c. 1865-c. 1890:
The Western Frontier
Essential Questions
- How did the pressures of westward expansion impact Native Americans?
- What economic and social factors changed the West after the Civil War?
- What led to the rise of the Populist movement, and what effect did it have?
Learning Objectives
You will learn:
- How and why aridity, availability of land and new land laws influenced the westward migration and settlement of various groups, such as homesteaders and “sodbusters”
- How the development of transportation and communication technologies impacted patterns of western migration and settlement during the 19th Century
- How and why the birth of the cattle industry led to the era of the American cowboy and new patterns of migration and settlement in the southwestern United States
- How and why the federal government encouraged the westward growth of the railroad industry and how the industry’s growth and movement impacted the settlement, daily lives and fortunes of various groups
- How and why the expansion of the cattle industry led to conflict between settled farmers and cattle ranchers
- How westward settlement and expansion impacted various ethnic groups during the 19th Century
- How westward migration and Manifest Destiny impacted perceptions of the frontier and the “American Dream”
- How westward settlement and expansion impacted the roles of women, their contributions and relationships
- How and why southern African American “Exodusters” moved westward after the collapse of Reconstruction in the South
- How American Indians viewed the westward migration of American settlers, their own movement to reservations, and government and public attempts at “Americanization”
- How social and governmental policy pushed diverse American Indian groups to the Great Plains and contributed to the establishment of reservations
- How and why the federal government adopted a policy of “Americanization” or assimilation of American Indians and the impact of the policy on diverse groups of American Indians and the nation
- How and to what extent the “Americanization” of diverse American Indian groups led to increased challenges for American Indian communities and the disintegration of American Indian culture at the dawn of the 20th Century
- How the platform and leaders of the Populist Party influenced the presidential election of 1896 and early 20th Century American politics
Key Terms
Assignments and Readings
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| 1876.pdf |
| 1876_questions.pdf |
| dances_with_wolves.pdf |
| farmers_crossword.pdf |
| groups_of_the_west_chart.pdf |
| populism_documents.pdf |
| populism_documents_worksheet.pdf |
| sand_creek_massacre.pdf |
Slideshows
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Populism from Dave Phillips |
Videos
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Digital History Textbook
Closing the Western Frontier
In 1860, most Americans considered the Great Plains the “Great American Desert.” Settlement west of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Lousiana averaged just 1 person per square mile. The only parts of the Far West that were highly settled were California and Texas. Between 1865 and the 1890s, however, Americans settled 430 million acres in the Far West--more land than during the preceding 250 years of American history.By 1893, the Census Bureau was able to claim that the entire western frontier was now occupied.The discovery of gold, silver, and other precious minerals in California in 1849, in Nevada and Colorado in the 1850s, in Idaho and Montana in 1860s, and South Dakota in the 1870s sparked an influx of prospectors and miners. The expansion of railroads and the invention of barbed wire and improvements in windmills and pumps attracted ranchers and farmers to the Great Plains in the 1860s and 1870s. This chapter examines the forces that drove Americans westward; the kinds of lives they established in the Far West; and the rise of the "West of the imagination," the popular myths that continue to exert a powerful hold on mass culture.
Building the Transcontinental Railroad
The Great American Desert
The Comstock Lode and the Mining Frontier
The Cattle Frontier
The Farming Frontier
Water and the West
Black Gold: The Oil Frontier
Closing the American Frontier
The West of the Imagination
Biography
Tragedy of the Plains Indians
The 250,000 Native Americans who lived on the Great Plains were confined onto reservations through renegotiation of treaties and 30 years of war. This chapter examines the consequences of America's westward movement for Native Americans.A Thirty Years War
The Sand Creek Massacre
The Battle of the Little Big Horn
Nez Perce
Wounded Knee I
Wounded Knee II
Kill the Indian and Save the Man
Native Americans at the Turn of the Century
The Political Crisis of the 1890s
The 1880s and 1890s were years of turbulence. Disputes erupted over labor relations, currency, tariffs, patronage, and railroads The most momentous political conflict of the late 19th century was the farmers' revolt. Drought, plagues of grasshoppers, boll weevils, rising costs, falling prices, and high interest rates made it increasingly difficult to make a living as a farmer. Many farmers blamed railroad owners, grain elevator operators, land monopolists, commodity futures dealers, mortgage companies, merchants, bankers, and manufacturers of farm equipment for their plight. Farmers responded by organizing Granges, Farmers' Alliances, and the Populist party. In the election of 1896, the Populists and the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan for president. Bryan 's decisive defeat inaugurated a period of Republican ascendancy, in which Republicans controlled the presidency for 24 of the next 32 years.
Panacea's for the Nation's Ills
Henry George
Looking Backward
William Hope Harvey
The Depression of the Mid-1890s
The Farmers' Plight
Populism
The Election of 1896
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Populist Crusade and Restrictions on African Americans
In 1860, most Americans considered the Great Plains the “Great American Desert.” Settlement west of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Lousiana averaged just 1 person per square mile. The only parts of the Far West that were highly settled were California and Texas. Between 1865 and the 1890s, however, Americans settled 430 million acres in the Far West--more land than during the preceding 250 years of American history.By 1893, the Census Bureau was able to claim that the entire western frontier was now occupied.The discovery of gold, silver, and other precious minerals in California in 1849, in Nevada and Colorado in the 1850s, in Idaho and Montana in 1860s, and South Dakota in the 1870s sparked an influx of prospectors and miners. The expansion of railroads and the invention of barbed wire and improvements in windmills and pumps attracted ranchers and farmers to the Great Plains in the 1860s and 1870s. This chapter examines the forces that drove Americans westward; the kinds of lives they established in the Far West; and the rise of the "West of the imagination," the popular myths that continue to exert a powerful hold on mass culture.
Building the Transcontinental Railroad
The Great American Desert
The Comstock Lode and the Mining Frontier
The Cattle Frontier
The Farming Frontier
Water and the West
Black Gold: The Oil Frontier
Closing the American Frontier
The West of the Imagination
Biography
Tragedy of the Plains Indians
The 250,000 Native Americans who lived on the Great Plains were confined onto reservations through renegotiation of treaties and 30 years of war. This chapter examines the consequences of America's westward movement for Native Americans.A Thirty Years War
The Sand Creek Massacre
The Battle of the Little Big Horn
Nez Perce
Wounded Knee I
Wounded Knee II
Kill the Indian and Save the Man
Native Americans at the Turn of the Century
The Political Crisis of the 1890s
The 1880s and 1890s were years of turbulence. Disputes erupted over labor relations, currency, tariffs, patronage, and railroads The most momentous political conflict of the late 19th century was the farmers' revolt. Drought, plagues of grasshoppers, boll weevils, rising costs, falling prices, and high interest rates made it increasingly difficult to make a living as a farmer. Many farmers blamed railroad owners, grain elevator operators, land monopolists, commodity futures dealers, mortgage companies, merchants, bankers, and manufacturers of farm equipment for their plight. Farmers responded by organizing Granges, Farmers' Alliances, and the Populist party. In the election of 1896, the Populists and the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan for president. Bryan 's decisive defeat inaugurated a period of Republican ascendancy, in which Republicans controlled the presidency for 24 of the next 32 years.
Panacea's for the Nation's Ills
Henry George
Looking Backward
William Hope Harvey
The Depression of the Mid-1890s
The Farmers' Plight
Populism
The Election of 1896
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Populist Crusade and Restrictions on African Americans