The West in the Gilded Age

AP U.S. History: Unit 6.3 Student Edition The West in the Gilded Age

Themes of the Gilded Age:  Industrialism: U.S. became the world’s most powerful economy by 1890s (exceeding combined output of Britain and Germany; railroads, steel, oil, electricity, banking  Unions and reform movements sought to curb the injustices of industrialism.  Urbanization: America was transformed from an agrarian nation to an urban nation between 1865 (where 50% of Americans were farmers) and 1920 (where only 25% were farmers). (2% today)  Millions of "New Immigrants" came from Southern and Eastern Europe, mostly to cities to work in factories.  By 1900 society had become more stratified into classes than any time before or since.  The “Great West": farming, mining, & cattle frontiers  Farmers increasingly lost ground in the new industrial economy and eventually organized (Populism). In 1880, 25% of those who farmed did not own their land. 90% of African Americans lived in the South; 75% were tenant farmers or sharecroppers.  Politics: hard vs. soft money ('70s & '90s); tariff ('80s); corruption due to political machines, patronage & trusts (throughout late 19th c.); election of 1896

Intro: Frederick Jackson Turner: “Significance of the Frontier in American History” (1893) "Up to our own day American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West. The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward, explain American development." A. Turner argued the closing of the frontier had ended an era in American history. B. He used the census report of 1890 to explain that settlement of the frontier had created the American character and spurred American development. C. His essay illustrates the psychological power of the frontier in that, with its passing, Americans began to realize that revitalized opportunities were also vanishing.

I. "Great West" A. Spanned from the Great Plains in the east to the California desert in the west B. A flood of whites to the area occurred after the Civil War. 1. In 1865, few white people lived in the area (except Mormons in Utah and scattered Spanish-Mexican settlements in Southwest). 2. Many who came west were Civil War veterans; some were black. C. Area inhabited by Plains Indians: Sioux and Comanche, southwestern Amerindians such as Apache and Navajo, and northwestern Amerindians including Nez Perce and Shoshoni. D. By 1890, the entire area had been carved into states except for four territories. 1. Pioneers poured into the vast area in one of the most rapid settlements of such a vast area in all human history. 2. Expansion was spurred by the Homestead Act of 1862 and the transcontinental railroad (see pages below) E. Amerindians stood in the way of expansion on two fronts: westward from the trans-Mississippi East and eastward from the Pacific Coast. F. African-Americans in the West 1. 18% of the California population by 1890 2. Many were involved in the fur trade in 1820s and 1840s. 3. Over 500,000 lived west of Mississippi; many came west as slaves. 4. After 1877, about 200,000 blacks moved West, many began homesteading in Kansas or Oklahoma—the “exodusters” 5. As many as 1 in 4 cowboys were black.

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II. Americans vs. Amerindians A. Plains Amerindians 1. The Spanish-introduced horse in 16th, 17th and 18th centuries made Amerindians more nomadic and war-like as they had more range and competed for resources. 2. By 1860, tens of thousands of buffalo-hunting Amerindians roamed the western plains. a. Their society was organized into tribes, which were usually subdivided into "bands" of about 500 men and women, each with a governing council. b. Women assumed domestic and artistic roles, while men hunted, traded, and supervised religious and military life. c. Each tribe’s warrior class competed with others to demonstrate bravery. d. Western tribes never successfully united politically or militarily against white power, thus contributing to their defeat by the U.S. 3. Government policy toward Amerindians: a. The federal gov’t regarded tribes both as independent nations and as wards of the state and therefore negotiated treaties with them that required ratification by the Senate. b. Tribes were often victimized by corrupt white officials charged with protecting them. c. As white settlers moved west, more pressure existed for access to Amerindian lands. d. The gov’t frequently violated treaties they made with Native Americans.  Railroad companies were granted “right-of-way” lands where the transcontinental railroad was being built plus land grants near the railroads, thus intruding on Amerindian lands. e. Concentration policy: 1851, the U.S. gov’t began a policy of inducing tribes to concentrate in areas to the north and south of intended white settlement. f. Concentration was intensified in the 1860s when Amerindians were herded into still smaller areas – "relocation"  Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868): Sioux were "guaranteed" the sanctuary of the Black Hills in Dakota Territory.  Other tribes were relocated to "Indian Territory" (Oklahoma).  Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the Department of the Interior was in charge of Indian reservations. 4. Amerindians surrendered ancestral lands so they would be left alone and given food, clothing and other supplies. a. Federal Indian agents were often corrupt, giving poor or damaged provisions.  Some profited handsomely by embezzling funds. b. Treaties were often disregarded while lands were seized and © HistorySage.com 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com

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game was killed. c. Corrupt BIA practices resulted in constant conflicts between tribes and nearby white settlers.

B. Warfare 1. 1868-1890, constant warfare raged in the West between Amerindians and whites. a. U.S. troops were largely composed of Civil War veterans.  20% of all soldiers assigned to the frontier were black (many served in the Buffalo Regiment and were known by the Amerindians as “Buffalo Soldiers”).  U.S. forces were led by Generals Sherman, Sheridan ("the only good Indian is a dead Indian") and Custer. b. Plains Amerindians were expert fighters who often had state- of-the-art weapons supplied from fur traders (e.g. repeating rifles). 2. Sand Creek Massacre, Colorado, 1864 a. 1861, the Cheyenne and Arapaho were forced into the desolate Sand Creek reservation due to gold mining. b. Tensions resulted in scattered battles until the Cheyenne surrendered and reported to gov’t areas. c. Colonel J. M. Chivington’s militia massacred about 150 Amerindians who had been promised immunity and protective custody by the gov’t. 3. Sioux War of 1876-1877 a. Began when gold miners rushed to the Black Hills of South Dakota in1875 b. Warriors led by Sitting Bull attacked U.S. forces after treaties had been violated. c. U.S. Army led by Gen. George A. Custer who pursued the Sioux d. Battle of Little Big Horn (1876)  Custer’s forces clashed with 2,500 well-armed warriors in eastern Montana led by Crazy Horse.  Custer and his 264 men were completely wiped out; about 150 Amerindians died as well. e. U.S. reinforcements chased Sitting Bull to Canada where he received political asylum; hunger forced the Sioux to return and surrender to the U.S. 4. Nez Perce (located in Idaho) a. Chief Joseph was a noble and humane leader, who had earlier helped white settlers and explorers. b. Nez Perce ceded much land to the U.S. in 1855 in return for a large reservation in Oregon and Idaho.  Later, the Nez Perce were forced to cede even more land after gold was discovered. © HistorySage.com 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com

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c. In 1877, the U.S. gov’t ordered the removal of the Nez Perce from the Wallowa Valley in Oregon by agreement or by force. d. War ensued and the Nez Perce won several battles before fleeing. e. The Nez Perce undertook a 75-day, 1,500 mile retreat to Canada.  They sought out Sitting Bull’s camp in Canada but were subdued only 30 miles from the border -- 1 day’s trip) f. The Nez Perce were subsequently shipped south to a malaria- infested camp in Kansas, before their final relocation in Oklahoma.  They had been promised a reservation in the Dakotas but the U.S. reneged.  Over a third of the tribe died of disease. g. The Nez Perce were eventually allowed to return to the northwest but not to the Wallowa Valley. 5. Apache a. Cochise led a successful 9-year guerrilla war from his base in the Rocky Mountains  The U.S. offered the Apache a deal but later reneged. b. Apache were later led by Geronimo (Arizona, New Mexico) c. He was pursued by the U.S. into Mexico and finally induced to surrender. d. Many Apache became successful farmers in Oklahoma, where they also raised cattle. 6. Wounded Knee (1890) a. Last major clash between U.S. troops and American Indians b. The army was sent to end the practice of the sacred "Ghost Dance" performed by the Dakota Sioux.  Believers of the cult expected buffalo to return and God’s wrath to wipe the white man from the face of the earth.  Fearful whites (many were Christian reformers on reservations) successfully urged the U.S. gov’t to make it illegal. c. 300 Sioux men, women, and children were massacred; 60 U.S. soldiers were killed.

C. Result of Indian Wars 1. By 1890, effectively all North American tribes were on reservations. a. The U.S. gov’t felt it was cheaper to feed Indians than to fight them. b. Yet, many reservations were grossly ignored by the U.S. gov’t. 2. Killing of buffalo resulted in the Plains Amerindians being subdued a. Buffalo had been used by Amerindians for food, clothing, shelter, tools, and religious icons. b. Originally about 50 million buffalo roamed the plains; reduced to 15 million in 1868 and less than 1,000 by 1885 c. Much of the food supply during railroad construction came from bison while U.S. Army and agents of the BIA also encouraged © HistorySage.com 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com

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bison slaughter. 3. Railroads transported troops, farmers, cattlemen, sheepherders, and settlers  Railroads also encouraged killing of buffalo as they sometimes would disrupt rail lines for days. o They hired hunters such as “Buffalo” Bill Cody. 4. White diseases ravaged Native Americans, as did alcohol.

D. National sentiment began to urge reform toward Native Americans. 1. Helen Hunt Jackson: A Century of Dishonor (1881) a. Chronicled the record of gov’t ruthlessness and deceit toward Amerindians. b. The work had a similar emotional impact on the public not unlike Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin  Ramona, a novel written by Jackson in 1884, focused on the plight of southern California Indians, and was widely read. c. Jackson’s books inspired a movement to assimilate Amerindians "for their own good." 2. Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 (Allotment Act) a. Reflected forced-civilization views of reformers (and western land speculators)  In effect, sought to eradicate Amerindian culture by forcing assimilation b. Provisions  Dissolved many tribes as legal entities  Wiped out tribal ownership of land  Set up individual Amerindian family heads with an allotment of 160 free acres  If Amerindians "behaved" like "good white settlers," they would get full title to their holdings and citizenship in 25 years. o The probationary period was later extended. c. Results:  Accelerated the destruction of traditional Amerindian culture. o Army-style boarding schools were set up where Amerindian children were prohibited from exercising any portion of their culture.  2/3 of Indians’ remaining land was lost o 1889 and 1892 land rushes took Cherokee, Creek, and other lands  The Dawes Act remained the U.S. government’s official Indian policy until 1934 when the Indian Reorganization Act (the "Indian New Deal") tried to restore the tribal basis of Amerindian life. d. Amerindians finally received full citizenship in 1924.

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e. Today, 2 million Native Americans live in the U.S., less than 1% of the total population.

III. Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on the Frontier A. Established three western frontiers 1. Mining 2. Ranching 3. Farming

B. Towns sprang up along railroad routes 1. Railroads were given land by the U.S. government in alternating squares miles, 10 miles-wide on each side of the railroad track in a checkerboard pattern. 2. Railroads sold much of this land to settlers. 3. More people bought land from the railroads than received land from the Homestead Act.

IV. Mining in the West (first of three frontiers) A. Mineral-rich areas of the West were the first to be extensively settled. 1. Following prospectors and commercial miners, ranchers and farmers migrated westward. 2. Copper, lead, tin, quartz, and zinc ultimately became more profitable than gold or silver.

B. Pike’s Peak, Colorado 1. Gold was discovered in modern-day Colorado Springs in 1858 and thousands of prospectors rushed West. 2. Though only a few of the 100,000 "59-ers" profited, thousands stayed in the region to mine silver, or farm grain.

C. Comstock Lode was discovered in Nevada in 1859 (gold and silver)  A big population influx resulted in Nevada’s statehood in 1864.

D. Copper mining developed in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah.  Increased demand for copper was due to the increased use of telegraph wires, electric wires, and telephone wires.

E. Ghost towns emerged when mines petered out and towns were abandoned.

F. Corporations gradually came to dominate mining which required large capitalization.

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G. Significance of mining 1. Attracted population and wealth to the “Wild West” 2. Helped finance the Civil War 3. Facilitated the building of railroads 4. Intensified conflict between whites and Amerindians 5. Enabled the U.S. gov’t to resume specie payments in 1879 6. Introduced the silver issue into American politics 7. Added to American folklore and literature (e.g. Bret Harte and Mark Twain)

V. Ranching (second of the three frontiers) A. The transcontinental railroad facilitated transportation of meat to cities. 1. Cattle were now driven to stockyards (e.g. Kansas City and Chicago). 2. Beef tycoons like the Swift’s and Armour’s emerged. 3. Refrigerator cars allowed transportation of fresh meat from western stockyards to the East.

B. The "Long Drive" 1. Mexican ranchers had developed ranching techniques later used by Texans, then by Great Plains cattlemen and cowboys.  Spanish words: rodeo, bronco, lasso 2. Texas cowboys included former Confederate soldiers, northern whites, blacks, and Mexicans. 3. Cowboys drove herds through the plains until they reached a railroad terminal (e.g. Abilene and Dodge City in Kansas, Ogallala in Nebraska, and Cheyenne in Wyoming).

C. Challenges to the "long drive" 1. Homesteaders built barbed-wire fences that were too numerous to be cut down by the Cowboys.  Barbed wire was invented by Joseph Glidden (1874) who made a fortune selling it (he produced about 600 miles per day). 2. Terrible winter of 1885-86 & 1886-1887 followed by scorching summer killed thousands of steer. 3. Overgrazing and overexpansion also took their toll. 4. Ranchers built heartier stock and fenced them into controlled lands where they could feed and water them to keep them healthy.

D. Latino resistance to white ranching in the Southwest 1. Poor Mexican-American ranchers (Mexicanos) resisted the fencing in of lands in places such as New Mexico and Las Vegas as large landowners sought to take control of open lands, some of which remained public. a. In 1890, a secret organization called the White Caps (Los Gorras Blancas) destroyed fences in San Miguel County, New Mexico. © HistorySage.com 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com

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b. Federal troops were called in to protect the fences. c. In response Mexican-American ranchers began running for office and controlled the balance of power between both the Republican and Democratic parties. 2. In Texas, the Anglo community dominated the older Latino communities through authorities such as the Texas Rangers.

VI. Farming (the third western frontier) A. Homestead Act of 1862 1. Federal lands were effectively given away to encourage settlement of the West. 2. Settlers could acquire as much as 160 acres of land by living on it for 5 years, improving it, and paying a nominal fee averaging about $30 (as low as $10).  Residency on land was required for ownership. 3. Or, land might be acquired after 6 months’ residence at $1.25/acre. 4. The new policy was a departure from previous federal land policy of selling land for revenue.

B. Results 1. About 500,000 pioneer families migrated west (20,000 by 1865).  Yet, five times as many families purchased lands from railroads, land companies, or states, instead of under the Homestead Act. 2. Thousands of homesteaders, maybe 2/3, were forced to give up in the face of inadequate 160 acre plots and drought, hail, and ravage from insects. 3. Ten times more of the public domain belonged to promoters, not farmers.  Corporations used "dummy" homesteaders to grab the best properties containing lumber, minerals, and oil. 4. The federal trend of "free land" lasted until 1934.

C. Development of the “Great American Desert” 1. Black prairie sod (e.g. Kansas) could now be developed with special plows.  Rich land shattered the myth of the “Great American Desert.” 2. Railroads played a role in taming the West. a. Profitable marketing of crops b. Induced Americans and European immigrants to buy cheap lands 3. Improved irrigation techniques helped deserts to bloom (e.g. Mormons in Utah) 4. Tough strains of wheat resistant to cold were imported from Russia. 5. Flour-milling process by John Pillsbury of Minneapolis, increased grain demand. 6. Barbed-wire gave farmers more protection against trespassing cattle. © HistorySage.com 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com

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VII. End of the Frontier A. Incredible population growth occurred in the West from the 1870s to 1890s. 1. New states: Colorado (1876) North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming  The Republican congress in 1889 admitted several new states to buttress their control in Congress over the Democrats. 2. Utah was admitted in 1896 after it banned polygamy in 1890.

B. Oklahoma Land Rush, April 22, 1889 1. U.S. made available to settlers vast stretches of land formerly occupied by the Creeks and Seminoles in the district of Oklahoma. 2. Nearly 100, 000 "boomers" or "eighty-niners" poured in from the Oklahoma border. a. By day’s end, nearly 2 million acres had been settled. b. "Sooners" were land-grabbers who claimed land illegally before the land rush began. 3. By year’s end, Oklahoma had 60,000 inhabitants and Congress made it a territory. 4. In 1907, it became "the Sooner State."

C. The 1890 census revealed that for the first time in U.S. history, a frontier line was no longer discernible. 1. All unsettled areas were now broken by isolated bodies of settlement. 2. Yet, more millions of acres were taken up after 1890 than between 1862 and 1890. 3. Once the frontier was gone, farmers could not move west in significant numbers.  They had to stay and fight to improve their situation by organizing for political purposes.

D. "Safety valve" theory 1. Supposedly, during depressions, unemployed city-dwellers moved west to farm and prosper. 2. In reality, few urbanites in eastern centers migrated to the frontier during depressions. a. They did not know how to farm or could not raise necessary funds for transportation, livestock, and machinery. b. Most settlers who moved west came from farms on the older frontier. c. In fact, near century’s end, many farmers moved to the city. 3. Free acreage did lure immigrant farmers who would otherwise have lived in overcrowded eastern slums. © HistorySage.com 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com

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4. The frontier did lure restless and adventurous spirits, mostly young men, who wanted to achieve the "American Dream" 5. The frontier did have a psychological impact on easterners who could, if they desired, flee to the frontier.  May have had an impact in wage increases for eastern workers.

VIII. Large-Scale Farming and the Mechanization of Agriculture A. The Mississippi region experienced an agricultural revolution after the Civil War. 1. Large-scale farmers invested heavily in machinery to produce food on an industrial scale. a. They employed steam power for plowing, seeding and harrowing. b. The twine binder (1870s) and the combined reaper-thresher (“combine”—1880s) radically increased production. c. As large agricultural interests, these wealthy farmers became business people who were heavily dependent on the banking, railroad, and manufacturing interests. 2. Large-scale farmers concentrated on a single cash-crop such as wheat or corn. a. America became the world’s breadbasket and meat producer. b. The farm attained the status of a factory. c. Some of the farms became enormous (e.g. Minnesota and North Dakota, and California’s Central Valley) 3. Large-scale commercial agriculture run by entrepreneurial capitalists of the New South, spread beyond the plantations into white small farming regions.

B. For farmers, the post-war era represented one of most wrenching changes in American history. 1. "Crop lien" system: basis of the commercialization of southern agriculture. a. A planter or merchant extended a line of credit (at exorbitant interest rates) to a struggling farmer.  It was virtually impossible for farmers to get out of debt.  Resulted in many poor white and black farmers becoming landless tenant farmers or sharecroppers. b. Credit merchants who came to power in the post-Reconstruction South acquired much land at the expense of small farmers.  1870s: 20% of Southern farmers were tenants, mostly freed slaves.  1910s: 50% of farmers were tenants, many were newly landless whites. c. The oppressive system of farming in the South resulted in the massive migration of white and black Americans out of the Southern cotton belt. © HistorySage.com 2014 All Rights Reserved This material may not be posted on any website other than HistorySage.com

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 Largest population shift in American history (most of whom were white). 2. Some small-scale farmers, unskilled in business, blamed banks and railroads rather than their own shortcomings for their losses. 3. Gave rise to Populist movement of victimized farmers.

C. Economic problems plaguing farmers 1. Deflated currency and low food prices were the chief worries among farmers. 2. Natural disasters caused by freezing temperatures, insects, and diseases compounded the problems farmers faced 3. Government-added woes a. Farmers’ land was often overvalued, making property taxes higher. b. Protective tariffs hurt the South as manufactured product prices increased  Farmers’ products were unprotected in the competitive world market. 4. Agricultural-related trusts gouged farmers: barbed-wire trust, fertilizer trust, harvester trust, and railroad trust (freight rates) 5. Farmers were underrepresented politically and poorly organized.

Terms to Know

Frederick Jackson Turner Dawes Severalty Act, 1887 Plains Indians three western frontier: mining, farming, “exodusters” ranching Sioux Comstock Lode Treaty of Ft. Laramie, 1868 “long drive” Bureau of Indian Affairs cowboys Buffalo Regiment barbed-wire, Joseph Glidden Sand Creek Massacre, 1864 Homestead Act, 1862 Sitting Bull twine binder General George Custer “combine” Battle of Little Big Horn, 1876 John Pillsbury Crazy Horse Oklahoma Land Rush, 1889 Nez Perce, Chief Joseph 1890 census Apache, Geronimo “safety valve” thesis “Ghost Dance” crop-lien system Wounded Knee, 1890 Helen Hunt Jackson, A Century of Dishonor, 1881

Essay Questions

Note: This unit is the highest probability area for the AP exam! In the past 10 years, 9 questions have come wholly or in part from the material in this Unit. This sub-unit is a high probability area for the AP exam. In the past 10 years, 3 questions have come wholly or in part from the material in this sub-uint. Below are some questions that will help you study the topics that have appeared on previous exams.

1. Analyze factors for the conflict between Americans and Amerindians in the West.

2. Analyze the impact of the transcontinental railroad on the economic development of the West.

3. Discuss the revolution in farming that occurred in the South and West after the Civil War

Bibliography:

College Board, AP United States History Course and Exam Description (Including the Curriculum Framework), 2014: History, New York: College Board, 2014 Brinkley, Alan, American History: Connecting with the Past, 14th ed., New York: McGraw Hill, 2012 Foner, Eric & Garraty, John A. editors: The Reader’s Companion to American History, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991 Frasier, James W., By the People, A History of the United States, Boston: Pearson 2015 Kennedy, David M., Cohen, Lizabeth, Bailey, Thomas A.: The American Pageant (AP Edition), 13th edition, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006 Nash, Gary: American Odyssey, Lake Forest, Illinois: Glencoe, 1992 Painter, Nell Irvin, Standing at Armageddon: The United States, 1877- 1919, New York: W. W. Norton 1987 Schultz, Constance G., The American History Videodisc Master Guide, Annapolis: Instruction Resources Corporation, 1995