some gold were found in Nevada about a year after gold was discovered in Pike’s Peak, Californians dominated it first and since the area was deserted with little resources Californians took over the settlement and development of the towns because materials had to be shipped in from CA, after a few years of surface mining and eventual purchase of land by CA capitalists for quartz mining the boom ended - “Bad men” came to mining towns in gangs and rules through unofficial governments called vigilantes for the communities - Women were outnumbered by men in the mining towns, many young men had trouble finding women their age, the women that did come often brought their husbands and families and worked domestically but some single women came and worked for wages in the communities by helping with cooking and cleaning or got money through prostitution - Working conditions in the mines were very harsh, jobs were extremely arduous and dangerous as the mines could be 100  degrees Fahrenheight, there was poor ventiliation, and some caves collapsed The Cattle Kingdom - The Great Plains in the far West served as the perfect location for cattle ranching as ranchers had limitless land for the cattle to graze and were not restricted by farms, cattle ranching was a huge part of the western economy - Cattle farming was done originally by Mexicans and Texans, the “cattle kingdom” (large scale open range cattle farming dominated the landscape) was a result of the linking the Southwest Mexican and Texan ranching to Eastern markets through the “Long Drive” where herds of cattle traveled with ranchers on the Chisholm Trail to Kansas where they would be shipped to the East to be sold for food - Ranches eventually rose up due to competition for land in the Plains, farmers and ranchmen had “range wars” which led to deaths and the loss of land - Eventually due to harsh winters from 1855-1857, as well as running out of grass supply for ranching and long drives, cattle ranching declined - Women had more opportunities in the West than in the East as they worked in ranching and were involved in politics, gaining the right to vote there before in the East (Wyoming was the first) THE ROMANCE OF THE WEST The Western Landscape - Rocky Mountain School: painters depicted the wonders of the West’s natural beauties in their art which influenced western  settlement, a lot like the Hudson River School, romanticized the West as something extravagant that has never been seen before and enticed people to move out to start a new life in this “wonderland,” this also increased tourism as railroads expanded west and hotels+resorts were built The Cowboy Culture - Myth of the Cowboy: cowboys were romanticized as manly, rugged, living free lives, and powerful, when in reality they were just low paid workers that were lonely ➔ Owen Winster’s “The Virginian” portrayed the cowboy as living free of societal constraints, courageous, heroic, and one with nature, this encouraged western settlement The Idea of the Frontier - Many Americans considered the West to be the last frontier, the West has always served as comfort because it was a place where someone could start anew when times were tough, the West represented opportunity and choice in one’s life, this led to a stronger pull out west than ever before - Mark Twain wrote books about the Western frontier and it’s untamed and free spirited nature which drew people to the West - Frederick Remington: painter and sculptor, captured the West in a romanticized way and portrayed the cowboy as an aristocrat living in a natural world, something “civilization” (the east) was lacking - Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show: Buffalo Bill’s show was a form of entertainment that romanticized the Western frontier by featuring cowboys, buffalo hunting, and more, and portrayed  western life as rugged and heroic, enticing people to move west - Frederick Jackson Turner: wrote the Turner Thesis as part of his essay “The Signifigance of the Frontier in American History” where he claimed that the end of the frontier ended American democracy and ideology, his ideas were wrong as America did not decline after the frontier was all settled THE DISPOERSAL OF THE TRIBES White Tribal Policies - Traditionally the US regarded native tribes as sovereign nations and treaties could be negotiated with them through the Senate, relationship between natives and Americans was essentially just a bunch of broken promises (there was supposed to be a buffer between the natives and Americans to preserve native territory west of the Missouri river bend but that didn’t happen) - The idea of creating a large ethnic enclave of natives led to the rise of concentration ➔ Concentration Policy: 1851, US government assigned each tribe to a reservation through treatues with them (often the treaties were illegitimate and white americans just negotiated with anyone of their choice, calling them “treaty chiefs”), this allowed the US to have more control over the tribes and relocate them away from land that they wanted to take over for themselves ➔ Indian Peace Commission: 1857, created after a series of violent conflicts, reccomendation to repleace the concentration policy with a plan to move all of the Plains Indians into two reservations, one in the Dakotas and  one in Oklahoma (which was Indian territory), US government officials tricked the tribes into agreeing - Bureau of Indian Affairs: branch of the Department of the Interior responsible for land distribution, making payments, and supervising supplies shipment, the bureau’s agents in the West had no knowledge of tribal ways and were dishonest - Anglos slaughtered the buffalo that had supported tribal way of life and led to their near extinction, gangs went out to kill buffalo to sell their parts and RR companies hired people like Buffalo Bill to kill buffalos in order to make room for RR’s, also the ecological chnages from western white settlement decimated the buffalo population The Indian Wars - Indians resisted against whites and attacked ranches, US Amry got involved and the natives attacked the soldiers - Sand Creek Massacre: the Arapho and Cheyenna were angry that the miners were taking over their territory in Colorado so they attacked white settlements, ended up in a massacre of 133 natives by the white militia - Indian Hunting: white vigilantes in CA killed many natives in order to eliminate the tribes because they believed that they could never coexist - Battle of Little Bighorn: followed the Sioux resistance of leaving their reservation in 1857 and bring ordered to return, led by Sioux warriors Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, against colonel George A Custer, the tribes led a surprise attack and killed Custer as well as 264 of his soldiers, eventually the Indian army tired out and needed to find supplies so they broke apart and were forced to surrender+go back to the Dakota reservation  - Chief Joseph urged the members of the Nez Perce tribe to flee the reservation and almost reached Canada but Joseph and most of his followers were caught by American soldiers - Ghost Dance: ritual that believed that the Buffalo would return and whites would leave the plains, this territfied the government and they wanted to end the ritual - Wounded Knee Massacre: in 1890 the seventh Cavalry tried to round up a group of cold and starving Sioux in Wounded Knee, South Dakota, fighting broke out into a one side massacre as the white soliders were mainly the onky ones on offense, many natives were killed, especially women and children The Dawes Act - Dawes Act: passed in 1877 with the purpose of assimilating and Americanizing natives, government eliminated tribal lands and reservations and allotted land to individual owners, sent Indian children to boarding schools schools to rid them of their tribal culture, promoted christianity THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE WESTERN FARMER Farming on the Plains - Congress authorized and funded new RR’s, in 1869 the Transcontinental RR finished, the eastern and western tracks met at Promontory Point in Utah, opened up access for settlement in new areas - State governments encouraged railroad development by giving financial aid and land to RR companies - RR companies advertised their railroads to attract settlement of western lands, priced train rides very low so that anyone could afford the trip  - Barbed Wire: invented by Joseph Glidden and I. L. Ellwood, fundamentally changed agriculture as it protected crops from free grazing herds - The growth of the west depended heavily on irrigation as there was a lack of water in the West, droughts put many farmers in danger - Dry years in the 1880’s led to the fall of crop prices and production became more expensive which put many farmers in debt, this led to a reverse migration from the west to the east creating ghost towns Commercial Agriculture - Commercial farmers specialized in cash crops which made them dependent on bankers and interest rates - Modern forms of communication and transportation created new markets for agricultural goods, relied on theinternational market to purchase the surplus of goods that the domestic market could not use all of - Worldwide overproduction led to a drop in the proces of goods leading to bankruptcy for many farmers Farmer’s Grievances - RR companies had unfair pricing towards farmers and charged more to transport farmer’s goods, also charged more in the West and South than in the Northeast - High interest rates from banks made it hard for farmers to pay back loans so farmers resented institutions controlling credit (sources of Credit in the West and South were scares leading to the loans in the first place)  - Many farmers believe that manufacturers in the East were conspiring to make farmer’s good’s at low prices and industrial goods at high prices on the world market The Agrarian Malaise - Economic difficulties produced social and cultural resentments ➔ Farm families were cut off from the outside world and isolated as they were scattered over vast areas ➔ Writers romanticized the cowboy and miner but not the farmer, and farmers were declining in relation to the urban industrial societies of the east