The American West Midterm

Front 1

"Gold Mountain"

Back 1

-The name given to first California and then to other parts of western North America by Chinese immigrants after gold was discovered in 1848.
-Sensational names and descriptions such as this spurred more immigration from China and elsewhere, perpetuating the gold rush.

Front 2

Golden spike

Back 2

-Spike given to Leland Stanford to ceremonious drive and unite the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, May 10th, 1869.
-Spike was never actually driven, the scripted documentation of event excluded most of the workingmen who'd actually completed the railroad.

Front 3

Great American Desert

Back 3

-The western great plains, acquired in the Louisana Purchase in 1803. Because of their semi-arid nature and lack of timber they were thought to be unfit for farming and fir only for Indians.
-As settlers traveled to Oregon and Carlifornia in the 1840s and 1850s the notion was discredited and the area began to be settled- many believed "rain followed the plow" and tried to farm anyway- only some were successful.

Front 4

Ben Holladay

Back 4

-The "stagecoach king" who operated stagecoach routes from California, including the Overland Stage Route starting in 1862.
-Bought the Pony express in 1862 but sold all of his routes to Wells Fargo in 1866. By 1869 the transcontinental railroad was finished and the stagecoach business dwindled.

Front 5

Homestead Act

Back 5

-Signed by Lincoln, 1862
-A federal law that granted free title to land in 160 acre parcels if they were shown to improve it.
-Only passed because most Southern legislators, who would have opposed it, had left. The law disposed Indians and did not prevent rich landowners from accumulating land (false notion of "safety valve.") Led to some greater independence for women.

Front 6

Hudson's Bay Company

Back 6

-Incorporated with a royal charter from Britain 1670 to control the fur trade in the Hudson Bay watershed
-Native Americans and Métis did most of the fur trapping; made the Indians more dependent on European goods. Competed with the French and eventually expanded to Birtish Columbia and combined with North West Company.

Front 7

Hurons

Back 7

-Native American tribe of northern NY, Ontario and Quebec. Enemies of the Iroquois confederacy. Allied with the French during the French & Indian war starting in 1754. Were devastated by disease and increased conflict with Iroquois over fur trade. The Jesuits had some success converting them, especially women, and would live among them.

Front 8

Indian Removal Act

Back 8

-Signed by Andrew Jackson, 1830
-Overrode the decision of the supreme court to let the Cherokees keep control of their land.
-Led to the forced removal of most Indians from the eastern states, and the Trail of Tears.

Front 9

Ke-o-kuk

Back 9

-Chief of the Sauk people who had a policy of cooperation with the US Government.
-Black Hawk protested his cooperation and the conflict led to Black Hawk's War in 1832.

Front 10

King Philip's War

Back 10

-Conflict in southern New England from 1675–1676.
-King Philip, as the settlers called the Wampanoag chief, waged attaks on English settlements and the English retaliated- there was total war and terrorism on both sides as a result of growing tensions between the two cultures. Eventually the colonist won after much loss of life.

Front 11

Land Ordinance

Back 11

-Law passed in 1785, organized the surveying and sale of land in the Northwest Territories for settlers. Parcels were in 640 acre square, making it difficult for individual settlers to purchase. Set aside land for education. Raised revenue for the government which at the time couldn't levy taxes.

Front 12

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Back 12

-Spanish Dominican Priest who lived in Hispaniola. In 1513 witnessed the conquest of Cuba and the slaughter of Indians that accompanied it.
-Wrote "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies" in 1552 and was a fierce advocate against the genocide of the Indians.

Front 13

Manuel Lisa

Back 13

-French-Creole fur trader who helped to found the Missouri Fur Company in St. Louis in 1809. Controlled large portions of the upper Missouri and developed strong relationships with Native Americans. 1811 expedition demonstrated fierce competition between his and John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, which eventually monopolized the industry.

Front 14

"long lots"

Back 14

-Narrow strips of land that continued back from a river in the typical pattern of French settlement.
-Access to the river was key for the fur trade.
-Each lot was originally managed by a seigneur in a semi-feudal system then divided among the purchasers.

Front 15

Malínche

Back 15

-Mistress, interpreter and adviser to Cortés. Introduced to him in 1519.
-Her role was key to the conquest of Mexico, and she gave brith to one of the first mestizo people of the New World. Her name signifies both the mother of the new Mexican people and a traitor to Mexico.

Front 16

Mandan Buffalo Dance

Back 16

-The Mandan are an Indian tribe originating from North and South Dakota. Louis and Clark wintered with them in 1804- in this camp they met Sacajawea.
-Because of the introduction of the horse and the fur trade, they developed a material culture and hunted buffalo for commercial purposes, but also farmed and were at risk form nomadic raids from the Sioux and others.

Front 17

Mary Rowlandson

Back 17

Massachusetts colonial woman who was captured by Indians during King Philip's war in 1675. With 3 of her children she was held for 11 weeks then randsomed. She wrote "The Sovereignty and Goodness of God" about her experience which became a best seller in its time.
-The book is an early example of the captivity narrative, a common theme.

Front 18

Massacre at Bad Axe River

Back 18

-Occurred 1-2 August, 1832, in a battle between the Sauk and Fox tribes and the US Military. Men, women and children were killed, and many who escape were killed by Souix waiting on the other side of the Mississippi river- the US killed about 150 people. It was referenced to as a massacre almost immediately, but it ended the Black Hawk war.

Front 19

Mestizo

Back 19

-Term used by the Spanish empire to describe people with mixed native and European blood. The first recognized Mestizo was the son of Malinche and Cortés, born c. 1523. These people grew in number over the course of Spanish dominance in Latin America, and represent a literal mixing of the two worlds.

Front 20

Métis

Back 20

During the fur trade, French-Canadians often became intimate with Native women, producing métis children. Eventually these people became their own distinct ethnic group and tribe, and they frequently traded along the Red River Trail from the 1820-1870s, using their distinctive carts.

Front 21

Montezuma

Back 21

Emperor of the Aztec Empire when Cortés invaded in 1519. He welcomed Cortés and his army into the palace, but at some point he became their prisoner and was either killed by them or in protest by his own people. He was the last Emperor of the Aztecs and his sometimes held up as an example of their failure to stop the invasion.

Front 22

Joaquín Murrieta

Back 22

A Mexican man who came to mine for gold in the rush of 1849 in California. According to legend, he was beaten by a group of white men and his wife was raped. He then rode as a bandit out for revenge. His story combined the exploits of at least 5 men, and his support among the Mexicans demonstrated their frustration with substandard treatment despite their citizenship. One of his biographies was written in 1854 by a decedent of John Rollin Ridge, a Cherokee.

Front 23

Nootka Sound

Back 23

A sound in British Columbia where Spain and Britain almost went to war over disputed rights to sovereignty and trade in 1789. The settlement in the Nootka Convention vaguely established British dominance in the area, but highlighted the difficulty of claiming territory without settlements. This was not really resolved until Oregon Treaty in 1846 set the southern boundary of Canada.

Front 24

Northwest Ordinance

Back 24

1784, passed by the Confederation of the United States. This established the Northwest territory and set up a system through which the territories could become states. It prohibited slavery in the territory. The system for establishing new states with the the same stature of the original states was a very successful form to gain territory, and this precedent was followed in all expansion.

Front 25

Northwest Ordinance

Back 25

1784, passed by the Confederation of the United States. This established the Northwest territory and set up a system through which the territories could become states. It prohibited slavery in the territory. The system for establishing new states with the the same stature of the original states was a very successful form to gain territory, and this precedent was followed in all expansion.

Front 26

Nueces Strip

Back 26

A 100 mile swath on the left bank of the Rio Grande from the Gulf of Mexico to southern Colorado, populated before the Mexican war with Tejanos. This was Mexican territory, but President Polk claimed the bounty at the Rio Grande. When his soldiers crossed the Nueces and were eventually attacked by the Mexicans, he used the attack to declare war. (1846)

Front 27

Ohio Company

Back 27

Land speculation company organized to colonize the Ohio River Valley, mostly organized by Virginians. The land was also claimed by New France, however, and began to build forts in the area to protect their interests. Virginian troops were sent in and the French and Indian war thus broke out in 1754.

Front 28

Paxton Boys

Back 28

Vigilante group that murdered 20 Native Americans in western Pennsylvania in 1763. The Indians had been peaceful but the boys perceived that they were getting more support from the government then themselves. The murders were condemned but allowed to speak to the state legislature to voice their complaints. Shows the discontent growing between the frontiersmen and the more eastern Americans.

Front 29

Placer mining

Back 29

The mining of riverbeds and their neighboring areas for minerals. This was used during the California and Klondike gold rushes in the form of gold panning. However, for many inexperienced 49ers the work proved too difficult and the tall tales of reward were highly exaggerated. Hydraulic mining also caused widespread environmental destruction where it was practiced.

Front 30

Salvage Anthropology

Back 30

-1832-1870s, George Catlin's career
- Attempt to create a record of what exists in a particular moment under the anticipation that i will soon go away, especially in the 1830s in regards to Native Americans.

Front 31

Tejanos

Back 31

-The Alamo, 1836
-Texan independence 1835-1836
-Mexican war 1846-1848
-native born Mexicans in the Texas province of Mexico. mostly raised long horn cattle. torn between hopes of economic development under Texan independence an their 10 year loyalty to the New Mexican state. Many supported the Texans in the TX war of independence but they were on dangerous ground on both sides. Bitter anti-Tejano sentiment after the was communities were uprooted and expelled.

Front 32

Joseph Smith

Back 32

-founder of Mormonism in 1830
-a visionary who claimed to have discovered a set of hammered golden plates covered w/hieroglyphs, told of a lost tribe of Israel that had come to the New world, American Indians were their decedents.
-created a community of several 100 converts, cane into conflict w/ neighbors, moved around, Smith imprisoned and killed by a mob. Mormons went off to found Salt Lake city

Front 33

St. Paul Trail

Back 33

-1830s-1840s, ended by 1860s
-a trail to St. Paul, Minnesota- Red River Trail- traveled on by many Catholic Métis, avoided open praries, followed the rivers, use of red river carts.
-Métis spoke a pigeon language that was a combo of native tounges and French
-annual value of trade to ST. Paul in 1830s-1840s was $250,000- same as Santa Fe trail at ts peak. But Santa Fe trail was a prelude ot conquest, this involved Métis not Americans

Front 34

Sutter's Mill

Back 34

1848
-Site of gold discovery that first led to the California gold rush- James Marshall while constructing a sawmill for John Sutter (built a large trading post in CA)
-California gold rush that this discovery precipitated provided the lodestone for exploration of the Far west in the 2nd half of the 19th century, caused the rush of 10,000s to the pacific coast. 1848 rush came, but not until Polk mentioned the rumors in his state of the union did the big 1849 rush begin.

Front 35

Tenskwatawa

Back 35

1780-1830
-part of the spiritual revitalization among Indians in the trans Mississippi west, "the shawnee prophet."
-taught that alcohol was the white man's poison, that followers must abandon white ways; people who followed him would be rewarded in the afterlife (adaptation of Christina imagery). Community of followers at Tippecanoe, joined by brother Techumseh, attached by Harrison at the battle of Tippecanoe, supplied by British in the War of 1812, a disaster.

Front 36

Tlaxcalans

Back 36

-fight with Spanish- 1519
-a small republic in Mexico invaded by Cortes, bitter fighting, Tlaxclans surrendered and agreed to help with the invasion of Tenochtitlan. (Aztecs were their enemies).
-conquest of Mexico was largely accomplished by Indians fighting Indians- an important lesson drawn from Cortés conquest and a patter repeated many times during the conquest of the Americas.

Front 37

Tlingits

Back 37

1800-1880
-wealthy society of natives in the pacific NW
-Russians moved southward into their territory w/ increasing fur trade competition from British, french, americans, some conflict, then learned to coexist. Tlingits grew prposperous by supplying Russians w/food, controlling trade with the interior tribes. Shows the profiteering of indians during expansion.
-fortunes shifted w/presence of americans and after 1867 lost their intermediary role. were prevented from sharing in prosperous mills and mines, simply worked as guides for prospectors, patters of fishing and hunting disrupted by mines.

Front 38

Topographical Engineers

Back 38

-founded 1888
-created to map the design and construction of federal civil works, coastal fortification and navigation routes.
-both scientific and practical agenda- pursuit of knowledge that could help with expansion. Printed reports which sometimes became very popular (John Frémont). Evidence of federal gov'ts increasing involvement with the emergent West.

Front 39

Trail of Tears

Back 39

1830s, Cherokee in 1838
-after a long battle over Cherokee removal from Georgia, the US army began rounding up Cherokees in 1838.
-1000s were herded into concentration camps before a forced march westward, on which 1000s died.
-one of the most brutal instances of Indian removal, given the cherokee's resistance to forced relocation and given the revitalization and civilization of the Cherokees since the revolutionary war.

Front 40

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

Back 40

1848
-treaty that ended the Mexican-American war, confirmed the annexation of Texas, set the Rio Grande as the boundary, California and New Mexico ceded as War reparations, US made payment ot Mexico and repaid US citizens claims against Mexico, male citizens could chose new citizenship
-the last great acquisition of land in the continental US, revealed the sham of a 'permanent" Indian territory in great plains
-debate over whether to make the new territory slave or free ensued. Mexicans supposedly secured by the treaty were not secured in practice- rise of violence/banditary.

Front 41

Walking Purchase

Back 41

1737
-under terms negotiated by William Penn ~50 years earlier, Delaware Indians had agreed to ceded land bounded by the distance a man could travel in a day and a half.
-Pennsyl. authorities hired special walkers to "run" the distance- violation of the spirit of the agreement that revealed contempt for indians.
-overturned PA's history of fair dealing w/indians, remained on Indian's minds for years to come.

Front 42

Western Federation of Miners

Back 42

Founded in 1893
-prohibition against the use of armed force against workers- reaction against the Coeur d'Alene confrontation that killed several miners
-took radical position, arguing for fundamental social and economic change in the country
organizers for WFM appeared in every western mining town- became strongest working man's organization in the west, helped found industrial workers of the world, later (indication of industrialization of of western mining/west in general)

Front 43

John White

Back 43

1550-1600
-artist on Walter Raleigh's expedition to north Carolina, 1585
-his watercolors were the most accurate images of Indians made before the 19th C.
-returned as the governor of a new colony that included families
-created a plan for families to live in association with natives, those he still did think English culture was superiors, a culture of violence had already been established.
- sailed home for reinforcements, returned and found that the colony had disappeared.

Front 44

Wilmot Proviso

Back 44

1846
-amendment introduced by congressman Wilmot to an appropriations bill
-applied the restriction of the NW ordinance to land acquired from Mexico that slavery was outlawed
-shattered the expansionist coalition, dividing it along sectional lines
-helped to lead to the compromise of 1850s (CA admitted as a free state, New Mexico and Utah admitted under "popular sovereignty")

Front 45

Acoma

Back 45

The city “in the sky” where the Pueblo tribe attempted to hold of Juan de Oñate’s siege in 1598. On an expedition to found, claim, and conquer territory for “Nuevo Mexico” (while simultaneously trying to discover a new Aztec empire full of gold and treasures), Oñate laid siege to the city where he killed hundreds and captured many more. After almost abandoning the new colony when no riches were found, Acoma (now called Santa Fe) became the base of a massive missionary effort by the Franciscan monks.

Front 46

Alamo

Back 46

An ancient mission in San Antonio, Texas where a small force of Texans under the command of William Travis (including Davie Crockett and James Bowie) reinforced themselves after Sam Houston moved troops to northern Texas in early 1836. Following the subsequent attack by Santa Ana, all of the Texans (and Tejanos) that remained in the Alamo were killed even though Santa Ana gained no strategic advantage by taking the fort. The Alamo and her dead would serve as an emotional reminder to countless generations and the battle cry “Remember the Alamo” would keep potential deserters in the ranks and recruits ready for battle throughout the war.

Front 47

Alaschka

Back 47

The original name for the territory of Alaska, this is a native Aleutian word that means “great land.” The territory was first purchased by the Secretary of State William Seward in 1867 from the Russians who had previously called it Russian America. Most Americans ridiculed the purchase and referred to Alaska as a snowy ice box until the discovery of gold there in the late 19th century.

Front 48

Aleuts

Back 48

The native peoples of the northwestern United States, western Canada, and Alaska. These peoples were skillful traders and had been in contact with the Russians beginning in 1741 when an expedition by Vitus Bering discovered a wealth of sea otter furs. The Russians soon declared the Aleuts a conquered people and placed outrageous fines, constraints, and abuses on them. Even though the Aleuts lacked a strong military tradition, many soon rose in revolt and were promptly squashed by the Russians. Although the Aleuts were not successful at fending of outside forces, their art, culture, way of life, and traditions survived better than any other North American tribe.

Front 49

American Railway Union

Back 49

A militant labor organization that replaced the Knights of Labor after they faded away after numerous defeats and unsuccessful strikes in the late 1880s. Founded by Eugene Debs, the ARU caused one of the most memorable strikes and railroad history. In 1894, the union instructed all of its members not to handle Pullman cars in support of another union that was striking against the Pullman Sleeping Car Company. In the end, President Grover Cleveland called in federal troops to stop the strike, leaving thirteen dead, many wounded, and the nation’s rail traffic at a stand still.

Front 50

Astoria

Back 50

A tiny post that was built at the mouth of the Colombia River by and in honor of John Jacob Astor in 1811. Astor had become the richest man in America by selling furs and had founded the American Fur Company. Propelled by a vision of a Western Empire where he could engage in trade with Russia and the Orient from the western coast of the future United States, Astor sent an expedition to help scout the newly-acquired Louisiana territory and secure a fort for his own trading purposes. Because of numerous pressures from Spain, Britain, and Russia, an incompetent captain named Jonathan Thorn, and poor interactions with the natives, the remaining fortifiers eventually signed over control of Astoria to the British in 1812.

Front 51

Aztecs

Back 51

A powerful empire that existed in the central valley of Mexico until the arrival of the Spaniards and the conquest of Cortés in 1519. Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs, eventually brought about the decline of his empire by overestimating the power of his own forces and inviting the Spaniards into the city and his home. Disease (especially small pox), other vengeful tribes who assisted the conquistadors, and the presence of gold spelled the demise of the Aztec empire after the Spaniards had to flee the city. Within a year they returned, completely decimating and imprisoning the last of the Aztecs.

Front 52

Bacon’s Rebellion

Back 52

The first true expression of frontier agrarian discontent that occurred in the backcountry of Virginia in 1675. As more and more settlers poured into the Chesapeake region, Indians became annoyed by the encroachment of white settlers and fought back. Angered by the attacks of Indians on frontier settlements and the lack of interest or protection by the colonial government, a wealthy backcountry planter named Nathaniel Bacon lead a series of violent raids against the Indians. Eventually, the anger of Bacon and his followers turned against Governor William Berkley in Jamestown, which they sieged and burned before Bacon eventually died of dysentery.

Front 53

Bear Flag Rebellion

Back 53

A small rebellion just outside of Sonoma, California that secured the territory of California for the Americans in 1846 during the early stages of the Mexican-American War. Lead by John Charles Frémont, the siege and capture of California had been at the behest of President Polk. Although Frémont was on a supposedly scientific mission, he had been informed by the President to move quickly and rapidly to secure California if war broke out with Mexico. The Bear Flag Republic lasted but one month, but in that time the Americans imprisoned, plundered, and murdered countless Californios.

Front 54

The "Big Four"

Back 54

The founders of the Central Pacific railway that participated in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1865. The Big Four included Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker, all of whom had gotten rich during the Gold Rush of 1849. Each held his own respective duty within the company, with Crocker supervising construction, Hopkins keeping the books, Huntington bidding for supplies, and Stanford working his political connections. The Big Four acquired their title not because of the importance of their presence, but because of their huge girths; they collectively weighted over 860 pounds.

Front 55

Black Hawk War

Back 55

A brief and brutal war that occurred in 1832 in which the Sauk and Fox people of Illinois attempted to resist federal removal following Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. Although several chiefs had already made treaties with the federal government to cede their lands, a dissident leader named Black Hawk protested and raised an Indian army in opposition. After attempting negotiation after a period of panic among the white settlers, Black Hawk increased resistance after being fired upon while waving a truce flag, eventually fleeing to Wisconsin. Black Hawk and his followers would eventually be defeated at the Massacre of Bad Ax River, foretelling the future resistance that the federal government would encounter with the Plains tribes.

Front 56

"Black Robes"

Back 56

(1600s) The term natives gave to the early Jesuit missionaries of New France because of their uniform, ambiguous clothing. Although looked down upon as culturally inferior, the missionaries struggled through their first few years on the continent, sometimes leading the way into the backcountry. These missionaries eventually achieved greater success with native peoples because they introduced Christianity into the Indian way of life, as opposed to Spanish Franciscans who linked conversion to the acceptance of European cultural norms.

Front 57

Daniel Boone

Back 57

The mythic and often romanticized man of the frontier who led explorations and settlers into the backcountry. Born in Pennsylvania, Boone moved to the backcountry of North Carolina and married Rebecca Ryan. In 1773, he tried to move his family west across the Cumberland Gap but Indians attacked and killed his oldest son. He would retry in subsequent years and eventually moved his family to Boonesborough in Kentucky. Boone would become famous during the Revolutionary War after he was captured by the British and their Shawnee Indian allies and proved his frontier spirit and ingenuity by escaping. He would eventually settle in Missouri.

Front 58

Joseph Brant

Back 58

A Mohawk leader from the Six Nations who was a powerful ally of the British during the French and Indian War. Brant would negotiate with the British, finally obtaining sovereignty and control over his peoples’ lands if they joined the British fight against the Americans. Brant could not get all of the Six Nations chiefs to agree to fight with the British, splitting the Nation for the first time and symbolizing the divisions within Indian communities that were to come. Brant was a powerful warrior and led most of the victories against the Americans in 1777 and 1778, finally matched by George Rogers Clark.

Front 59

Cahokia Mounds

Back 59

The largest mound built by the Adena and Hopewell people of the Mississippi Mound-building society that existed between 600 and 1400 AD. These mounds signify how corn and new methods of farming created great, dense, metropolitan centers. These city-states and massive civilizations eventually fell and dispersed into tribes when European diseases preceded settlement, often carried by wild hogs called “razorbacks.” Scholars such as Squire refused to believe that these mounds could have been made by ancient Indian ancestors and instead believed that they were built by ancient white tribes and ancestors.

Front 60

Caribs

Back 60

The aggressive native rivals of the Caribbean Tainos who Columbus met in his 1492 voyage, from whom both the words “Caribbean” and “Cannibal” are derived. The Caribs successfully defended their homelands until the end of the 16th century, gaining a ruthless reputation in the process. One particularly ironic torture they devised for the Spaniards involved pouring molten gold down there throats and forcing them to choke on their own greed. There is no direct evidence, though, that the Caribs were cannibals, a term and idea that was invented out of European imaginations filled with the anticipation of the “fabulous races of mankind.”

Front 61

Jacques Cartier

Back 61

An explorer for Francis I of France who came to the New World to seek a Northwest Passage to India and the spice trade in three different voyages in 1534, 1535-1536, and 1541-1542. He explored the Newfoundland coast and the Saint Lawrence River, claiming Canada for France. His interactions with the Indians, especially the Algonquians and the Iroquois, produced an image of intense warfare and community with an enthusiasm for trading.

Front 62

Samuel de Champlain

Back 62

An explorer for France who landed a colonizing expedition on the Bay of Fundy in 1605, establishing the outpost of Port Royal. Fueled by envy of the Spanish and their success in the New World, Champlain forged an alliance with the Huron Confederacy and negotiated with the Indians to discover their resources. By living with the Indians and learning their languages and customs, Champlain was able to discover and exploit the fur trade. Champlain always understood the importance of good relations with the Indians and strove to create alliances with them.

Front 63

Cherokee Pheonix

Back 63

The first newspaper of the Cherokee nation that was created in 1828 and published in both English and Sequoyan. The newspaper utilized the syllabary that Sequoyah had created and was able to reach out to a large proportion of the Cherokee nation. The newspaper and Sequoyah’s syllabary eventually led to higher literacy rates among the Cherokee than among their white settler neighbors and became a rallying cry and example for why the Cherokee’s should stand as an independent nation and be exempted from forced Indian removal. This, however, did not occur.

Front 64

Samuel Colt

Back 64

Inventor of the first modern revolver in 1836 that was designed solely for violent human confrontations. Thousands of these guns were eventually issued to troops during the Civil War, which in turn found their way into numerous households after the war. The Colt revolver effectively armed America and prepared the way for the invasion of the West, with peoples’ attitudes becoming harder and coarser toward Indians as gun ownership increased.

Front 65

James Cook

Back 65

A captain in the Royal Navy of Britain that explored the Northwest coast in 1778 and published his findings of this Pacific voyage. This 1784 publication created an international rush to the Pacific shores in search of wealth and riches in the forms of sea otter pelts, beaver pelts, timber, and salmon. Confrontations would eventually occur between the Spanish (who viewed this area as theirs) and the British. At the Nootka Convention of 1790, the Spanish agreed to return property and prisoners and share the coastline with the British.

Front 66

Hernán Cortés

Back 66

The leader of the Spanish conquistadors and the conqueror of the Aztec empire who lead his famous expedition in 1519. By using local tribal forces against the Aztecs and unknowingly decimating them with disease, Cortés was able to overthrow the Aztec ruler Montezuma and send the Aztecs into decline. Enticed by gold and riches, Cortés and his conquistadors conquered Mexico in the name of Spain and set in motion the future colonization of the New World by Old World powers.

Front 67

Crédit Mobilier

Back 67

A scandal set up by Thomas C. Durant, the chief manager of the Union Pacific railway, to extort enormous sums of money from the federal government. By setting up a subsidiary corporation called the Crédit Mobilier that was completely owned by the Union Pacific and its stockholders, Durant channeled all construction costs through dummy third parties into the Mobilier and exaggerated expenses by double or even triple. Although the Union Pacific didn’t make much money, the Crédit Mobilier showed immense profits. Then this scandal broke in 1869, it was revealed that almost all of the Republican leadership was involved or had accepted bribes, revealing the beginning of the corruption that the railroads would bring with them.

Front 68

David Crockett

Back 68

The prototype of the rough-and-tumble political hero that was emerging from the American Southwest, who served as an embodiment of the ordinary man pitted against the privileged. After building up his persona as a backwoods bumpkin, Crocket would successfully run for a seat in Congress, riding high during the dawn of the “age of the common man.” He eventually lost reelection in 1834, saying that “I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not ... you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.” Crockett did just that and eventually died in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.

Front 69

Cumberland Gap

Back 69

The mountain pass between the North Carolina and Tennessee backcountry that caused considerable problems for Daniel Boone. During his first attempt across the pass with his family, Boone’s oldest son was killed in an Indian attack in 1773. Boone was able to make it across with his family on his second attempt, eventually opening the interior backcountry for settlement.

Front 70

The Destruction of the Indies

Back 70

An account written by Bartolomé de Las Casas that was published in Spain in 1552. In the account, Las Casas blamed the Spanish for the deaths of millions of Indians and indicted them with the equivalent of modern-day genocide. Las Casas was one of the few who actually spoke out and denounced the practices of the Spanish conquistadors, including the murdering, imprisoning, and torturing of the native people. His complaints were later used by other European nations (mostly Protestant nations) to denounce the Spanish and have since evolved as part of the “Black Legend” of the Spanish conquest of the New World.

Front 71

John C. Frémont

Back 71

A member of the Topographical Engineer Corp for the US government who constantly had an eye for opportunity. He moved up in ranks predominantly by marrying into the wealthy and connected Benton family and was soon given an expedition of his own. From 1834 to 1844, Frémont surveyed the Oregon Trail, paying especial attention to the location of water and fuel sources, grass pasturage, and the grade of the land even though the expedition was to be strictly scientific. Upon his return, Benton helped Frémont publish his reports, making him famous overnight as the “Great Pathfinder.” Frémont’s expedition soon spawned western migration.

Front 72

Geronimo

Back 72

An Apache chief both feared and famous among his people as a spiritual leader, healer, and war chief. A vision as a young man that assured him of his impenetrability to guns and arrows erased his fear from then on and gave him his legendary courage. He would elude the US government and resignation to the reservations throughout his life, eventually laying down his weapons in the late 1870s. In 1885, Geronimo and several of his warriors would escape from the reservation after finding it difficult to live on, terrorizing the countryside and settlers in the process. Geronimo finally surrendered a few months later, after which he and his people were shipped by railcars to Florida.

Front 73

Pocahontas

Back 73

Indian princess who served as ambassador for her father to the settlers of Jamestown, living from 1590 until 1620. She converted to Christianity, married the colonist John Rolfe, and returned to England with him. Today, she has been turned into a character of myth, romanticized for her assimilation into English culture and for her marriage to John Rolfe. Her relationship embodies the many intimate connections between Indians and the English in the early years.

Front 74

Potlatch

Back 74

A ceremony held by many Native American tribes of the pacific NW for the purposes of redistributing wealth. "Upside down capitalism." The most honor goes to the person who distributes the most, not who accumulates the most. Was seen as a destructive barrier to Christianity and civilization by whites and was banned in many circumstances.

Front 75

Powhatan

Back 75

Chief of a powerful confederation of Indian tribes near the English settlement of Jamestown, who lived from 1550 – 1620. Powhatan saw in the English their potential protection from the Spanish and help in the struggle to extend the confederacy to outlying tribes for trade. The English tried to raid an Indian settlement for food, after which Powhatan retaliated and the settlement eventually reacted, causing him to abdicate his throne to his brother. Powhatan’s help made possible the survival of the English colony at Jamestown and has since become a mythic character, especially through his daughter Pocahontas.

Front 76

Red Jacket

Back 76

A leader of the Seneca traditionalists who lived from 1750 – 1830 and a famous orator about the rights of his people who opposed the progressives who were willing to accommodate colonists. The conflict between the progressives and the traditionalists torn apart Iroquois communities in the 1790s and continues in many Indian communities today. Red Jacket played a prominent role in negotiations with the new US government after the Revolution with George Washington giving him a peace medal.

Front 77

Rich Bar

Back 77

The setting of Louise Clappe's letters to her sister in the 1850s, collected as "The Shirley Letters." Rich Bar was a typical mining boom town, overwhelmingly male and violent. It was made famous through the letters, and especially for the view that a women, as opposed to a man, took of it.

Front 78

Russian-American Company

Back 78

Company that was chartered from 1799 to 1867 when Alaska was purchased by the US. It took charge of Russian activities in Alaska, improving the harshest practices of the independent Russian trappers and fur traders. It made fabulous profits from the trade in sea otters, tea, and silk between Alaska and China. The company was pushed southward by British, French, and American competition and fought with Tlingits, who eventually accepted the Russian’s presence and prospered from it. The Russians controlled the northern coast when Astor arrived, with the Czar declaring the northern coast off limits to other nations in 1821 but the Spanish opposed and private negotiations set the boundary at the southern boarder of Alaska.

Front 79

Sand Creek Massacre

Back 79

The most brutal episode of Civil War Indian fighting that occurred in 1864 – already a period of intensified violence. After initial conflict, conciliatory Cheyenne chiefs visited with the Colorado governor, returned, and moved their people to a fort to be placed under soldier’s protection, eventually moving to a fort on Sand Creek. On the fort commander’s recommendation, militia commanders of the region gave orders to attack. A slaughter resulted. There was uproar in the East, and the Colorado governor was forced to resign. The entire central Plains erupted into war after tipping the Cheyennes in favor of war. Congress had difficulty in recruiting volunteers to put down Indian raids and often used African Americans instead after the massacre and subsequent upheaval.

Front 80

Scots-Irish

Back 80

These people immigrated in large numbers to the fringes of English settlement in America in the first decades of the 18th century (1680s – 1720s). Struggles against Catholics made them aggressive, and because they hated the English, they tried to get as far away as possible. These communities bred leaders like Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, and Sam Houston. They began to push away from the crowded Eastern seaboard by the 1720s to the Shenandoah Valley and became British America’s first “West.” With their help, the European colonial population overtook the native population during the 18th century.

Front 81

Sea Otters

Back 81

During the time period from 1700 – 1867, the Russians conquered Alaska driven by their search for valuable sea otter pelts, which they traded in exchange for Chinese tea. Cook’s expedition encountered sea otter pelts and their value, which came to be known as “soft gold.” Soon, the British began trading pelts on the Pacific, fully opening the Pacific to European trade, especially in furs.

Front 82

Seminole War

Back 82

Lasting from 1835 – 1842, this was an attempt to remove the Seminoles from Florida in order to reclaim fugitive slaves and other African Americans in the area. Most Seminoles refused to follow the treaty and war resulted. The US army surrendered and offered to bring the Seminole war chief to negotiations, but kidnapped and imprisoned him instead. Most Seminoles moved West by the end of the war. Eventually, the war became unpopular and the US government called it off. This war serves as the other most infamous case of 1830s Indian removal besides the Cherokees.

Front 83

Juan Seguin

Back 83

Tejano hero of the Texas Revolution who led the Tejanos who fought with the Texans at the Alamo in 1836. He became mayor of San Antonio after the war, but the Texan-Tejano alliance didn’t survive, forcing him to flee to Mexico with his family. He serves as a representative of the Tejano tragedy in the Texas war for independence.

Front 84

Sequoyah

Back 84

Cherokee man who was the first American Indian to invent an Indian writing system – a syllabary for the Cherokee that was completed in 1821. Within a few years, literacy rates among Cherokees were higher than among their American neighbors. Served as one of the best symbols of the early 19th century Cherokee resistance, making Cherokee removal that much more poignant.

Front 85

Sitting Bull

Back 85

Sioux militant and religious leader who lived from 1830 – 1890 and who opposed compromising with Americans on forced relocations and refused to revise an earlier treaty to cede the Black Hills to the US government after a gold strike. This resistance led the US government to initiate total war against the Sioux. Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw dead US soldiers, which would contribute to the Indian’s confidence in the war. Sioux were defeated and starved into submission. Sitting Bull tried to escape with followers to Canada but was forced to return and made prisoner by US authorities, but he remained a spiritual leader for his people.