The West in the Gilded Age
AP U.S. History: Unit 6.3 Student Edition
The West in the Gilded Age
Themes of the Gilded Age:
Industrialism: U.S. became the world's most powerful economy by 1890s (exceeding combined output of Britain and Germany; railroads, steel, oil, electricity, banking
Unions and reform movements sought to curb the injustices of industrialism.
Urbanization: America was transformed from an agrarian nation to an urban nation between 1865 (where 50% of Americans were farmers) and 1920 (where only 25% were farmers). (2% today)
Millions of "New Immigrants" came from Southern and Eastern Europe, mostly to cities to work in factories.
By 1900 society had become more stratified into classes than any time before or since.
The "Great West": farming, mining, & cattle frontiers Farmers increasingly lost ground in the new industrial economy and
eventually organized (Populism). In 1880, 25% of those who farmed did not own their land. 90% of African Americans lived in the South; 75% were tenant farmers or sharecroppers. Politics: hard vs. soft money ('70s & '90s); tariff ('80s); corruption due to political machines, patronage & trusts (throughout late 19th c.); election of 1896
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APUSH Lecture Notes Unit 6.3: The West in the Gilded Age
Intro: Frederick Jackson Turner: "Significance of the Frontier in American History" (1893)
"Up to our own day American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West. The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward, explain American development."
A. Turner argued the closing of the frontier had ended an era in American history.
B. He used the census report of 1890 to explain that settlement of the frontier had created the American character and spurred American development.
C. His essay illustrates the psychological power of the frontier in that, with its passing, Americans began to realize that revitalized opportunities were also vanishing.
I. "Great West" A. Spanned from the Great Plains in the east to the California desert in the west B. A flood of whites to the area occurred after the Civil War. 1. In 1865, few white people lived in the area (except Mormons in Utah and scattered Spanish-Mexican settlements in Southwest). 2. Many who came west were Civil War veterans; some were black. C. Area inhabited by Plains Indians: Sioux and Comanche, southwestern Amerindians such as Apache and Navajo, and northwestern Amerindians including Nez Perce and Shoshoni. D. By 1890, the entire area had been carved into states except for four territories. 1. Pioneers poured into the vast area in one of the most rapid settlements of such a vast area in all human history. 2. Expansion was spurred by the Homestead Act of 1862 and the transcontinental railroad (see pages below) E. Amerindians stood in the way of expansion on two fronts: westward from the trans-Mississippi East and eastward from the Pacific Coast. F. African-Americans in the West 1. 18% of the California population by 1890 2. Many were involved in the fur trade in 1820s and 1840s. 3. Over 500,000 lived west of Mississippi; many came west as slaves. 4. After 1877, about 200,000 blacks moved West, many began homesteading in Kansas or Oklahoma--the "exodusters" 5. As many as 1 in 4 cowboys were black.
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APUSH Lecture Notes Unit 6.3: The West in the Gilded Age
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II. Americans vs. Amerindians A. Plains Amerindians 1. The Spanish-introduced horse in 16th, 17th and 18th centuries made Amerindians more nomadic and war-like as they had more range and competed for resources. 2. By 1860, tens of thousands of buffalo-hunting Amerindians roamed the western plains. a. Their society was organized into tribes, which were usually subdivided into "bands" of about 500 men and women, each with a governing council. b. Women assumed domestic and artistic roles, while men hunted, traded, and supervised religious and military life. c. Each tribe's warrior class competed with others to demonstrate bravery. d. Western tribes never successfully united politically or militarily against white power, thus contributing to their defeat by the U.S. 3. Government policy toward Amerindians: a. The federal gov't regarded tribes both as independent nations and as wards of the state and therefore negotiated treaties with them that required ratification by the Senate. b. Tribes were often victimized by corrupt white officials charged with protecting them. c. As white settlers moved west, more pressure existed for access to Amerindian lands. d. The gov't frequently violated treaties they made with Native Americans. Railroad companies were granted "right-of-way" lands where the transcontinental railroad was being built plus land grants near the railroads, thus intruding on Amerindian lands. e. Concentration policy: 1851, the U.S. gov't began a policy of inducing tribes to concentrate in areas to the north and south of intended white settlement. f. Concentration was intensified in the 1860s when Amerindians were herded into still smaller areas ? "relocation" Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868): Sioux were "guaranteed" the sanctuary of the Black Hills in Dakota Territory. Other tribes were relocated to "Indian Territory" (Oklahoma). Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the Department of the Interior was in charge of Indian reservations. 4. Amerindians surrendered ancestral lands so they would be left alone and given food, clothing and other supplies. a. Federal Indian agents were often corrupt, giving poor or damaged provisions. Some profited handsomely by embezzling funds. b. Treaties were often disregarded while lands were seized and
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APUSH Lecture Notes Unit 6.3: The West in the Gilded Age
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game was killed. c. Corrupt BIA practices resulted in constant conflicts between tribes
and nearby white settlers.
B. Warfare 1. 1868-1890, constant warfare raged in the West between Amerindians and whites. a. U.S. troops were largely composed of Civil War veterans. 20% of all soldiers assigned to the frontier were black (many served in the Buffalo Regiment and were known by the Amerindians as "Buffalo Soldiers"). U.S. forces were led by Generals Sherman, Sheridan ("the only good Indian is a dead Indian") and Custer. b. Plains Amerindians were expert fighters who often had stateof-the-art weapons supplied from fur traders (e.g. repeating rifles). 2. Sand Creek Massacre, Colorado, 1864 a. 1861, the Cheyenne and Arapaho were forced into the desolate Sand Creek reservation due to gold mining. b. Tensions resulted in scattered battles until the Cheyenne surrendered and reported to gov't areas. c. Colonel J. M. Chivington's militia massacred about 150 Amerindians who had been promised immunity and protective custody by the gov't. 3. Sioux War of 1876-1877 a. Began when gold miners rushed to the Black Hills of South Dakota in1875 b. Warriors led by Sitting Bull attacked U.S. forces after treaties had been violated. c. U.S. Army led by Gen. George A. Custer who pursued the Sioux d. Battle of Little Big Horn (1876) Custer's forces clashed with 2,500 well-armed warriors in eastern Montana led by Crazy Horse. Custer and his 264 men were completely wiped out; about 150 Amerindians died as well. e. U.S. reinforcements chased Sitting Bull to Canada where he received political asylum; hunger forced the Sioux to return and surrender to the U.S. 4. Nez Perce (located in Idaho) a. Chief Joseph was a noble and humane leader, who had earlier helped white settlers and explorers. b. Nez Perce ceded much land to the U.S. in 1855 in return for a large reservation in Oregon and Idaho. Later, the Nez Perce were forced to cede even more land after gold was discovered.
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APUSH Lecture Notes Unit 6.3: The West in the Gilded Age
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c. In 1877, the U.S. gov't ordered the removal of the Nez Perce from the Wallowa Valley in Oregon by agreement or by force.
d. War ensued and the Nez Perce won several battles before fleeing. e. The Nez Perce undertook a 75-day, 1,500 mile retreat to Canada.
They sought out Sitting Bull's camp in Canada but were subdued only 30 miles from the border -- 1 day's trip)
f. The Nez Perce were subsequently shipped south to a malariainfested camp in Kansas, before their final relocation in Oklahoma. They had been promised a reservation in the Dakotas but the U.S. reneged. Over a third of the tribe died of disease.
g. The Nez Perce were eventually allowed to return to the northwest but not to the Wallowa Valley.
5. Apache a. Cochise led a successful 9-year guerrilla war from his base in the Rocky Mountains The U.S. offered the Apache a deal but later reneged. b. Apache were later led by Geronimo (Arizona, New Mexico) c. He was pursued by the U.S. into Mexico and finally induced to surrender. d. Many Apache became successful farmers in Oklahoma, where they also raised cattle.
6. Wounded Knee (1890) a. Last major clash between U.S. troops and American Indians b. The army was sent to end the practice of the sacred "Ghost Dance" performed by the Dakota Sioux. Believers of the cult expected buffalo to return and God's wrath to wipe the white man from the face of the earth. Fearful whites (many were Christian reformers on reservations) successfully urged the U.S. gov't to make it illegal. c. 300 Sioux men, women, and children were massacred; 60 U.S. soldiers were killed.
C. Result of Indian Wars 1. By 1890, effectively all North American tribes were on reservations. a. The U.S. gov't felt it was cheaper to feed Indians than to fight them. b. Yet, many reservations were grossly ignored by the U.S. gov't. 2. Killing of buffalo resulted in the Plains Amerindians being subdued a. Buffalo had been used by Amerindians for food, clothing, shelter, tools, and religious icons. b. Originally about 50 million buffalo roamed the plains; reduced to 15 million in 1868 and less than 1,000 by 1885 c. Much of the food supply during railroad construction came from bison while U.S. Army and agents of the BIA also encouraged ? 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than
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