6.3 Westward Expansion Social and Cultural Development

The West was seen as a land of opportunity by many settlers during the 19th century. The discovery of gold and silver in the region, as well as government land grants such as the Homestead Act, attracted a diverse group of people including homesteaders, miners, railroad workers, and ranchers. Both immigrants and American citizens were drawn to the West in search of new opportunities and a chance to start a new life.

One Big Reservation Policy

Before the Civil War, the land west of the Mississippi River was considered "Indian Country" by the US government, and access to the area was restricted to white people through the Indian Intercourse Act of 1834. This act prohibited whites from entering the area without a government-issued license. In 1851, the US government adopted a new policy of "concentration" for the native tribes, which involved defining specific boundaries for each tribe's reservation and relocating native peoples to these designated areas. This policy was intended to clear the way for white settlement in the West.

Sand Creek Massacre

The Sand Creek Massacre, also known as the Chivington Massacre, occurred in 1864, where a group of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, led by Chief Black Kettle, had asked for peace and camped on Sand Creek in Colorado. They were attacked early in the morning by a group of Colorado military under the command of Colonel John Chivington. The soldiers were ordered to "Kill and scalp all, big and little. Nits make lice." Chief Black Kettle tried to stop the attack by raising an American flag and a white flag, but the soldiers ignored them and killed and scalped nearly all of the tribe members, including women and children. The Sand Creek Massacre is considered one of the most horrific acts of violence against Native Americans in US history.

Little Bighorn

The Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as "Custer's Last Stand," was a battle that took place on June 25, 1876, as part of the northern Sioux Wars. The US Army, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, was sent to engage a band of Sioux warriors. Custer believed he had a small group of warriors surrounded on the banks of the Little Bighorn River in Montana, but instead he found himself in the middle of a much larger Sioux camp of around 2,500 warriors. Custer and his men were quickly overwhelmed and killed in the battle. The news of Custer's defeat and the deaths of his men caused a public outcry and demands for revenge throughout the US.

Ghost Dances

The rapid settlement of the West greatly upset many Native American tribes, who saw it as a threat to their way of life and an infringement on their land. In response, many tribes engaged in both active and passive resistance. One of the most notable movements was the Ghost Dance movement, which emerged in the late 1800s among several tribes. The Ghost Dance was a religious movement that promised to restore Native American lands and bring back the bison, while causing the white settlers to disappear. The Ghost Dance was based on the belief that through the performance of the Ghost Dance, all Native Americans would unite and a new Earth would come into being. This new Earth would be covered in dust, and the vanished buffalo would return in great herds.

Wounded Knee Massacre

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia

The Ghost Dance movement and the belief in its ability to restore Native American lands and bring back the buffalo, led to the intervention of the US Army. They were tasked with stopping the Ghost Dance and the violence that ensued. This ultimately led to the killing of Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man and leader of the Sioux tribes.

In December 1890, the army caught up with a group of Sioux who were practicing the Ghost Dance and took them to the army camp at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. The situation quickly escalated, when an accidental shot was fired, and the army responded by opening fire with their new machine guns. They killed about 200 men, women and children, shredded their teepees and left many of them in the snow. This event became known as the Wounded Knee Massacre, considered as one of the most tragic and notorious incidents in the history of the US treatment of Native Americans.

Assimilation 

The US government's treatment of Native Americans during the late 19th and early 20th centuries included a policy of forced assimilation, in which the government sought to assimilate Native Americans into white American culture. This policy was implemented through a variety of means, including the establishment of boarding schools for Native American children, such as the Carlisle Indian School, which aimed to break the connection between the children and their culture and traditions. The government also actively sought to break up tribal sovereignty and violated its own treaties with native tribes. The policy of forced assimilation and the breaking up of tribal sovereignty were aimed at assimilating Native Americans into the dominant American culture, and were often implemented through military force and repression.

Dawes Act

The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act) was a federal law that aimed to assimilate Native Americans into white American culture by redistributing native lands and confining them to life on reservations. The act divided tribal lands into individual allotments, which were then distributed to individual Native American households. 47 million acres of land were distributed under the Dawes Act, however another 90 million acres were designated as reservations and sold to white settlers as they were considered more fertile.

The implementation of the Dawes Act, along with other policies aimed at assimilating Native Americans and breaking up tribal sovereignty, resulted in the loss of much of their land and a significant decrease in their population. By 1900, there were only 250,000 Native Americans in the country, a drastic decrease from the 600,000 in 1800 and the 5 million in 1492.

The Hardships of the Farming Frontier 

Life in the West was difficult for many settlers, as they faced harsh conditions and the possibility of failure. Miners, homesteaders, ranchers, railroad workers, and other migrants all had to contend with the harsh realities of frontier life. Farmers in particular struggled with falling prices for agricultural goods and rising railroad rates, which made it difficult for them to make a living. This led to the formation of Progressive reform movements, such as the Grange Movements and Farmers' Alliances, which aimed to address these economic challenges by advocating for government regulation of certain industries. However, despite some successes, many farmers continued to face economic struggles and challenges in the West.

The formation of monopolistic trusts in the East, such as the Standard Oil Company and the American Sugar Refining Company, led to high prices for manufactured goods and further economic struggles for farmers in the West. These trusts, which controlled much of the country's industry, had the power to keep prices high and limit competition. As a result, farmers found it increasingly difficult to make a living, as they were making less money while having to pay fixed or increasing expenses and taxes. Additionally, farmers had to compete with commercialized bonanza farms, which had access to expensive equipment and often received reduced railroad and storage rates. This made it difficult for small farmers to compete and survive in the West.

The economic struggles of farmers in the West led to the emergence of Progressive reform movements, such as the Grange Movements and Farmers' Alliances. These groups sought to address the economic challenges faced by small farmers by lobbying state legislatures for economic regulation of certain industries. One notable achievement of these movements was the Supreme Court case of Munn v. Illinois, which established that states had the power to regulate commerce within their own borders. The federal government also attempted to address these issues through the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which was the first federal law aimed at regulating industry. However, these efforts were not always successful in resolving the economic struggles of farmers in the West, as large corporations were able to circumvent regulations and maintain control over certain industries.

While the Grange Movements and Farmers' Alliances made some progress in addressing the economic challenges faced by small farmers in the West, their successes were limited. Large corporations, such as the railroad companies, were able to circumvent regulations and maintain control over certain industries. For example, after the Supreme Court case of Munn v. Illinois established that states had the power to regulate commerce within their own borders, railroad companies got around the ruling by simply hiking up rates for interstate hauls. Similarly, the Interstate Commerce Committee, which was established by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, had limited success in regulating the railroad industry. Overall, the efforts to address the economic struggles of small farmers in the West were hindered by the power and influence of large corporations.

In 1890, the US Census Bureau officially declared that the American frontier had been closed. This marked the end of westward expansion and the settling of the western territories. The census report stated that there was no longer a vast Western area with few settlers, and that the process of westward expansion had been completed. This realization marked the end of an era in American history, as the Western frontier had been a defining aspect of American identity and had played a significant role in shaping the nation's culture and economy. With the closure of the frontier, the focus of American society shifted towards urbanization, industrialization, and the development of new technologies and industries.

🎥 Watch: AP US History - Conquest of the West