The West – 1800-1860

Cynthia Williams Resor Teaching American History December 7, 2012 Middle School – 2nd session; 4th year Activity

• How did travelers in the early 1800s find their destination in areas with no roads? • What “sign-posts” did they use? • What “roads” did they use?

• Draw/label the major rivers of Kentucky on the map. – Would adding the major modern highways be easier? • Draw/label the major rivers of the USA on the map. – Would adding the major modern highways be easier?

The West before the Civil War was not a blank space . . . .

Today’s theme: Pretend you are a person living on the WEST side of the Mississippi River in 1804.

You might be a ►French Canadian ► British ► Native American ► Russian ► Spanish ► A person with a mixed heritage

How would you view Americans as they move into your home?

Typical outline of textbooks What is missing?

• Chapter 20 - Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? The Election of 1800 – Jeffersonian Ideology – Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase – A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. – A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court – Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 • Chapter 21 - The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 The Importance of the West – Exploration: Lewis and Clark – Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War – Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West – The Second War for American Independence – Claiming Victory from Defeat • Chapter 24 - The Age of Jackson The Rise of the Common Man – A Strong Presidency – The South Carolina Nullification Controversy – The War Against the Bank – Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun – The Trail of Tears — The Indian Removals • Chapter 29 - Manifest Destiny The Lone Star Republic – 54° 40' or Fight – "American Blood on American Soil" – The Mexican-American War – Gold in California

Today’s Literacy Theme:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

• Textbook activities (see today’s e-folder) Some of the missing pieces of the story of the West before 1850 . . . Main source

• Empires, Nations, and Families, A History of the North America West, 1800-1860 – By Anne Hyde (2011) – First pages for free – http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/supplements/exce rpts/Spring%2011/9780803224056_excerpt.pdf • ALSO very helpful – Organization of American Historians Magazine of History – November 2005 • Entire edition about the American West • Free in library database (PDFs in today’s e-folder) 1804

• In St. Louis - France and US conduct a formal ceremony to officially transfer the Louisiana purchase

• 1804 – Lewis and Clark getting started from Kansas City on their journey

• Who / what were they going to find in the new American territory? Louisiana territory BEFORE 1804

• France controlled this vast area from 1699 until 1762, the year it gave the territory to its ally Spain. • 1762 – 1800 – belonged to Spain (38 years) • Under Napoleon Bonaparte, France took back the territory in 1800 in the hope of building an empire in North America • A slave revolt in Haiti and an impending war with Britain caused France sell the entire territory to the United States • US had originally intended only to seek the purchase of New Orleans and its adjacent lands

• To most people living in the Louisiana Purchase – the news (when they heard it) would make no difference • Approx. 500,000 Euro-Americans and approx. 2 millions Native Americans between Appalachians and Mississippi River • The Mississippi River was very important transportation route • – but what was west was mysterious.

Power at local/family level, not national (thesis of Hyde’s history) • A lot had been going on West of the Mississippi BEFORE Euro-Americans go there • this part of history has been “forgotten” • “nations” and “empires” didn’t really matter because they changed or had little power west of the Miss. River • The real power lay with family / local networks • Relationships – marriage, adoption, bondage, partnership, apprenticeship, and friendship – provided the glue that held this world together (through long years of imperial rivalry and war)

Another reason this part of history may have been ignored . . • A mixed race history • A typical 19th century account of pioneers, “Annals of St. Louis” said that Charles Bent died single, Governor of Taos, New Mexico, murdered – BUT – he was not single, died in the arms of his wife, Ignacia Jaramillo Bent and three of his children – Why was his listed as single? – His brothers William, George and Robert all listed as unmarried- but all had Mexican or Native wives • Mary Easton Sibley said to have no children – she and her husband George adopted 3 children the orphans of their long- time Osage friend Sans Oreille, and gave them their names • John McLoughlin - a Canadian native of Scottish and French descent – Became one of most powerful men on Pacific Coast – Married 2 Native women and have children of mixed race – 1st wife – a Ojjbwe woman, died – 2nd wife Marguerite Wadin McKay - Cree and French Canadian

1804 - 4 important centers

• St. Louis • Great Lakes • Santa Fe and Arkansas River • Pacific Coast

1804- 4 western sites

St. Louis Great Lakes Santa Fe and Arkansas River Pacific Coast

St. Louis in 1804

• News of Louisiana Purchase came as a complete surprise to people in St. Louis – Deal had been made in secret in 1803 – Didn’t know what it would mean to be a territory of USA – Most powerful Natives in the area - Osages didn’t believe it – The first American gov. of Louisiana Purchase area, Amos Stoddard –saw at least 7 different “castes” of mixed blood people

Traditional Osage Tribal Lands by Late 17th Century

Chief of the Little Osages c. 1807

Colonial Missouri c. 1795

History of St. Louis • Founded in 1763 by French traders • Became part of Spanish empire in 1764 when French lost land claims in North America • But St. Louis remained French and Indian world – In 1800, approx 80% of people born in St. Louis had at least one parent with Native blood – The first American gov. of Louisiana Purchase area, Amos Stoddard – saw at least 7 different “castes” of mixed blood people • Most business conducted in French (even though had been part of Spanish empire) – French-speaking clerks from St. Louis and New Orleans had run the “Spanish” government in St. Louis • Chouteau family was very powerful – owned counting house, warehouses, flour mills, wharves along Miss. River in St. Louis – diversified into transportation, lead mining, banking; owned land – Dominated region through fur trade with the Osages – Primary supplies of furs from Mississippi Valley to European markets – Had many family ties with Natives

Mihanga (Sacred Son), daughter of an important Osage leader, and A. P. Chouteau’s first Osage wife and mother of one of his children (not the child in the picture)

A.P. Chouteau’s children 11 children by his French Creole wife in St. Louis 7 children by Osage women

This life confused Anglo-Americans When Washington Irving visited Chouteau’s trading house in La Saline in 1832, he said “white log house with piazza, surround by trees, Come to beautiful, clear river, group of Indian nymphs half naked on banks. Group of Indians round tree I courtyard – roasting venison. Half breeds, squaws, negro girls, running and giggling – dogs of all kinds – hens flying and cackling – wild turkeys, tames geese – piazza with buffalo skin thrown over railing – room with guns & rifles. About Chouteau’s family he said “a half-breed-sister of Mr. Chouteau’s concubine served them. In the hall Indians are seated on the floor – another Indian glares in at the window . . . Half-breeds loitering about the house – dogs and cats of all kinds strolling around in the house.

• Painting by Charles Bird King, 1830 • Charles Bird King (1785–1862) was an American portrait artist, best known for his portrayals of significant Native American leaders and tribesmen.

• http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/s/sacreds un/index.html

St. Louis - Exchange point in fur trade • Fur trade and its ancillary businesses among the largest and most profitable business in the world – Thousands for traders, merchants, bankers, politicians involved – Trappers, traders brought furs to St. Louis on small boats – Clerks made record for each traders – how many furs, amount of credit used to buy trade goods – Furs were packed, weighed and pressed to be loaded on larger boats for New Orleans, New York, London, Canton – Trade goods for Indians – guns, cloth, blankets, lead, beads, bridles, needles, thread, gunpowder, jewelry, kettles, axes arrived on these ships – Stored in warehouses and shipped up river at end of summer for winter trading season • Chouteau family traded TONS of goods for hundreds of thousands of pelts and hides – Osages granted Pierre and Auguste Chouteau honorary membership in a tribal clan to recognize their diplomatic importance – Both men married into the tribes and had children (but did not encourage the Native children to live as part of St. Louis families)

Anglo-Americans arrive

• During Spanish rule (1762 – 1800) – Spanish wanted to increase the population on the Spanish side of the Mississippi – recruited American settlers – Advertised Missouri as having rich land, peaceful Indians and freedom from ”chicanery and lawyers” – Many came in 1780s and 1790s • Anglo-Americans attracted into the fur business late – But by 1804 – it looked attractive

Anglo-Americans arrive

• Phillip and Isabella Whitley Sublette – From Lincoln County, Ky – moved 8 children to St. Charles, Missouri (just north of St. Louis) • Bent family would arrive from Virginia • George Sibley emigrated from North Carolina • Moses Austin (son Stephen would become famous in Texas) • • In 1799, Daniel Boone moved to St. Louis area (then Spanish). – Looking to make a fresh start, Boone moved with much of his extended family to what is now St. Charles County. – The Spanish governor appointed Boone "syndic" (judge and jury) and commandant (military leader) of the Femme Osage district. – When bought by USA (1804), Boone lost his land but Congress finally gave it back to him in 1814.

Native customs VERY important

• Had to understand Native customs to survive in St. Louis business and west of the Mississippi River – Example - Gift giving and exchange VERY important • Could compensate for feuds, bad marriages, raids, even deaths with proper gift giving • Sometimes the gifts were humans - slaves, mostly women and children captured in intertribal warfare • Trade relationships had to be cemented with gifts – French traders and British officials knew that • But Spanish governors and most American politicians and traders never understood gift-giving – Saw it as bribery and an unnecessary business expense – As a result, Spanish and Americans had poorer relations with Native tribes

1804 - Great Lakes - Michilimackinac

• located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan • Controlled by fur trader and mixed race fur trading families • Known as the “grand emporium of the West” • 1671 - Founded by French priests • 1715 – fortified as a trading post • 1761 – became British property – But people living there Native, French and mixed race • 1783 – fort moved to Mackinac Island – BUT people still came there to trade • Summer of 1804-during trading season population grew to over 4.000 • The site of the fort in present-day Mackinaw City is a National Historic Landmark and is now preserved as an open-air historical museum. 1804 - Santa Fe and Arkansas River

• Santa Fee had been capital of new Spain’s northern province (New Mexico) for 200 years – Well developed town based on sheep industry – Similar in size and important to St. Louis • Trade center that linked New Spain, New France, USA, Britain, and Natives (Pueblo, Apaches, Navajos), especially Comanches – Arkansas River connected the Mississippi and Missouri River worlds • Natives determined trade, diplomacy and safety in this area

1804 - Pacific Coast • This area had the highest population density of any region of North America – Most of these people were Native people on the temperate coast ad interior valleys – Very small population of Europeans – on long strip of coast of California • Alta California – Spanish – Monterey was the capital and major port – Presidio (fort) that dominated the harbor – Landowners, merchants, soldiers – Monterey traded with Russian, American, French and British – Much of this trade revolved around furs +California added hides and tallow from cattle industry – Tallow used for candles

1804 - Pacific Coast

• Colony at Sitka – cooperation of Russians, Americans, Native Aleuts and Spanish Californians – Wanted to bring Pacific Coast furs to China, New England trade goods to California, fruit, veg, meat to bleak Alaska. – failed in 1804-1806 – but developed later

Spanish Catholic Missions

• Mission and Native villages – Natives formed in to the mission system to provide labor – Free Natives raided the missions and ranches

The Fur Trade Why did fur business dominate?

• 1. fur is a broad category of products that equal a big business – fur, pelts, hides – Leather from deer, cattle, buffalo became shoes, belts clothing, bags, book covers, housing, straps, fasteners, floor coverings • 2. fur and pelts were a scare luxury product that come from a small number of fur-bearing animals that live on in certain parts of the world – The transformations of capitalism increased wealth and spread it down the social scale so MORE people wanted furs as status symbol

Growth of fur industry • Fur (especially in the form of hats) became a valued marker of status – like tea, coffee, chocolate and sugar that also had global networks. – Hats – made from fine soft under pelt of beavers that could be made into stovepipes, tricorners, cloches etc. – 1600 – 1800s – fur hats became more and more stylish even though numbers of animals were decreasing, kept the fur trade profitable. • Great fortunes of Dutch patrons of New York, New England Puritans, Russian czars, British lords and French in Canada started in furs – but many diversified to land and slaves

• To get furs – the early traders needed Native women – Europeans had to learn from Natives to hunt, gather, process, or trade for furs and how to feed themselves while doing it – Dependence on Natives continued through 1800s

The North American beaver population was once more than 60 million, but as of 1988 was 6–12 million Native Americans Pushing Natives westward

• Even before 1800 - as Anglo-Americans moved west – Native tribes were pushed west – Cherokees pushed west across Mississippi into Osage land – Shawnees (traditional homelands in Ohio Valley) migrated across the Mississippi – threaten Osage homelands – Caused problems with tribes that already live there

• 1790s - Much of the violence in Kentucky (and that Kentuckians fought in) a part of the effort to displace the Shawnee – Leadership of Shawnee The Prophet and Tecumseh a part of this conflict – One of causes of the War of 1812

Native American Land Loss

• based on a chronological collection of land cession maps by Sam B. Hillard, of Louisiana State University, that was published in 1972 in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers – http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=ZZCvUroBpaE

US Federal Policy toward Natives • Federal Gov. agreed on only 2 issues related to Indians – 1st – Indian affairs belongs to federal government – 2nd – a placed called “Indian Country” existed that included both territory lying beyond national boundary lines that was forbidden to settlers and unlicensed traders, but also meant lands belonging to Native nations within the borders of states and territories • BUT • How the gov. was to behave in “Indian Country” was debatable • • Most assumed the following: • that Indians had a right to lands • Uncontrolled white settlement was dangers and chaotic • Indian Country would always be to in the west

• Mississippi River came to be seen as the dividing line – but permeable for peaceful and profitable trade

• Under Articles of Confederation – federal government so weak that states and individuals did whatever they wanted – Squatters and land speculators moved into Indian lands – Local militia attacked Indians who believed it was a “just and lawful” war

• 1790 – Under Constitution, federal government had more power – Congress created a series of laws to license traders and prevent illegal sale of Indian Country lands – Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox believed that the loyalty, happiness and safety of Indians could make or break the new USA

• 1793 – Second Intercourse Act – created Indian agencies and agents, appointed by president – Agents to live among Indians • keep records of activities and commerce at their agencies • note conditions of Indians • observe natural history of each area • Indian Department created as a subsection of War Department – Army stopped outbreaks of Native and Euro-American hostility – Tried to prevent violence – Much of the Army’s work was against white Americans causing problems

Laws to protect Natives and fur trade

• 1795– Congress established network of government-owned “factories” to keep peace – U.S. was entering a trade network that had existed 200 years for British and French – Indians liked dealing with larger entities (rather than individuals) could get better trade goods and prices for furs.

• In 1804 when USA gained Louisiana Territory – meant to continue with their system of government-run trading “factories” – US gov. paid a lot of attention to the fur trade because of its commercial importance and political delicacy • US Government did not want blundering Anglo-American migrants and hunters to start a war with Natives or British • BUT large government monopolies never popular with Americans or Congress – Never got full government support even thought factories made money and kept the peace

• 1806 – Congress established the Office of Superintendent of Indian Trade within the War Department – Was like the previous British system that operated out of trading posts – Congress (and British before them) did not want individual citizens trading and doing land deals with Indians or offending Indians – Superintendent purchased trade goods for factories, got the goods to the posts, direct the work – Tried to “regularize” procedures and make sure agents were honest – Learned that Natives did not want cheap goods (yarn, beads, vermillion-red pigment, guns or cloth made in USA) • They wanted softer, stronger British yarns, Italian glass beads, vermillion and muskets from England

• Goals – peace, safety and commerce – All traders who wanted to work in fur trade had to get a license from the superintendent of each district and had to work out of an official “factory” – Anyone in Indian Country without a license was subject to forfeiture of goods (1/2 to person prosecuting and ½ to government) – St. Louis Chouteau family protected their interests by apprehending illegal traders and confiscating their goods • Caused government to prefer Chouteau family and their allies when giving licenses

• BUT laws often ignored – too much money could be made in illegal trade

War of 1812 unsettled the entire trading system • Whites began to pour into territory west of Mississippi River • Influential fur traders lobbied Congress to cut the budget for Indian affairs after the war • Annuities and presents for Indians unpopular (especially after expense of war) • White citizens felt as if their land was limited • But decline of factory system caused another generation of bloody warfare on Missouri and Mississippi Rivers between Native nations • AND Between whites and Natives

1822 – new set of Trade and Intercourse Acts • end of factory system – supposed to open up fur trade to more people – supposed to allow market competition to regulate prices for furs and trade goods • new type of Indian agents had no tie to local trade – no connections to Indian country – did not speak local languages • Actual results: – Liquor, previously prohibited, poured into the region – More violence Violent results of gov. deregulation • Large and small private operations moved in and caused terrible problems – Before – British, French Canadians and mixed race traders could travel and trade peacefully because they brought highly desired trade goods and they understood the Native diplomatic rules – A-Americans did not (did not have English goods, Native families) • Many Native tribes of Missouri and Arkansas River refused to allow anyone to participate in trade • Missionaries moved in to “civilize” Natives – couldn’t figure out what Natives weren’t interested

Deregulation caused Arikara War - August 1823 • between the United States Army and the Arikara Natives near the Missouri River, in present-day South Dakota – Arikara warriors had previously attacked a trapping expedition traveling on the river – US responded with large force of Army troops, trappers and Sioux under the command of U.S. Army Colonel Henry Leavenworth • Brief conflict but important: – First, it was the first military conflict between the United States and the western native Americans, setting the tone for future encounters – Second, Leavenworth did not completely defeat the Arikara. • His leniency toward them sparked a great debate between Americans demanding subjugation of the natives and those advocating cohabitation with them.

• In the new system - trading companies of various sizes contracted with individual trappers, buying furs from them in the summer and providing them with supplies to hunt through the winter – Many tales of the West are about these month-long gatherings of mountain men and Native people • Where there was not an established post – faced transportation challenges to get huge amount of trade goods and supplies to the trappers & getting furs back

By 1820s – fur trade stabilized into 2 major systems • 1. Rocky Mountain fur trade based on beaver pelts, Euro-American trappers and overland systems of transportation – Sublette family specialized here • 2. Upper Missouri system focused on bison hides hunted and processed by Native people and on the river networks of the upper Missouri for transportation – Chouteau family specialized here • Both systems depended on Native labor and skill • Both systems joined in St. Louis

By 1820s – fur trade stabilized into two major systems 1. Rocky Mountain fur trade based on beaver pelts, Euro-American trappers and overland systems of transportation (Sublette family specialized here) 2. Upper Missouri system focused on bison hides hunted and processed by Native people and on the river networks of the upper Missouri for transportation (Chouteau specialized here) Both systems depended on Native labor and skill Both systems joined in St. Louis

Policy toward Natives - 1830s -1840s • U.S. Federal Gov. policy believed there were 2 kinds of Native people – 1. those who had been removed and had given up (extinguished) title to their lands – 2. those who had not

Indian Agents and Treaty Commissions • All Natives that the gov. had contacted, traded with, or been to war against (most large tribes at this point) had an agent assigned to them by the government – Agents – ranged from complete political hacks to had never seen an Indian to people who had deep connections and knowledge about Native needs • Agent’s job – to either convince the Native people to make treaties and give up land • Or • To manage the annuities, goods, stock and lands they received in return for making a treaty with the US – Many opportunities for graft and personal enrichment • Thomas Forsyth – long time trader with upper Mississippi tribes said with frustration in 1831: – The Indian Service is run by men who have never seen more than 3 or 4 Indians in the course of their lives and keep the Indians in continual broils and quarrels purely for their own pleasure and profit”

Treaty Commission

• Treaty commission – appointed groups (usually combinations of missionaries, Indian Office officials, and regional politicians) that decided how much land a particular Native nation needed – where the reserve should be – how much should be paid for the land they gave up • Commissioners went to the Native men they perceived as leaders, made the gov. offer and got some members to sign the treaty.

Indian Wars in the West – 1848 - 65 Cynthia Ann Parker • C. 1827–1870) was an American woman captured and kidnapped at the age of nine by a Comanche war band that massacred her family’s settlement – adopted by the Comanche and lived with them for 24 years, completely forgetting her European ways – married a Comanche chieftain, Peta Nocona, and had three children with him, including the last free Comanche chief Quanah Parker – "rescued" at age 34, by the Texas Rangers – Her husband was murdered and her 2 sons escaped, but she never saw them again • spent the remaining 10 years of her life refusing to adjust to life in white society. – tried to return to her Comanche family and children, but was again brought back to Texas – Never understood American view that she had been redeemed from savages – 1864 – her daughter, in the photo, died of Parker’s short hair is the pneumonia Comanche symbol of • She quit trying to escape and stopped speaking mourning – she stopped talking and eating and died of influenza in 1870

Ballad of Cynthia Ann Parker

• Good story for students to read – http://www.americanheritage.com/content/balla d-cynthia-ann

The careers of successful western traders Benjamin Davis Wilson

• Trader to diplomat to landowner to businessman • Born in Tennessee 1811 – Began business life as Indian trader with Choctaws and Chickasaws • By 1830s – living in Missouri • Moved west; joined a trapping party and ended up in Santa Fe in 1833 – Part of a large, roving group of trappers who trapped furs illegally in Mexican territory – Learned Spanish, Apache and other Native languages • Became a merchant in Santa Fe

• After 1836 – the Texas Revolution and loss of Texas made Mexican officials suspicious of Americans • SO – moved to southern California in 1841 – Chose a good time because fur business was ending • beaver had been entirely trapped out by late 1830s • In California, became a mule trader, wagon train leader, Indian trader – Under Mexican law he became a naturalized citizen, obtained land – established a business and married into prominent California family – Married Romona Yorba, daughter of very wealthy Don Bernardo Yorba – one of the owners of the vast Santa Ana Ranch • Wilson moved to Los Angeles area – traded/storekeeper then bought a ranch and became a ranchero (cattle rancher) in 1843

• Saw himself as a Californian (not a Mexican or American) – His children Maria Jesus and Juanito – spoke Spanish and were Catholics

• Important in politics and government – became Don Benito Wilson – Served in the Mexican military – Held the office of alcalde (justice of the peace) • When Americans seized California – in 1848 – what was he to do? – Fight with Mexicans to stop Americans OR fight with Americans? – Tried to remain neutral or work as middle-man between the two sides • Gold discovered in 1848 (Americans rushing in – conflicts with people already there) • By 1850s – southern California chaotic & dangerous – Conflicts between Mexicans, Indians, Anglos – a “race war”

• Became the first clerk of Los Angeles county when California became state • One of the early mayors of Los Angeles

• His wife died (1849) – Married Margaret Sublette Hereford (widow of an American that had followed a similar path to California but hadn’t got as rich)

John McLoughlin & the Hudson Bay Company

John McLoughlin , chief factor, Fort Vancouver, 1784 - 1857 Pacific Northwest • No single people, nation or company had uncontested control of the Pacific Northwest – English had a weak claim because of the HBC which said it owned everything near Canada – Captain James Cook sailed up West Coast in 1778 looking for Northwest passage – Spanish considered it a part of Alta California – Russians claimed it as part of their interests in Siberia – Vitus Bering sailed to Alaska in 1741 and started trading furs • By 1780s – English and American ships stopped and traded along the coast of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia • Furs were the most lucrative product – In Canton, China, approx 2.5 million furs were sold in 1780s and 1790s – “Exploration” in this area was really a way to cover for conducting illegal trade in furs and finding ways to corner the China market • Meriwether Lewis insisted that the main advantage of the entire expedition “was be the establishment of a trading post at the mouth of the Columbia River, for expediting the commerce in furs to China”

• In 1818 – Britain and US agreed to a “joint occupancy” of the land – between the 42 and 54th parallels – a huge area rich in furs, fish and land but locked in by the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Pacific to the west • Neither government was to have a presence there – but “the vessels, citizens, and subjects” from both nation could do business and settle – with the understanding that a border could be drawn at any moment.

Hudson Bay Company • incorporated by English royal charter in 1670 • functioned as the de facto government in parts of North America before European states and later the United States laid claim • Rupert's Land (name of the territory) that belonged to HBC was 15% of North American acreage • the company controlled the fur trade in British-controlled North America for several centuries • its traders and trappers formed relationships with Native Americans. Ft. Vancouver • 1824 – 1846 – “Chief factor” – John McLoughlin • Ft. Vancouver was never a “frontier” – a fully formed system of Canadian trade and culture dropped into the fully formed trade and culture of the Chinook or Salish • Natives wouldn’t trade for just anything – they wanted metal goods, clothing, guns, glass (not cheap beads and baubles) • HBC policy: to respect the Natives, treat them fairly and make no effort to change their beliefs • Neither side wanted to convert the other; they wanted to do business – To show respect for Natives: – McLoughlin adopted some Native practices in within the fort – Encouraged marriages between his employees and Native women • Remember, McLoughlin had a Native wife – Violence did occur sometimes – McLoughlin had to walk fine line between punishing so as to not look weak but not overdoing it

Ft. Vancouver

Route of the HBC York Factory Express, 1820s to 1840s. Modern political boundaries shown. A very “modern” corporation

• McLoughlin had to make frequent reports to the York Factory (on Hudson Bay) or London – His boss made almost yearly tours of inspection • 2 ways to communicate: – 1. The express canoes from York Factory that came every fall and spring, carrying mail and instructions from the company (trip took a few weeks) – 2. sailing ships from England – brought food, trade goods and equipment and took back furs, people and mail – took months to get to London • This private enterprise (not government) policed the area

Ft. Vancouver • Fort made of huge Douglas firs; by 1830s covered seven acres. – on a bluff over the Columbia River – included dwellings, storehouses, bakers, blacksmith, carpenter and joiners ships, brick-making building and a powder magazine – housed several hundred people and hundreds of horses and livestock – McLoughlin’s Big House

• On the waterfront – ship-building facilities and loading equipment

• Outside the fort – a village of laborer’s huts, more storehouses, stables, barns and orchards, a hospital, dairy, piggery, gristmill and sawmill • Developed t 3,000 acres of pasture, orchard and farms (to supply fort, 16 other forts in the Columbia District traders and sell to ships)

• By 1840s – McLoughlin’s empire spread thousands of miles beyond Ft. Vancouver and included hundreds of employees and thousands of their dependents. – Forts far up into Canada and northern California – McLoughlin’s fort was only one of hundreds of the HBC • He oversaw French Canadian, British and native clerks, traders, trappers • A very “multi-cultural” corporation – depended upon cultural flexibility locally and a global economy for success

– At McLouglin’s dinner table - Scottish businessmen, French Canadian trappers, local Chinook dignitaries, American missionaries, Russian or English ship captains, Hawaiian laborers, Iroquois and Shoshone hunter; any of them could have Native or métis wives

HBC encouraged long-term relationships and families with Natives • Marriages were “custom of the country” or “country marriages” – Not “legally” or religiously formalized – Scholars have long debated the nature of these partnerships – Some were life-long and monogamous • HBC had special forms to record them, provided housing for families, education for children, stipends for widows and orphans • Company “servants” (term for workers who weren’t officers) often settled in frontier area with their Native families if they retired from the company – In 1811- retires could settled on a special land grant – company paid to get them there, funded seeds, tools and supplies. • Investors in London didn’t like the expense of supporting these families – but realized it was good business

• The officers and clerks (unlike lower level employees) only served a 5 year term and came from England or Scotland. – Some did marry Native women, but only a few took them to England or Montreal – called “taking down” – If “taking down” didn’t occur, then fur trade wives were often “placed” with either their Native families or with other traders in a sort of arranged marriage

• For example: • John McLoughlin married a Ojibwa women to help him trade and provide companionship and support during the long winters – She died in 1809 giving birth to his son; but his son lived • Marguerite Wadin McKay became his 2nd wife – Marguerite was the daughter of a Swiss trader and a Native Cree woman (see next slide) – She had married a prominent trader – Alexander McKay and they had 4 children – McKay retired in 1808; took the soon with him and left dowries for the daughters – Marguerite married John McLoughlin in 1811 – She did not speak English; spoke French and Cree; illiterate so she did not leave records of her life

• He was 27 and a rising officer; she was 36 with 3 daughters (age 2-16)

How to advance in HBC:

• The officers (gentlemen) – the administration - of the company called clerks and apprenticed clerks – Well-educated Scots, Scots Canadian and English – apprenticed clerks did all of the writing and accounting fro the forts – after 5 years they could become clerks – who often ran small posts or expeditions, but not manual labor • Vancouver had around 40 clerks • Clerks could be promoted to chief traders and possibly “chief factor” Ordinary workers - called engagés or servants • Usually Native or French Canadian, often of mixed race and illiterate • Many grades and classes – Postmaster, interpreters, hunters, mechanics, guides, steersmen, bowmen, hunters, voyageurs, laborers, farmers • Local Indians hired as laborers, as well as Orkneymen (islands at far northern tip of Scotland), Hawaiians, and West Indians (Caribbean) – In the 17th century, Orcadians formed the overwhelming majority of employees of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. The harsh climate of Orkney and the Orcadian reputation for sobriety and their boat handling skills made them ideal candidates for the rigors of the Canadian north • Many of the ordinary workers had worked all over North America

• Women also did a huge amount of labor – both paid and unpaid – Grew, gathered, prepared food, did much of the work turning animal skins and salmon into products that could be shipped or stored

Main work of HBC: Furs • Brigades of 50 – 100 men went out to hunt furs and trade with Natives for furs – Officers + hunters, trappers and packers – Usually French Canadians, Hawaiians, Iroquois from St. Lawrence, Ojibwas from Lake Superior and Crees from Assiniboine – Some were employed directly by the HBC; others were “free trappers” who contracted with the company • Depending upon their territory – could be gone months at a time – Example 1823 – party of 55 men – 20 were trappers, rest were laborers who processed the furs, took care of horses – 25 wives and 64 children - Wives cooked & dressed the skins – Also were cultural contacts and interpreters; signaled they group wanted to be peaceful – 392 horses, 75 guns, 212 beaver trap, a cannon, and vast store of provisions • Some constantly threatened to defect to the Americans, who paid more for furs – Officers said they could go if they wanted to travel in an unsafe group of 3 or 4

Conflict with Americans • 1830s – only a few American settlers in the area – Missionaries began to arrive – never more than 9 missions with less than 100 people – BUT encouraged a group of zealous, vocal troublemakers (or some might say American patriots) • 1830s – Jason Lee – sent by the Methodist to Christianize the Indians for the West (part of Second Great Awakening – John McLoughlin welcomed him but advised him not to bother the Flatheads and Nez Perce – Recommended Lee preach to the more settled Natives in the Willamette Valley • Next came Congregational and Presbyterians – 1836 – infamous Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and Henry and Eliza Spaulding

• HBC gave the missionaries seeds, rented implements and oxen to get started, provided loans that were to be paid back

Massacre of the Whitmans • Ten years after the Whitmans arrived • 1847 - Cayuse warriors massacre Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife, Narcissa, and twelve others at Waiilatpu, their mission on the Columbia River – Narcissa was the only woman killed; her body mutilated – Surviving women and children taken as hostages but later released • Anglo-Americans burned every Indian village they could find – setting off an Indian war that would last nearly 10 years

• Natives believed that the missionaries had caused the measles that killed the Native children (but not the white children)

• 1850 Five Cayuse Indians, among them Tiloukaikt, the tribe's chief, are hanged in Oregon City for the Whitman massacre. All five had turned themselves in to spare their people from persecution. • "Did not your missionaries teach us that Christ died to save his people?" Tiloukaikt said on his way to the gallows. "So we die to save our people."

Americans want to claim Oregon • Hall Jackson Kelley spent 5 months at Ft Vancouver in 1834-35 – Wrote pamphlets (before he even visited), wrote Congressmen, petitioned, demanding America take Oregon – Vilified the HBC – said they were a ruthless, unfair, foreign corporate giant – Said HBC starved immigrants, refused to sell them supplies, slaughtered Indians and sent Indians to attacked American immigrants • John McLoughlin actually made an effort to help immigrants – Thought it would be good for business

• By 1843 – 700 – 1,000 Americans moved to Willamette River valley – John McLoughlin increased food production for the new market – Claimed some land in his own name – build saw mills and flour mills to serve settlers – Sold, often on credit, supplies and implements to immigrants (many arrived destitute and unprepared for farming) • Good business decisions at the time – but turned out bad for McLoughlin

Decline John McLoughlin • McLoughlin’s son, John, was murdered while serving as the chief officer at Fort Stikine (north) – HBC said it was his own fault “justifiable homicide” – enraged McLoughlin • McLoughlin’s son-in-law – chief officers at southern fort in Yerba Buena, committed suicide • American immigrants kept arriving – McLoughlin had overextended credit, immigrants did not repay the debts – American immigrants worked hard to vilify the HBC; one even built a house/claimed land right at the gate of Ft. Vancouver • 1846 – McLoughlin was ordered to either retire or be posted somewhere else – McLoughlin stayed in Oregon – tried to become a American citizen; his personal land claims were denied and his lost his land (but later did become a citizen) – Was able to keep his mills and store in Oregon City • 1848 – tried to warn Americans they were pushing Natives too far – no one listened – Cayuse War with Natives happened anyway – Watched as “half-breeds” were vilified (including his own children) • Died in 1857 – left considerable estate to wife Marguerite and living children – 1957 – named the “Father of Oregon” but his Native wife never indentified or called “Mother of Oregon” • His own granddaughter, who labeled herself as an Indian and lived on a reservation, was not allowed admittance to his own house on the Pioneer Day celebration

Determining Point of View

• Problems often caused by “free trappers” or Americans that did not respect Native rights • Example – Jedediah Smith’s group was attacked, goods taken • From Wikipedia (this is not just a Wikipedia problem) • Jedediah Strong Smith (January 6, 1799 – May 27, 1831) was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century. • Nearly forgotten by historians almost a century after his death, Smith has been rediscovered as an American hero who was the first white man to travel overland from the Salt Lake frontier, the Colorado River, the Mojave Desert, and finally into California...... • Jedediah became the first explorer to reach the Oregon Country overland by traveling up the California coast. However, his second run-in with the authorities, in addition to the extreme hardships his parties experienced in both trips, convinced him never to return to California, and he devoted his next years to building up his fur company

• In the Oregon Country, Smith' s party fell into conflict over a stolen ax with the Umpqua people near the Umpqua River. Smith's party had threatened to execute the man they accused of stealing the ax. • Later, Smith's group was attacked and fifteen of Smith's nineteen men were killed. Smith managed to reach the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) post at Fort Vancouver, where he received aid. HBC governor George Simpson happened to be at Fort Vancouver at the time, and he both sympathized with Smith and chastised him for treating the Indians harshly. Simpson sent Alexander McLeod south to rescue the remnants of Smith's party and their goods.( • McLeod returned to Fort Vancouver with numerous beaver skins and horses and trade goods. John McLoughlin, in charge of Fort Vancouver, paid Smith $2,600 for the goods • In return, Smith assured that his American fur trade company would confine its operations to the region east of the Great Divide

What is the rest of the story?

• Smith’s party had been killing Natives all the way up the coast – creating a dangerous situation for themselves and everyone else in the region • the HBC did not punish the tribes – realized that Smith caused the problem. HCB representative McLeod listened to the Natives, assuring them that the British wanted peace • Smith was ordered by the HBC to stay of the Rockies Island of the Blue Dolphins • 1960 American children's novel by Scott O'Dell • story of a young girl stranded for years on an island off the California coast • based on the true story of Juana Maria, a Nicoleño Indian – lived alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island from 1835 until her discovery in 1853 – Remember in the book – the Russian ships visit the island to capture and kill otter for their fur The Southwest Quick Review

• 1810–1821 - Mexican War of Independence • October 2, 1835 - April 21, 1836 - Texas Revolution - War of Independence – between the government of Mexico and Texas colonists – resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Texas

• 1846 to 1848 - Mexican War – USA VS Mexico – Followed the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory despite the 1836 Texas Revolution.

Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River • 1830s – Transition from Spanish to Mexican to American – Many varieties of people worked, lived and traded at these communities – Had to get along with Natives • William and Charles Bent, along with Ceran St. Vrain, built the fort to trade with Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Plains Indians and trappers for buffalo robes. • For 16 years - fort was the only major permanent settlement on the Santa Fe Trail between Missouri and the Mexican settlements – A buffer zone between US, revolutionary Mexico and Native nations • Adobe fort covering an acre – Bent’s “castle on the plains” – Natives from modern day Colorado, northern New Mexico, panhandle of Oklahoma, northern Texas, southern Wyoming, southern Nebraska, western Kansas traded here

• William Bent married Owl Woman - Cheyenne

Remember the historical account of Charles Bent? • A typical 19th century account of pioneers, “Annals of St. Louis” said that Charles Bent died single, Governor of Taos, New Mexico, murdered – BUT – he was not single, died in the arms of his wife, Ignacia Jaramillo Bent and three of his children – Why was his listed as single? – His brothers William, George and Robert all listed as unmarried- but all had Mexican or Native wives

Bent’s Fort – 1833-1849

• A buffer zone between US, revolutionary Mexico and Native nations • The southern plains to the south – llano estacado – and the central, short grass prairies to the north. Two systems of trade, two continents, and many nation came together on these plains.

Northern California Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo 1808-1890 • born in 1808 to an upper class California Mexican (Californio) family in Monterey, then the capital of the province of Alta California. • At 15 , two years after Mexican independence, he became a cadet in the Mexican army. – led a victorious Mexican and Indian expedition against an Indian revolt a t the San José mission – Becomes military commander of the northern part of the state • VERY important, powerful, and wealthy Mexican leader • THEN 1846 – US War with Mexico – US takes California – American rebels treated him – General John C. Fremont, the leader of the so-called "Bear Flag Rebellion," imprisoned Vallejo and his younger brother at Sutter's Fort for two months without filing any formal charges. – Fighting and looting caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to his estates • After USA takes California – Vallejo was appointed Indian agent for Northern California, a position which effectively continued his earlier work for the Mexican government. – 1849 he was one of 8 Californios to serve in California's constitutional convention, and was subsequently elected to the first state senate.

Can Mexicans be Americans?

• US conquest of California was ultimately as disastrous for Vallejo and other Californios. – The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo formally protected the legal rights of Mexicans newly incorporated into the US – BUT that often didn’t happen – Vallejo's legal battle for his land title cost him thousands of dollars in legal fees and he finally lost almost all his land. • Gold Rush immigrants outnumbered the Californios; treated them badly. – Despite their willing acceptance of democratic government by Californios, the US treated them as foreigners. • By the end of the century, almost all Mexicans and Mexican- Americans found themselves an abused minority – little or no political power – lowest rungs of the economic ladder.

San Felipe de Austin

• Founded in 1823 the capital for the colony Austin established in Mexican-owned Texas – on the Brazos Fiver • Stephen Austin - empresario, or land contractor, to the Mexican government – oversaw the distribution of almost 6 million acres of land in Texas from his San Felipe land office – His first contract allowed him to bring 300 families from the United States—a group termed the "Old 300." – Four more contacts authorized Austin to settle an additional 1,700 families. • These colonial land grants began the most rapid and significant transformation of population and land use in Texas history. – As friction with Mexico increased, Austin's headquarters became a gathering place for meetings of the settlers. site of the Convention of 1832 and the Convention of 1833 • San Felipe the capital of the Texas Provisional Government. • The community was burned in 1836 after evacuation by the Texas Army, but was partially rebuilt the following year.

1850s • by 1857 -Chouteaus, McLoughlins, Sublettes, Bents who had dominated the fur trade would slip from upper rungs of society • the Vallejos, Austins would loose their fortunes in land – but these people only lost heir position and money – people labeled as Indian lost even more – “mixed-breeds” also suffer

Question to consider

• Were the French, French Canadians, British, Spanish, naturally less prejudiced against Native Americans and people of mixed race?

• Were Native Americans prejudiced other groups and people of mixed race?

• Were the Americans more prejudiced than the people living in the West before 1804? • Why or why not? John Sutter & Sutter’s Fort

Northern California Gold Rush – 1848-50 “Captain” John Sutter 1803-1880

• Historians have described him as wiley and crafty (positive) to opportunistic, self-serving, dangerous • a crook (left a trail of bad debts behind him), and a despot (cruel to Natives and anyone else he could take advantage of) • Born in Germany, parents from Switzerland – 1834 - abandoned his wife and 5 children & set sail for New York • moved to Missouri, where for three years he operated as a trader on the Santa Fe Trail. • 1838 - arriving at Fort Vancouver, near present-day Portland, Oregon, in hopes of finding a ship that would take him to San Francisco Bay – Visited Hawaiian Islands and Russian colony at Sitka, Alaska

• 1939 - arrived in California and (maybe) got permission from Mexican government establish a settlement – east of San Francisco (then called Yerba Buena) along the Sacramento River (occupied by Indians_ – granted nearly fifty thousand acres - called it New Helvetia – laborers he had brought with him from Hawaii built Sutter's Fort • Achieved the grand-scale success (but a cheat and liar, did not repay debts) – BUT Treated Natives as slaves, abused many women – Attracted rowdy ex-mountain men and ex-sailors – Raised, trained, sold, bought, stole and re-sold horses • Became a Mexican citizen • Sutter’s Fort became a regular stop for the increasing number of Americans moving California – Made more money selling them supplies • Declined with gold was discovered near by - January 24, 1848 – Squatters looking for gold on his land – destroyed his crops, killed his livestock

The Mormons

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Citizenship – what did it mean in the West? • Mexicans were Spanish, then Mexican, then American – but not treated well as Americans • Natives were never considered to be citizens • What about people of mixed race? • Consider a new group – the Mormons – Mormons – like many Native nations – traveled in family groups, did business almost exclusively with their kin, refused to marry “the American way” – Like Comanches they controlled a piece of isolated desert landscape, controlled trade and travel in that regions using kinship connections, price controls and fear • Were they Americans? • Did they want to be Americans?

Right – Mormon Territory Below – Comanche territory

• Dec. 23, 1805 -Birth of Joseph Smith in Sharon, Vermont • Smith family moves around New England – Group of newly landless farmers who struggled to survive in deeply depressed economy • 1816 - Smith family moved west to Palmyra, New York – Land not free – had to buy it – But believed that new Erie Canal would make their move profitable • 1823 - Joseph Smith discovers golden plates • 1827 - Joseph Smith marries Emma Hale Smith • 1830 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founded – The Book of Mormon is published

• 1831-1838 Mormons in Kirtland, Ohio

• 1831-1839 Mormons in Independence, Missouri – 10,000 strong; Mormons buy up huge quantities of land – Violence and conflicts with neighbors – Do business as large cooperative; Non-Mormons in the area can’t compete • 1838 Massacre at Haun's Mill, Missouri – 17 Mormons died, a few of the attacking state militia injured – Mormons agree to leave and abandon their property if state will protect them

Palmyra

Temple at Nauvoo • 1839-1848 -Mormons in Nauvoo, Illinois • 1843 - A special revelation to Smith starts polygamy • 1844 - Joseph Smith killed by a mob; Brigham Young is new leader • 1845 - Preparations begins to move to Utah • 1846 Move to “Winter Quarters” – thousands of Latter-day Saints abandoned Nauvoo, fleeing to the West in barges and ferries across the Mississippi River. • 1846-69 – Mormon Exodus to Utah; development of Utah • 1857 –1858 - Mormon War in Utah – between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and US Army – Casualties were mostly non-Mormon civilians, the "war" had no battles, and was resolved through negotiation.

1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre • Fancher Party from Arkansas moving to California and Oregon – Fanchers came from same place in Arkansas where a jealous husband had killed a Mormon apostle – But Fanchers left before that even happened • Stopped in Salt Lake City to buy supplies – Had heard about federal troops headed toward Utah, but continued on • Sept. 7 – camped at Mountain Meadows • Attacked by Mormon militia dressed up as Paiutes and some actual Paiutes – Commanded by Nauvoo Legion leaders to “dispatch the emigrants” • Settlers fought off Mormons for 3 days but had no water – Sept. 11 – a rejuvenated force of 54 Mormons and more than 300 Paiutes attacked again • Women, children and injured offered the chance to survive – Over a hill, everyone over age was 6 was murdered – 17 children younger than 6 survived – Some Mormon men and Natives refused to participate – Later found that Mormon men had done most of the killing

• Brigham Young’s official story placed all the blame on the Natives – Mormon officials, to cover it up, said that the emigrants had poisoned Indian wells and that the Indians had attacked to steal the cattle • Many suspected Mormons responsible for the massacre – but U.S. Gov. had just negotiated a tense peace, so “believed” the Mormon cover-up • 1874 -Nine indictments finally made – Of the men indicted, only John D. Lee was tried in a court of law. After two trials in the Utah Territory, Lee was convicted by a jury and executed.

Sketch of the site of the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, Harpers Weekly Cover Story August 13, 1859 - Mountain Meadows Massacre. Resources

• PBS series – New Perspectives on the West – On Netflix (free if you are a subscriber) – search Ken Burns – The West – 8 episodes – Website has teacher resources • http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/