Settlement%20of%20the%20West

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Settlement of the West
Question When you hear the phrase The West
what do you think of? Write down at least two
things in your notebook.
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How about demCowboys?
One out of three cowboys were African American.
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Settlers and Natives Collide

• The western US was considered all of the land
  west of the Mississippi River.
• The two cultures conflicted on military and
  cultural grounds.
• N.A.s were semi-nomadic and hunted and gathered
  their food.
• Settlers were stationary, industrialized, and
  their source of food came from ploughed fields.

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• In 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad crossed the
  US from shore to shore. It allowed people to
  travel to the west easier. Railroad contracts to
  remove N.A.s?
• N.A.s relied on the buffalo for everything. As
  trains would pass, people shot the buffalo for
  shooting practice, or just for their hides.
• In 1900, only 1,000 buffalo were on the plains.
  Food shortages for N.A.s developed and they
  became dependent on the government just to
  survive.

(Buffalo Picture Handout)
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Buffalo Hides, 1870
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Coyote hides, 2000s
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European Settlers

• Settlers believed that N.A.s had given up their
  right to the land because they had not settled
  down and farmed on it.
• Boom towns rose over night in California,
  Colorado, and Nevada due to precious metal
  strikes.
• These early towns were nothing but shacks, dirt
  streets, wooden
• sidewalks.

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Rockford, State Street Bridge 1855
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Farming the Great Plains

• John Deere, an IL blacksmith, developed a steel
  plow to sow tough prairie grass and soil.
• Homestead Act 1862- 160 acres of free land to
  anyone who could cultivate the land for 5 years.
• Wagon trains formed, and the journey was long,
  uncomfortable and dangerous.
• 400-600,000 people from crowded towns,
  immigrants, A.A.s, or those seeking adventure
  came from 1862-1900.

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Dangers of the Prairie
Locusts (grasshoppers) eat all of your crops.
Stampeding Cattle run you over.
Rattlesnakes can be found in the tall prairie
grasses.
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John Deere
Advertisement for farm implements in Rockford,
1865
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John Deere Combine, 2007
McCormick reaper, early 1900s
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Assimilation/Genocide?

• Assimilation- N.A.s living as Europeans.
• Genocide- massacres. A good Indian is a dead
  Indian. N.A.s would leave the reservation
  because they were starving. US Government would
  kill N.A.s because they left.
• Most N.A. massacres were called battles in
  order to make the N.A.s look like the bad guys,
  and to make the US Government look more powerful.

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Sand Creek Massacre

• In Sand Creek, Colorado, a group of N.A.s raided
  a nearby town for food. The militia was sent
  out. The N.A.s were to either give themselves up
  or die.
• N.A.s stayed on the reservation, waved the US
  flag and a white flag.
• The militia killed 200 mostly women and children
  to send a message. The army officer who ordered
  the attack was considered a hero.

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The Cutting of My Long Hair

• How would you have felt if you were in her
  situation?
• What would you have done to prevent it from
  happening?

3 yrs later
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Carlisle Boarding School for Native Americans
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Outlaws and Lawmen of the West

• For each one of the outlaws, create a wanted
  poster in your notebook. You must have a major
  reason why they are outlaws listed, and include a
  picture. Example
• For Each of the lawmen, create an
  Honor Roll. Same concept, just
  reasons why they are good.

WANTED! Billy the KID For! 1,000 Dollar
Reward! Preferably Dead.
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Last Hanging in Rockford