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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Myth and Reality (the West)
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Migrants of the late 19th century found the West to be not a “frontier” or “Great Desert”, but it was filled with well developed societies and cultures (Indian, French, British Canadian, Mexican, and Asian) that had been living there for generations
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Caste System
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o System that emerged in the West between Spaniards and Pueblos and other tribes.
o 1. Spaniards or Mexicans 2. Pueblos (subordinate but largely still free) 3. Apaches, Navajos, and others (at the bottom) – knows as genizaros or Indians without tribes |
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Plains Indians
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o Diverse group of tribes and language groups
o Close and extended family networks and intimate relationships with nature o Tribes split into bands with their own governing councils (gender oriented tasks) o Most formidable warriors that white settlers encountered |
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Economic Importance of the Buffalo
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o Economic basis for the Plains Indians’ way of life
o All of animal was used: clothes, food, weapons, fuel, teepees, etc. |
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Indian Weaknesses
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o Inability to unite against white aggression
o Vulnerable to eastern infectious diseases |
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Taos Indian Rebellion
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o In NM after the US acquired the land from the Mexican War, Gen. Stephen Kearny established a territorial government that excluded the established Mexican ruling class. The Taos Indians rebelled, killing the Anglo-American governor and other officials before being subdued by the US Army
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Hispanic Resistance
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o Societies survived in SW because they were so far away from centers of English-speaking society and other migrants were slow to get there
o Mexican Americans needed to fight a lot to keep control of their societies |
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Decline of Mission Society
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o 1830s – Mexican government reduced the power of the church, and the mission society largely collapsed
o Instead, a secular Mexican aristocracy emerged |
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Declining Status of Hispanics
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o Mexicans in CA and TX and other territories were an increasingly impoverished working class
o The Mexican ranchers could not compete with the Anglo-American ranching kingdoms |
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Racism Against Chinese
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o Chinese immigrants mainly settled in CA, where at first they were welcomed, but the white attitude turned hostile because the Chinese were so industrious and successful
o Laws were passed to discourage Chinese immigration into the territory |
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Building the Transcontinental Railroad
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o Chinese workers made up most of the work force constricting the western part of the railroad – they were an easy workforce to command
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Establishments of "Chinatowns"
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o After the completion of the railroad (1869), many Chinese flocked to cities
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Anti-Coolie Clubs
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o 1860s and 1870s – sought a ban on employing Chinese and organized boycotts of products made with Chinese labor
o Chinese were hated for their culture, economics, and racism |
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Chinese Exclusion Act
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o 1882 – banned Chinese immigration into the US for 10 years/barred Chinese already in US from becoming naturalized citizens
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Chinese Resistance
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o Letter-writing campaigns, petitioned the president, filed suit in federal court – no great effect
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Homestead Act
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o 1862 – small price for 160 acres – need to live on it for 5 years and improve it
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Government Assistance
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o Timber Culture Act (1863) – grants of 160 acres to homesteaders if they planted 40 acres of trees on them
o Desert Land Act (1877) – claimants could buy 640 acres at $1.25/acre if their irrigated part of their holdings within 3 years o Timber and Stone Act (1878) - $2.50/acre |
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Limited Social Mobility
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o Social mobility was not really any greater in the West than in the East
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Racially Stratified Working Class
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o Although many different racial classes worked together, whites were generally on the upper tiers of employment, and nonwhites were most of the lower tiers
o Racial employment myths were embraced by employers and white workers |
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Life Cycle of a Mining Boom
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o News would hit/several stages of settlement/individuals would exploit the first shallow deposits/corporations would go deeper in the surface/permanent economy established when deposits were almost gone
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Comstock Load
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o Gold rush in Nevada – Washoe district
o Everything had to be sent from other places of the US, because there was nothing there |
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Boomtown Life
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o Everyone had an optimistic outlook
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Gender Imbalance
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o Men greatly outnumbered women
o Outlaws and “bad men” were attracted to the gold mine scenes |
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Mexican Origins
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o Ranchers developed techniques of branding, roundups, roping, and equipment for ranching
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Chisholm Trail
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o Trail to Abilene, with many rampaging cowboys
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Competition with Farmers
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o Sheep breeders from CA and OR brought their flocks and competed for grass
o “Range wars” erupted out of the tensions between competing groups |
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Political Gains for Women
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o Wyoming was the first state to guarantee women suffrage
o Mormons allowed women suffrage to try to stave off criticism about polygamy |
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"Rocky Mountain School"
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o Painters who celebrated the West in grandiose canvases
o Emphasized the ruggedness and dramatic variety of the region |
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Myth of the Cowboy
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o Romanticized his freedom from traditional social constraints, his affinity with nature, even his propensity for violence
o This was not the actual life of a cowboy (lonely, tediousness, physical discomforts, not many opportunities for advancements) |
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Romantic Image of the West
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o Idea of the West comforted those who wanted to start a new life
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Frederic Remington
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o Painter and sculptor
o Portrayed the cowboy as a natural aristocrat |
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Turner's Frontier Thesis
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o Frederick Jackson Turner wrote a paper (“The Significance of the Frontier in American History”) – he stated a continuous frontier line could no longer be drawn
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Psychological Loss
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o People thought that as the West was no longer an empty, open land, opportunities were foreclosed and individuals were no longer able to control their destinies
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"Concentration Policy"
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o Idea of establishing one enclave in which many tribes could live, because of white demands for access to lands in Indian Territory
o Tribes were defined their own defined reservations confirmed by treaties |
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Poorly Administered Reservations
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o White management was for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with men in the West running it who were dishonest and incompetent
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Decimation of the Buffalo
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o White hunting and ecological changes killed much of the buffalo population
o By killing buffalo, whites were destroying Indians’ source of food and supplies and their ability to resist white advance |
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Indian Resistance
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o 1850s-1880s – constant fighting between whites and Indians
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Sand Creek Massacre
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o Arapaho and Cheyenne band under Black Kettle camped near Fort Lyon on Sand Creek (Nov. 1864)
o Colonel J. M. Chivington encouraged unemployed miners to attack the unsuspecting camp, killed 133 Indians |
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"Indian Hunting"
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o Violence by white vigilantes who tracked down and killed Indians
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Little Bighorn
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o The Sioux left their land and were ordered back – under Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, the Indians surrounded George A. Custer’s regiment and killed every man
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Chief Joseph
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o Followers fled from whites to Canada/were caught at the Canadian border
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"Ghost Dance"
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o Emotional dance which inspired ecstatic visions that many participants believed were genuinely mystical
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Wounded Knee
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o Dec. 1890 – 40 white soldiers and 200 Indians died
o What began the conflict is a matter of dispute |
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Assimilation
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o Dawes Severalty Act (1887) – gradual elimination of tribal ownership of land and the allotment of tracts to individual owners
o Adult owners could gain US citizenship, but took 25 years to gain full title to property |
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Key Role of Railroad
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o Helped spur agricultural settlement in the West
o Provided customers for services and increase value of landholdings |
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Barbed Wire
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o Joseph H. Glidden/I. L. Ellwood developed barbed wire
o It became standard equipment on plains |
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Drought
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o After 1887, series of dry seasons began that threw off the people of the West
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Consequences of Overproduction
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o Drop in prices for most agricultural goods
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Farmers' Grievances
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o Resented institution of controlling credit
o Grievance against railroads – higher freight rates for farm good than other goods o Prices they received and paid for goods |
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Isolation
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o Isolation of farm life – virtually cut off from the outside world
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