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American West Flashcards

0
Q

Name the main ways the Plains Indians lived

A

Nomadic - chase buffalo
Left old people behind if endangered band - chase buffalo
Polygamy
Land was one of them no war or fighting over it
Tipi - flaps transportable
Horses - travel hunt currency
Animal skins - sneak up on buffalo

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1
Q

How was the buffalo used by the Plain Indians

A 
Horns- cups
Skull-religious ceremonies
Raw hide- bag belt container harness
Leather hide- tipi covers clothes bed
Flesh- eaten or cooked
Dung- fire fuel 
Bladder - food bags 
Bones - weapons 
Heart - gave life to new herd 
Tongue - hairbrush or delicacy 
Fat - cooking soap
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2
Q

How Indian society worked

A

Sioux nation - never led by one individual
Consisted of many tribes which consisted of many bands
Bands were led by a chief, advised by a council man and influenced by warrior society

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3
Q

What did the chiefs in the bands?

A
  • not elected but chosen from wisdom spiritual power or medicine power and how skilled they were at hunting
  • not for life
  • only great chiefs could persuade many bands to follow
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4
Q

What did the council do?

A
  • important decisions
  • advice from medicine men, elders and chiefs were heard but did not ultimately decide
  • smoke ceremonial pipe to contact spirits
  • council of nation would decide on war but band could decide if they wanted to war or not thus confusing settlers
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5
Q

What did the warrior society do?

A
  • responsible for supervising buffalo hunt and travel
  • protect band from attack
  • all the men in the band
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6
Q

What was the role of women in Plains Indian society

A
  • produced children
  • polygamy
  • made tipi clothed and fed
  • if divorced they would keep everything
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7
Q

What was the punishment given to the Plains indians?

A

Shamed

Banished if serious e.g. Murder

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8
Q

Name the push factors making early settlers migrate

A

Economic depression- 1837
-people had nothing to lose
- grain prices fell so farmers couldn’t sell
Overcrowding
-between 1830-40 the population in the east rose by 2500%
- caused massive unemployment

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9
Q

Name the pull factors that pulled the early settlers to the west

A

Propaganda
- good reports of fertile land in California and Oregon by mountain men
Large number of fish and fur
Government incentives
- pre emption bill 1842 allowed cheap land in Oregon good for economic depression people
California gold rush 1847
Manifest destiny

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10
Q

Problems with Gold rush

A

Lack of laws and regulation - quick towns struggled with policing
Racial violence - american psyche
Basic housing
Fights- single poor men lead to gambling drinking and prostitutes which lead to fights
Claim jumping - taking land

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11
Q

How did the plains indians do warfare?

A
  • counting coup more braver than killing
  • not over land as they believed that they were part of the land and no-one could own it
  • over hunting grounds, revenge and horses
  • body painting
  • horses were telling to how important you were
  • eventually rifles were brought in by travellers
  • scalping so there enemy could go to the other side
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12
Q

What were the spiritual beliefs of the plains indians?

A 
Circles were important - circle of life 
Everything had a spirit 
Spirits would influence events 
Sun dance before hunting buffalo 
Contacted in visions 
Medicine men healed using spirits 
High land was closer to spirit world so therefore sacred e.g. The Black Hills
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13
Q

What were the problems faced by going west?

A

Lack of supplies - couldn’t restock
Weather- high winds, freak storms destroyed wagons and caused stampedes
Disease - spread quickly cholera, lack of water was unhygienic
Accidents - lack of medical care meant people often died of broken bones and wounds
Attack from indians - confused, didn’t want land taken, white settlers spread disease
Attacks from animals
Getting lost - guides tried shortcuts which ended in disaster
Difficult terrain
Winter could come early
WAGSAID

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14
Q

What happened in the Donner party?

A 
Travelling to California in 1846
- guide tried takin short cut, took longer instead 
- across salt lake city desert lost livestock as it died of thirst 
-lost 4 wagons and 3 oxen's
- one person killed another 
- winter came early 
- trapped with no food = cannibalism 
Out of 87 only 48 survived
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15
Q

Who was Joseph Smith?

A

Founder of mormon movement
Published book of mormon in 1830
In 1844 claimed that god told him to practise polygamy
Killed in June 1844 after he was arrested after making the claim

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16
Q

Why did the Mormons move west? (Push factors)

A

Unpopularity
- they were successful in owning banks, mills, shops and didn’t seem affected in the economic depression
- they were growing fast making the gentiles feel threatened
Persecution
- jealously led to attacks
- burnt houses down
- friendly with Indians

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17
Q

Why did the mormons move west? (Pull factors)

A

Utah - part of Mexico and not governed by the US so they could practise polygamy
Land - fertile and isolated perfect as no one would be able to persecute them

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18
Q

Why were the mormons so successful in going west?

A

Before the journey:
Wagons oxen and supplies were stock pilled in Nauvoo
Pioneer bands were sent ahead to set up stations so the mormons could restock
Wagons were divided into separate trains which were led by a captain each wagon train had 10 lieutenants which supervised 10 wagons
On the journey:
First wagon train built rest camps which left carpenters blacksmiths and shelter
Winter quarters were built next to the Missouri river to give mormons somewhere safe to spend the coldest months of their journey
Young himself left a band of pioneers ahead to salt lake city to start building settlement

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19
Q

What happened to the mormons in the winter quarters?

A

FreeIng winter and poor conditions led to an outbreak of disease which killed 700

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20
Q

Why were the mormons successful in Salt Lake City?

A

Stage 1:
Banned private ownership of land and water- everyone worked together
Plots of land - artisans and craftspeople had small plots while large families had large farm plots
Irrigation- dug irrigation ditches which people could only access at certain times of day so everyone had enough water
Stage 2:
1848 the US won salt lake from Mexico
Young wanted to become a state but got rejected they became a territory of Utah with young as its governor
Stage 3:
Towns - pioneer bands with farmers and crafts people to fund towns across the state
Perpetual emigrating fund - sent missionaries across world to convert people and move them - very successful by 1855 over 4000 converts came to Utah

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21
Q

Why did people go to the plains after 1860? (Pull factors)

A

Manifest destiny
Success stories - letters home from successful homesteaders, enthusiastic articles and adverts from🚃
Government incentives - homestead act 1862 160 acres
Timber culture act 1873 further 160 acres
The desert act 1875 640 acres cheaply in desert
Transcontinental railroads:
1st full railroad completed in 1869
Easier to get to and from plains
Sold land cheaply
Offered to help people set up

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22
Q

Why did people move west after 1860s?

A 
The civil war - 1861-65
Thousands of soldiers and free slaves had no opportunities in the east wanted to build a new life in the west
Problems in Europe 
Increasing population lead to poverty and land squeeze 
Famine in Ireland
Jews emigrated to escape persecution 
Colonisation society:
Charitable organisations
23
Q

What were the problems with farming on the plains?

A

Lack of water - no cleaning, drinking, growing crops
+ dry farming - ploughing after rainfall trapping a layer of moisture under the ground
+self governing windmill - 1874 pumped water from underground
Lack of wood - no building houses, fences fire or fuel
+sod houses - built out of square blocks of earth plastered together with mud and roofed with grass
+barbed wire 1874
+buffalo chips dried buffalo chips made good alternative for fuel
Failing crops - crops from east couldn’t survive
+ new crops from Europe hard winter wheat
+ live stock
Tough land - infertile land that had never been farmed
+ sodbuster invented by John Deere
Bad weather
Natural disasters
+ stored and buy better machinery

24
Q

What did women in homesteading do?

A

Entitled to acres of land
Keeping the kitchen and fired stock:
Fished
Tended to garden
Collected buffalo chips
Make do and mending - made soap candles clothes butter and medical remedies
Built communities:
Had to live on there land according to the homestead act
Organised social gatherings
Set up and ran schools and built communities

25
Q

Why did people want the railroads to be constructed?

A
  • manifest destiny - made it easier to settle across the whole continent🌎
  • improvement for people already living on the plains
  • more law and order👮🏻
  • create jobs
  • increase demand for raw materials such as steel and timber🌲
  • trade with other countries on the other side of the Pacific 🌊
26
Q

What did the railroad companies get out of making the railroads?

A
  • government offered huge incentives
  • gave away free land which could be sold for profits
  • ticket sales and commercial haulage
  • only profits could be made
27
Q

What were the problems faced by railroad builders?

A
  1. Landscape - deep valleys, mountains and desert took long time to build through and required a lot of skill
  2. Working conditions - lived in shacks or tent which had no protection against bad weather
  3. Worker shortages - bad conditions lead to a lack of works so immigrants from china and Ireland - race violence
28
Q

What were the impact of railroads on the homesteaders?

A
  • brought lots of new goods such as clothing kitchen ware and farming items that help increased there crop yield as it was easier to harvest
  • took surplus crops away to the east were demand was higher so bigger profits could be made. Could then put money back into farm to make a bigger surplus the following year
29
Q

What impact did railroads happen on the cattle ranchers?

A

Railroads allowed cattle ranchers to move animals east for more profits without having to drive them - cow towns
Invention of refrigerated railcar in 1880 made process easier cattle could now be slaughtered before being shipped

30
Q

What impact did railroads have on immigrants?

A
  • railroad gave 10 miles by 10 miles worth of land to immigrants to set up communities and increase the growth of towns and other settlements on the plains
  • advertised
31
Q

What impact did railroads have on the Indians?

A
  • only negative factor
  • land available to Indians shrunk
  • excursion trains killed Buffalo
32
Q

Why did the cattle industry boom?

A
  • new breeds - Texas loghorn developed to with stand conditions in Texas it thrived in tough condition but got Texas fevers
  • The Civil War - Texas ranchers left and the came back to find cows have reproduced rapidly
  • Growing demand - in the east there was a growing demand for beef as it was popular they would pay higher prices than in Texas. The army and reservations used to Beef as well
33
Q

What were the push factors that lead to cattle ranching spreading to the plains?

A
  • cattle drives - cattle had to be driven 1000 miles to the nearest railroad in Illinois this took a long time and many cattle died and lost weight making them less valuable
  • conflict with homesteaders - the homesteaders fenced of their land to prevent cattle drivers from trampling their crops
    They were unfriendly to cattlemen as cows carried Texas fever so they blocked water and grazing grass
34
Q

What were the pull factors leading to the spread of cattle ranching to the plains?

A
  • free land -lots of space could get 160 acres from the homesteading act
  • weather - low temps killed of Texas fever
  • railroads - easier to raise cattle by railroads
35
Q

Why did the cattle industry decline?

A

-Cattle rustling - impossible to stop in open farming
- 1880-85
Overgrazing - ranches made lots of money> more people become ranchers > too many cattle and not enough grass
Bad weather - drought in 1883 > lack of grass and water
Falling beef prices - beef unpopular more supply than demand so price fell
- 1885-87
More bad weather - two cold winters and one hot summer killed herds and grass

36
Q

Why did the open range end?

A

Realised they needed to look after cattle so they fenced of land. They breed cattle selectively to produce better beef. They used wind pumps to get water and they grew better grass to feed cattle.

37
Q

Who was Charles Goodnight and what did he do?

A
  • he was a cattle rancher from Texas
  • along with Oliver loving he was the first to drive his cattle from New Mexico to fort summer in 1866
  • sold to army and reservations
  • left 180 cattle in 1860 and returned in 1865 to 5009
38
Q

Who was Joseph morgan and what did he do?

A
  • he was a cattle dealer from Mexico
  • founder of first cattle town in Abilene in 1867
  • filled it with stock pens and encouraged ranchers to go there
  • provided a meeting place for ranchers and buyers
    Between 1867 and 1881 1.5 million passed through
  • $5 cow could be worth 10x in Abilene
39
Q

Who was John Lilff and what did he do?

A
  • first big rancher on the plains
  • began ranching in 1862
  • built herd by buying lame and footsore cattle
  • eventually he had a herd of 3500 cattle and major contract with railroad builders and the sioux nation
  • other followed his examples
40
Q

What did the cowboys do?

A
  • did cattle drives
  • lived in the ranch
  • rounded up cattle
  • often ex soldiers, criminals, immigrants
41
Q

How did the the life of a cowboy change?

A

Cattle drives:
- round up cattle and drove them north
- suprivise cattle of route, protecting them from natural hazards, bad weather, fast flowing rivers, wolves and indians
- if there was a stampede they had to round up all the cattle again
- guard them at night
- spent all money in one go
Open ranches:
- cows on ranch were keep safe and healthy
- rounded up, branded and took to market
- lived in bunk houses or line shacks
Fenced ranches:
- the demand for cowboys decreased
- cattle could not stray and rival herds could not graze on the ranch
- looked for sick or trapped animals
- mended fencing

42
Q

How was the west protected?

A

Local enforcement:
- town marshals- elected by towns people on a yearly basis
- sherifs - elected one per county every two years they had a large area to oversee
Federal law enforcement:
- US marshals - appointed by president to oversee a state
- deputy marshal - appointed by US marshal to help them
- Judges - appointed by president 3 per state
Private law enforcement:
- vigilantes - took law into there own had and handed out punishments
- Texas rangers - small private army employed to enforce law
- the Pinkerton detective agency - private company used by backs and railroads for protection

43
Q

Who were vigilantes?

A

Acted as law enforcers
Gave punishment they thought they deserved as they fought the justice system in america took too long
Corrupt sherifs
Federal law enforcement usually did not command enough respect
Usually the richest and most respectable men as they had the most to loose from cattle rustlers and other things

44
Q

why did the cattle ranchers and homesteaders fall out?

A
  • cattle trampled crops and spread disease
  • different ideas on what a good farm looked like
  • didn’t want fences put up so they cut the fences that the homesteaders put up to protect land and fresh water
  • when the open range period ended they fenced large areas of land off which further angered the homesteaders
45
Q

Why did the cattle ranchers and sheep farmers fall out?

A
  • sheep and cattle competed for the same grass
  • the cattle ranchers killed shepherds burnt fodders and slaughtered sheep
  • they were usually immigrants which didn’t help as American psyche was racist
46
Q

Why did the cattle ranchers fall out with the rustlers?

A

Unbranded cows were regarded as free and a way to start herds ranchers saw this this as stealing
- ranchers acted brutally to ensure this doesn’t happen e.g. The Johnson county war

47
Q

Name the results that lead up to the Johnson County War?

A

Wyoming Stock Growers Association - formed in 1870s they were a groups of powerful cattle barons they claimed most of Johnson county by 1889 but they had three main problems:

  • New Settlers - homesteaders were settling on land the cattle barons claimed were theres
  • Rustling - a motherless calf can be claimed and branded by anyone - difficult to prosecute offenders
  • failing prices - cattle ranching was in decline and demand in east was falling
48
Q

What happened in the Jonhson County War?

A
  1. WSGA took matters into there own hand and hired a gun fighter to hunt down the rustlers
  2. 1889 two people accused of rustling Jim Averil and Ella Watson were lynched outside there home were living on land claimed by cattle barons ella was a prositute who claimed cows for her services - rustlers
  3. 1892 cattle barons planned a full scale invasion they wanted to capture the town of buffalo and round up the criminals
  4. Drew up death list and hired 25 gunfighters and offered bonuses for every rustler killed the cut telegraph wires and cut the of from outside world
  5. The gunfighters arrived at the KC ranch they were delayed by Nate Champion and Nick ray, they fought to the death and passers by realised what was happening and rode to buffalo to raise the alarm
  6. invaders meet by armed towns people the gunfighters retreated to TA ranch and they were surrounded by 300 men
  7. Calvary had to save them
49
Q

What were the events that increased tension between Indians and Settlers?

A
  • 1851 - Fort Laramie Treaty
  • 1862 - Little Crows War
  • 1864 - The Sand Creek Massacre
  • 1865 - Red Clouds War
  • 1868 - Second Fort Laramie Treaty
  • 1874 - discovery of gold in Black hills
50
Q

What was the Fort Laramie Treaty?

A
  • indians agreed to stop attacking wagons on Oregon trail in return they got a long strip of land across the continent
  • gov promised protection
51
Q

What was Little Crows War?

A
  • little crow was the leader of the santee sioux
  • crop failure - the pests ate and killed crops then there was a delay in compensating payment by august the tribe was starving so they attacked warehouses taking food and burning buildings - by October they were back on the smaller reservations and had a lack of clean water made problems worst
52
Q

What was the Sand Creek Massacre?

A
  • the cheyenne suffered a similar properties and began attacking wagon trains for food
  • after three years they agreed to meet gov for talks when the talks were going on 450 indians were massacred in sand creek
  • cheyenne gave up there land in colorado and went to land in Oklahoma
53
Q

What was the red cloud war?

A
  • discovered gold in Montana which lead to the Bozeman trail being set up so miners could reach goldfields
  • broke Fort Laramie Treaty as it crossed sioux hunting ground
  • red cloud, sitting bull and crazy horse attacked wagon trails
  • army was sent in
  • sioux adapted tactics and stopped people using trail and they laid siege to forts trapping army in
  • gov had to negotiate
54
Q

What was the second fort Laramie treaty?

A
  • created lots of smaller reservations for different tribes

- broke society and changed the way they live

55
Q

What did the discovery of Gold in the Black Hills do?

A
  • 1874 party discovered huge gold reserves in the Black Hills
  • miners moved in ignoring second Fort Laramie Treaty
  • Gov offered money but refused as it was the most sacred land

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