The American West

Part 3: The Postbellum

Period (1865-1900)
The Civil War changed life in America forever.
Afterwards, America became much more federalized and
historic civil rights legislation was passed during the 19th
century. Also, the frontier West changed in which
technology further developed, wars involving the
indigenous peoples of America continued, and the
nefarious doctrine of Manifest Destiny were still wide
spread. This Postbellum period was a period of the
paradox of massive technological expansion and the
continued oppression against Native Americans. It
represented the independence of many frontiers people
and the continued oppression that people of color
experienced in the West. This era was a melancholy
period for many and it showed how far we have to go in
establishing the Dream for humanity.
The period from 1865 to 1900 represented the
Postbellum period of the frontier West. This was the
time where most movies shown in America about the
West describe. It was a period of massive change, of
wars, of murder, of migrations, and of many societal
changes. The Civil War was over and slavery was
abolished forever in America. The federal government
wanted to govern the territories. They used policies to
prepare Western territories for statehood. This was
done before by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
(which was when the federal government acquired,
prepared, and distributed public land to private
ownership from the Ordinance system).
The federal bureaucracy grew. Territorial governments
grew beyond local powers. The federal government had
an immense involvement in territories. They used direct
subsidies to maintain military posts, provided safety
from Native American attacks, bankrolled treaty
obligations, built roads, etc. They also created surveys,
staffed land offices, made labor improvements, and
subsidized overland mail delivery. Many territorial
citizens came to both oppose federal power and local
corruption. Also, they paradoxically lament that more
federal dollars were not sent their way. Territorial
governors were political appointees. They were
beholden to Washington. They allowed the legislatures
to deal with local issues.
A territorial governor acted as a militia commander and
a local superintendent of Native American affairs. They
were the state liaison with federal agencies. Yet, the
legislatures spoke for the local citizens. They were also
having great leeway by the federal government to
establish local law. These improvements to governance
still left plenty of room for profiteering. As Mark
Twain wrote while working for his brother, the
secretary of Nevada, "The government of my country
snubs honest simplicity, but fondles artistic villainy, and
I think I might have developed into a very capable
pickpocket if I had remained in the public service a
year or two." "Territorial rings", corrupt associations of
local politicians and business owners buttressed with
federal patronage, embezzled from Native American
tribes and local citizens, especially in the Dakota and
New Mexico territories.
The federal government had a land system in the
frontier West too. The government utilized exploration
and scientific teams to take reconnaissance of the land.
They wanted to find out about Native American
habitation too. Via treaty, land title would be ceded by
the resident tribes. The surveyors created detailed
maps. They marked the land into squares of six miles
on each side. It would be subdivided first into one
square mile blocks, then into 160 acre lots. Townships
would be formed from the lots and sold at public
auction. Unsold land could be purchased from the land
office at a minimum price of $1.25 per acre. The
government, via public policy, would award public land
to certain groups like veterans via the use of land
script. The script traded in a financial market, often at
below the $1.25 per acre minimum price set by law,
which gave speculators, investors, and developers
another way to acquire large tracts of land cheaply.
Land policy became politicized by competing factions
and interests, and the question of slavery (before 1865)
on new lands was contentious. As a counter to land
speculators, farmers formed "claims clubs" to enable
them to buy larger tracts than the 160-acre (0.65 km2)
allotments by trading among themselves at controlled
prices.
In 1862, Congress passed three historically significant bills that transformed the land system of the West. One
was the Homestead Act. This law granted 160 acres free of land to each settler who improved the land for 5
years. It was given to citizens and non-citizens including squatters and women. They were all eligible. The only
cost was a modest filing fee. The law was especially important in the settling of the Plains states. Many took
free homesteads and others purchased their land from railroads at low rates. The Pacific Railway Acts of 1862
provided for the land needed to build the transcontinental railroad. The land was given to the railroads
alternated with the government owned tracts saved for free distribution to homesteaders. The federal
government reduced each tract to 80 acres because of its perceived higher value given its proximity to the rail
line. The deal is that railroads had up to five years to sell to mortgage their land. The tracks had to be laid.

Unsold land could be purchased by anyone. Some railroads sold some of their government acquired land to
homesteaders immediately to encourage settlement and the growth of markets that the railroads would then be
able to serve. Nebraska railroads in the 1870s were strong boosters of lands along their routes. The railroad
companies sent agents to Germany and Scandinavia with package deals. These deals included cheap
transportation for the family like furniture and farm tools. They offered long term credit at law rates.
Boosterism succeeded in attracting adventurous American and European families to Nebraska, helping them
purchase land grant parcels on good terms. The selling price depended on such factors like soil quality, water,
and instance from the railroad. The Morrill Act of 1862 gave land grants to states to start colleges of agriculture
and mechanical arts (or engineering). Black colleges became eligible for these land grants in 1890. The Act
succeeded in its goals to open new universities and make farming more scientific and profitable.
The Transcontinental Railroads

The transcontinental railroad has a long history. By the 1850s, the government had surveys to explore many
regions of the West. They wanted to possibly build a transcontinental railroad in various routes. This work was
heavily executed by the Corps of Engineers, the Corps of Topographical Engineers, and the Bureau of
Explorations and Surveys. This has been known as The Great Reconnaissance. There have been regional
debates in Congress on whether the route would exist in the North, the central, or the southern part of
America. Engineering requirements for the rail route were an adequate supply of water and wood and as nearly-
level route as possible, given the weak locomotives of the era. Proposals for a transcontinental railroad system
failed during the 1850s, because of Congressional disputes over slavery. Confederate states started to secede in
1861. The modernizers in the Republican Party therefore took over Congress and wanted a line to link to
California. Private companies were to build and operate the line. Construction was done by many workers who
lived in temporary camps along the way. Immigrants from China and Ireland did most of the construction
work. That is why in high school, we all heard of stories of Chinese people (who suffered racism and
discrimination) contributing a great deal in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Theodore Judah
was the chief engineer of the Central Pacific. He surveyed the route from San Francisco east.

Judah used lobbying efforts in Washington were largely responsible for the passage of the Pacific Railroad Act.
This law authorized construction of both the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific (which built west from
Omaha). In 1862, four rich San Francisco merchants (whose names are Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington,
Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins) took charge, with Crocker in charge of construction. The line was
completed in May 1869. Coast-to-coast passenger travel in 8 days now replaced wagon trains or sea voyages
that took 6 to 10 months and cost much more. The road was built from mortgages from New York City,
Boston, and London. It was backed by land grants. There were no federal cash subsidies for the project. There
was a loan to the Central Pacific that was eventually repaid at six percent interest. The federal government
offered land grants in a checkerboard pattern. The railroad sold every other square with the government
opening its half to homesteaders. The government also loaned money later repaid at $16,000 per mile on level
stretches (and $32,000 to $48,000 in mountainous terrain. Local and state governments also aided the
financing).

Most of the manual laborers on the Central Pacific were new arrivals from China. Kraus showed information
how these men lived and worked (plus how they managed their money). He mentioned that the Chinese people
were very reliable. The Central Pacific employed over 12,000 Chinese workers. 90% of them did its manual
work force. It is a fact that many Chinese railroad workers were discriminated against. The railroad set different
wage rates for white people and Chinese people. Chinese people were placed in more menial and dangerous
jobs like handling and pouring nitroglycerin. The railroad had camps and food for the Chinese. Many railroads
protected Chinese workers from threats from many white people. Many actions were done to build the
railroads. These activities included surveying the route, blasting a right of way, building tunnels, and bridges,
etc. They also had to clear and lay the roadbed, lay the ties and rails, and maintaining plus supplying the crews
with food and tools. Very physical defines the work. People used horse drawn plows and scrapers. There were
manuals picks, axes, sledgehammers, and handcarts that people used. Steam driven machines like shovels were
used. The rails were iron (steel came a few years later) and weighed 700 lb. (320 kg). and required five men to
lift. For blasting, they used black powder. The Union Pacific construction crews, mostly Irish Americans,
averaged about two miles (3 km) of new track per day. All of these actions happened during the Gilded Age.
Railroads were in Canada too. These railroads caused more farmers to open markets in the West including to
ranchers.

From the north to south, there were the Northern Pacific, Milwaukee Road, and Great Northern. They were
along the Canada-U.S. border. The Union Pacific/Central Pacific was in the middle. In the south were the
Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific. All but the Great Northern of James J. Hill relied on land grants. The
financial stories were often complex. For example, the Northern Pacific received its major land grant in 1864.
Financier Jay Cooke (18211905) was in charge until 1873, when he went bankrupt. Federal courts, however,
kept bankrupt railroads in operation. In 1881, Henry Villard (18351900) took over and finally completed the
line to Seattle. But the line went bankrupt in the Panic of 1893 and Hill took it over. He then merged several
lines with financing from J.P. Morgan, but President Theodore Roosevelt broke them up in 1904. From its first
year of operation (1869-1870), 150,000 passengers made the long trip. Settlers were encouraged to travel via
promotions to come West. There were free scouting trips to buy railroad land on easy terms spread over many
years. The railroads had Immigration Bureaus. They advertised package low cost deals like passage and land
on easy terms for farmers in Germany and Scandinavia. The prairies, they were promised, did not mean
backbreaking toil because "settling on the prairie which is ready for the plow is different from plunging into a
region covered with timber.

The settlers were customers of the railroads, shipping their crops and cattle out, and bringing in manufactured
products. All manufacturers benefited from the lower costs of transportation and the much larger radius of
business. The Transcontinental railroad has a mixed legacy. It opened the West to settlement. It brought
thousands of high tech, high paid workers and managers. It created thousands of towns and cities. It made the
nation to focus more on an east-west axis. It was valuable for many in the nation. Yet, many were built ahead
of actual demand. There was a bubble that caused many losses to investors. Poor management practices
transpired. The lines in the Midwest and the East did support a very large population base, which fostered
farming, industry, and mining. This reality caused steady profits and received few government benefits.

Migrations

After the Civil War, migrations
continued. Many came from the
East Coast and Europe to travel in
the West. Many reports from
relatives inspired people to travel
into territories too. Many people
wanted discounts, new farmland,
etc. Some wanted a better life. The
new railroads caused many to
travel. The plains were different
from back east. They had to deal
with water management and more
farming. Rainfall was less
predictable. Farms grew. Many
laborers wanted higher paying
work and better conditions.
Challenges existed for new settlers
in the West. There was a lack of
wood for housing, blizzards,
droughts, etc. Tornadoes existed.
Range disputes happened.
Homesteaders had to build their
homes with sod, which were called
as Sod Houses. One of the greatest
plagues that hit the homesteaders
was the 1874 Locust Plague which
devastated the Great Plains. These
challenges hardened these settlers
in taming the frontier. There was
the Land Rush of 1880. In 1889,
President Benjamin Harrison
authorized the opening of
2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) of
unoccupied lands in the Oklahoma
territory acquired from the native
tribes. On April 22, over 100,000
settlers and cattlemen (known as
"boomers") lined up at the border,
and with the army's guns and
bugles giving the signal, began a
mad dash into the newly opened
land to stake their claims (Land
Run of 1889). A witness wrote,
"The horsemen had the best of it
from the start. It was a fine race for
a few minutes, but soon the riders
began to spread out like a fan, and
by the time they reached the
horizon they were scattered about
as far as the eye could see. In one
day, the towns of Oklahoma City,
Norman, and Guthrie came into
existence. In the same manner,
millions of acres of additional land
was opened up and settled in the
following four years. This land rush
in Oklahoma was caused by the
theft of the lands of Native
Americans. During this time,
Native Americans fought for their
freedom in many battles.
Native Americans and fights for their freedom in the West

Native Americans were the first people of the Americas. Long before 1776, they formed civilizations and
cultures. Later, conflict would arise and Native Americans would continue to fight for their freedom in the
Americas. The federal government from the Constitution made the federal government to regulate trade with
the Native Americans. The relationship between the U.S. government and the Native Americans were strained,
because of broken treaties, conflicts, and disagreements. During the 1830's, the government unjustly forced
thousands of Native Americans from the East to resettle west of the Mississippi River. They promised them
the land there forever, which wouldn't be the case. White settlers wanted more land. Native American culture
would be changed forever. Native Americans were diverse and they are diversity of cultures and societal
structures. After the Civil War, only about 250,000 Native Americans lived in the region west of the Mississippi
River. Native Americans viewed themselves as part of Nature, so they wanted Nature to be treated as sacred.
There were the Chinoks in the Pacific Northwest who had supplies of fish. The Pueblos irrigated the land to
grow corn, beans, and squash in New Mexico plus Arizona. The Sioux, Blackfeet, Crows, Cheyenne, and the
Comanches were the Plains Native Americans who were nomadic human beings. They were horsemen and
hunted buffalo. The buffalo was used as food, tools, and clothing. Many white settlers viewed the land as a
resource to make profits, which contradicted the Native Americans' views on land. This caused conflict.

President Andrew Jackson (who was a far right wing ideologue and a racist) forced Native Americans from
lands in Georgia into Oklahoma. By the 1850's, federal policy changed. Gold and silver were founded in the
Indian Territory (i.e. Oklahoma). Railroads would develop to cross the continent. The federal government
restricted further about where Native Americans could live. Many Native Americans lived in reservations or
places set aside by the government for Native American living. They faced poverty and suppression. This
happened during the late 1860's. Native Americans were subjected to more diseases by white settlers. The
Native Americans had no immunity to them. Many buffalo heads died. The growth of technology and
communication in America increased American expansion, but this expansion readily ignored the Native
American peoples who already lived in the lands. Many Native Americans fought back for their freedom.
Native Americans in the West used their style of limited, battle oriented warfare. The U.S. Army used the
telegraph and railroads to coordinate its attack strategies.

Many tribes fought the Army, some supported the Army, and others avoided warfare all together. Most of
these battles took place in Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. The Snake War from 1864 to 1868 was very
bloody. Back in 1862, a group of Sioux people resisted threats to their land rights. They attacked settlements in
eastern Minnesota. The government responded by waging a full war against the Sioux, who then were pushed
west into the Dakotas. The Sioux rebellion caused many more attacks on settlements a stagecoach lines. Plains
Native Americans viewed their lives as being threatened by Westward expansion. Both sides distrusted each
other. The Colorado War fought by Cheyenne, Arapaho and Sioux, was fought in the territories of Colorado to
Nebraska. The conflict was fought in 18631865 while the American Civil War was still ongoing. Caused by
dissolution between the Natives and the white settlers in the region, the war was infamous for the atrocities
done between the two parties.

White militias destroyed Native villages and killed Indian women and children such as the bloody Sand Creek
Massacre, and the Indians also raided ranches, farms and killed white families such as the American Ranch
Massacre and Raid on Godfrey Ranch. By the fall of 1864, a band of Colorado militia came upon a group of an
unarmed camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho Native Americans. They were under U.S. Army protection at Sand
Creek. The troops still opened fire. They killed many men, women, and children Native Americans even when
the Native Americans signaled their friendship by raising the American flag. The commanding officer was the
murderer John Chivington. This event was the Sand Creek Massacre. It caused more warfare as Plains tribes
joined forces to repel white settlement. After the Civil War ended, regiments of Union troops (both white and
African Americans troops) were sent to the West to subdue the Native Americans. They were recruitment
posters for volunteer cavalry promised that soldiers could claim any "horses or other plunder" taken from the
Native Americans. The federal government defended this reprehensible action to use imperialism to harm
Native American people. Plains tribes continue to fight. Later, the federal government said that they wanted to
build a road throughout Sioux hunting grounds to connect gold mining towns in Montana. Conflict grew. In
1866, Red Cloud (who was a legendary warrior) and his followers lured Captain William Fetterman and his
troops into an ambush (killing them all). Reformers and humanitarians promoted education for Native
Americans. Other westerners wanted strict controls over Native tribes.

In the Apache Wars, Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson forced the Mescalero Apache onto a reservation in
1862. In 18631864, Carson used a scorched earth policy in the Navajo Campaign, burning Navajo fields and
homes, and capturing or killing their livestock. He was aided by other Native American tribes with long-
standing enmity toward the Navajos, chiefly the Utes. Another prominent conflict of this war was Geronimo's
fight against settlements in Texas in the 1880's. The Apaches under his command conducted ambushes on US
cavalries and forts, such as their attack on Cibecue Creek, while also raiding upon prominent farms and
ranches, such as their infamous attack on the Empire Ranch that killed three cowboys. The U.S. finally induced
the last hostile Apache band under Geronimo to surrender in 1886.

During the Comanche campaign, the Red River War was fought in 187475 in response to the Comanche's
dwindling food supply of buffalo, as well as the refusal of a few bands to be inducted in reservations.
Comanches started raiding small settlements in Texas, which led to the Battle of Buffalo Wallow and Second
Battle of Adobe Walls fought by buffalo hunters, and the Battle of Lost Valley against the Texas Rangers. The
war finally ended with a final confrontation between the Comanches and the U.S. Cavalry in Palo Duro
Canyon. The last Comanche war chief, Quanah Parker, surrendered in June 1875, which would finally end the
wars fought by Texans and the Native Americans.

Red Cloud's War was led by the Lakota chief Red Cloud against the military who were erecting forts along the
Bozeman trail. It was the most successful campaign against the U.S. during the Native American Wars. By the
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), the U.S. granted a large reservation to the Lakota, without military presence; it
included the entire Black Hills. Captain Jack was a chief of the Native American Modoc tribe of California and
Oregon, and was their leader during the Modoc War. With 53 Modoc warriors, Captain Jack held off 1,000
men of the U.S. Army for 7 months. Captain Jack killed Edward Canby
The United States Indian Peace Commission wanted to promote the racist lie that peace would only come to
Native Americans if they settled on farms and adapted to the civilization of white people.

The government wanted to pacify the Sioux and get more land. So, the government signed the Fort Laramie
Treaty of 1868. The government agreed to not build the road through Sioux Territory and to abandon 3 forts.
The Sioux and other tribes who signed the treaty agreed to live on reservations with support from the federal
government. There were problems, because many Native Americans couldn't live in the limited territories
restricted to them. Many agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (which handled reservation issues) sold
funds and resources that were meant to be given to the Native Americans. The government didn't do enough
to enough various treaties. Native Americans were forces to live in impoverished areas. Disease and poverty
were in those regions. Treaties and promises were broken. So, many young Native Americans warriors were
frustrated and turned to rebellion against an oppressive state.

There was the Red River War. This was about many battles among the government and the southern Plains
Native American tribes (like the Kowas and Comanches). Southern buffalo herds declined as a product of this
war. White settlers soon opened the western panhandle of Texas. The government failed to enforce the 1867
Treaty of Medicine Lodge. White buffalo hunters were not kept off of Native American hunting grounds. Food
and supplies from the government were not sent to tribes. Also, white lawlessness was not prevented. Many
Native Americans attacked a group of Texans near the Red River in June 1874. It ended with the last
Comanche holdouts surrendering to U.S. troops by June 1875.

This image shows Crow Native Americans from 1883

Many settlers wanted gold in the northern Plains too. There was the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1875.
Prospectors came onto Sioux hunting grounds in the Dakotas and in Montana too. The Sioux was led by chiefs
Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull combined to form a group to try to derive the prospectors out. Later, the U.S.
Army sent its own troops against Native Americans. In June 1876, colonel named George Custer rushed ahead
of the other columns of the U.S. cavalry and arrived a day ahead of the main force. Custer came in the Little
Bighorn River in present day Montana. Custer had a force of about 250 men unexpectedly came upon a group
of at least 2,500 Native Americans. Crazy Horse led the charge at what became known as the Battle of Little
Big Horn. Custer was killed including all of his men. The U.S. Army wanted revenge. The Army tracked down
the Native Americans. Sitting Bull and his followers came into Canada. Crazy Horse and his followers
surrendered. Many of them were starving and suffered bad weather conditions. By this time, government
suppression of Native Americans continued. In Idaho, the government wanted to move against the Nez
Perces. The government wanted to force Native Americans into a smaller reservation.

Many Nez Perces were Christians and settled in a stable life. Nez Perces' leader was Chief Joseph. He wanted
to evade U.S. with his people to escape forced relocation. He led his people of more than 1,300 miles to
Canada. He was stopped short of the border and said, "I will fight no more forever." He was sent to
Oklahoma. He came into Washington, D.C. 2 times to try to allow the state to give mercy to his people. The
Native American resistance movement back then started to decline after leaders were captured and killed. The
Native American economy declined. The Ghost Dance revival movement came. This was a spiritual movement
about a return to justice for tribes. People in the movement hoped for the buffalo to return and for white
settlers to leave. The government wanted to see what this movement would go into. The government called for
the arrest of Sitting Bull to stop the Ghost Dance movement. Fights broke out.

These are some of survivors of the Wounded Knee Massacre. From left to right are: Brothers
White Lance, Joseph Horn Cloud, and Dewey Beard. Joseph Horn Cloud was about sixteen
years old when he witnessed the Wounded Knee massacre on December 29, 1890. The two
other brothers, Frank Horn Cloud and Earnest Horn Cloud also survived, his parents, two
brothers, and a sister were killed.

Later, well-armed cavalry U.S. troops murdered outgunned Native American men, women, and children in
Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. More than 200 Native Americans were killed in cold blood in the
massacre. It was evil. Afterwards, Native American resistance declined rapidly. American forces developed forts
in that period. These military forts were owned by the federal government. They were used in counteracting
Native Americans in their presence. They were used to launch attacks against Native Americans. Fort Bowie
was used to protect Apache Pass. Fort Laramie and Fort Keamy were created to protect immigrants crossing
the Great Plains and a series of posts in California protected miners. Forts were constructed to launch attacks
against the Sioux. As Native American reservations sprang up, the military set up forts to protect them. Forts
also guarded the Union Pacific and other rail lines. Other important forts were Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Fort Smith,
Arkansas, Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Fort Union, New Mexico, Fort Worth, Texas, and Fort Walla Walla in
Washington. Fort Omaha, Nebraska was home to the Department of the Platte, and was responsible for
outfitting most Western posts for more than 20 years after its founding in the late 1870s. Fort Huachuca in
Arizona was also originally a frontier post and is still in use by the United States Army.

One person defended the Native Americans way of life like the author Helen Hunt Jackson. She was one of the
few Americans back then who told the truth about the genocide that Native Americans experienced.
Reservations and assimilation never worked. Assimilation is about forcing Native Americans to embrace white
American culture against their will in order for them to be docile and compromise their cultural heritage.
Susette La Flesche fought for Native American rights too. She was the granddaughter of a French trader and an
Omaha Native American woman. In 1871, the Congress passed the law that Native Americans in American soil
couldn't form a nation of their own. The 1887 Dawes General Allotment Act gave Native Americans a 160
acre farmstead. This land wasn't big enough. Many missionaries and other people tried to force assimilation
onto Native Americans. To this very day, Native Americans are fighting for their human rights.

Reservations

Reservations were created by after attacks on Native American people. It was the usage of state power to
forcibly send Native Americans from their own lands into often dilapidated, terrible lands. Today, the lands are
under the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. They are not run by the state governments of America. There are 326
Native American reservations in America. Today, there are 567 recognized tribes. They total in about 56.2
million acres or 87,800 square miles. This is about the size of Idaho. Most reservations are small and the 12
largest Native Americans ones are larger than the state of Rhode Island. The largest reservation in America is
the Navajo Nation Reservation, which is similar to the size of West Virginia. Tribes have tribal sovereignty. A
majority of Native Americans and Alaska Natives live somewhere other than the reservations, often in big
western cities such as Phoenix and Los Angeles. In 2012, there were over 2.5 million Native Americans with
about 1 million living on reservations. European colonists often removed Native Americans from their lands
via violence. Treaties existed, voluntary moves existed, and genocide occurred. The Treaty of Paris (of 1783)
caused the American officials to further strip Native Americans of property rights east of the Mississippi River.
During the 19th century, treaties grew and they were broken as well.

The 1830 Indian Removal Act caused the U.S. federal government to forcibly remove Native populations from
European populated areas. One example was when the Five Civilized Tribes were removed by force from the
southern United States and moved into Oklahoma. This mass migration was called the Trail of Tears. These
lands in Oklahoma turned into reservations. In 1851, the United States Congress passed the Indian
Appropriations Act which authorized the creation of Native American reservations in modern-day Oklahoma.
Relations between settlers and natives had grown increasingly worse as the settlers encroached on territory and
natural resources in the West. By 1868, President Ulysses S. Grant wanted to use the Peace Policy. This policy
wanted to stop violence. It wanted to relocate tribes from their ancestral homes into parcels of lands for their
habitation. It promoted assimilation or using religious people to teach Native Americans Christianity and use
Quakers in this job especially. This was very controversial. Executive orders formed reservations. Many white
settlers didnt want large amounts of land for this project.

There was corruption found in federal Native American agencies and poor conditions among the relocated
tribes as documented by a report sent to Congress in 1868. Some tribes ignored the relocation orders.
American Army forces fought Native Americans and caused many massacres. By 1882, religious organizations
werent involved in the federal Indian agency.

The Dawes Act made reservations to tribes. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, also known as the
Howard-Wheeler Act, was sometimes called the Native American New Deal. It laid out new rights for Native
Americans, reversed some of the earlier privatization of their common holdings, and encouraged tribal
sovereignty and land management by tribes. The act slowed the assignment of tribal lands to individual
members and reduced the assignment of 'extra' holdings to nonmembers. Infrastructure and education were
sent to tribes. The problem was that the new Indian Commissioners Myers and Emmons introduced the idea
of the "withdrawal program" or "termination", which sought to end the government's responsibility and
involvement with Indians and to force their assimilation. Many Native Americans were not compensated and
some tribes lost their federal status as tribes. Disputes over land continue to this very day. Reservations came
about via the acts of oppression and Native Americans have continuously fought back against injustice.

Societies

Societies in the frontier West were eclectic and diverse. Many people back then fought for democracy and
equality. There has been literature talked about society like from Frederick Jackson Turner. The new states of
Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio were more democratic in many ways that some parent states back
East in terms of politics and society. The Western states were the first to give women the right to vote. By 1900
the West, especially California and Oregon, led the Progressive movement. Scholars have examined the social
history of the west in search of the American character. The history of Kansas, argued historian Carl L. Becker
a century ago, reflects American ideals. He wrote: "The Kansas spirit is the American spirit double distilled. It
is a new grafted product of American individualism, American idealism, and American intolerance. Kansas is
America in microcosm." Societies in that region reflected frontier life. There has been individual efforts to
grow societies and collective efforts as well. Many people saw unsettled lands and conflicts with Native
Americans. The frontier focused on human beings having irrigation and agricultural systems. Places in the West
had massive discrimination too. We are not nave about the frontier West.

Urban Growth

Cities in the frontier West dealt with transportation, financial and communication centers, and providers of
merchandise, services, and entertainment. After 1860, the railroads pushed westward into unsettled territory.
Cities once were service towns to handle railroad construction crews, train crews, and passengers who ate meals
at scheduled strops. In most of the South, there were very few cities of any size for miles around, and this
pattern held for Texas as well. Railroads didnt arrive fully until the 1880's. Many places shipped cattle out and
cattle drives became short distance affairs. Armed gangs often targeted passenger trains. One city that grew in
the West was Denver. Mining consumed Denvers economy before 1870. It grew, because it expanded its role
in railroads, wholesale trade, manufacturing, food processing, and servicing the growing agricultural and
ranching hinterland. Between 1870 and 1890, manufacturing output soared from $600,000 to $40 million, and
population grew by a factor of 20 times to 107,000. Denver had always attracted miners, workers, and travelers.
Saloons and gambling dens sprung up overnight. The city fathers boasted of its theaters, and especially the
Tabor Grand Opera House built in 1881.

By 1890, Denver had grown to be the 26th largest city in America and the fifth-largest city west of the
Mississippi River. The boom times attracted millionaires and their mansions, as well as hustlers, poverty and
crime. Denver gained regional notoriety with its range of bawdy houses, from the quarters of madams to the
squalid "cribs" located a few blocks away. Business was good; visitors spent lavishly, then left town. As long as
the madams and others did not advertise their availability too crudely, authorities took their bribes and looked
the other way. Occasional cleanups and crack downs satisfied the demands for reform. Back then, Butte
Montana was the largest, richest, and rowdiest mining camp on the frontier. It had a large amount of copper. It
had many Irish Catholics, who were in control of politics and had the best jobs at the leading mining
corporation called Anaconda Copper. City boosters opened a public library in 1894. Ring argues that the library
was originally a mechanism of social control, "an antidote to the miners' proclivity for drinking,...and
gambling". It was also designed to promote middle-class values and to convince Easterners that Butte was a
cultivated city. The West also had a lot of ethnic diversity. People of many nationalities and colors traveled into
the West.
The Ethnic Diversity of the West

The frontier West always had great ethnic diversity during the 19th century. African Americans have a long
history in the West. Many black people went into the West as workers, preachers, cooks, farm hands, and
saloon workers. Some were cowboys, and outlaws. James Beckwourth during the 1800s was the famous
African American fur trapper and trader. He came into the Rock Mountains and was a member of the William
Henry Ashley Fur Trapping Expedition. He operated throughout the West from Montana south to New
Mexico. He worked in California too. Pio Pico from 1831 was a descendant of person of African ancestry. He
becomes governor of Mexico California after overthrowing Colonel Manuel Victoria, who was another person
of African ancestry. In the summer of 1844, George Bush, a free African American, travels with a party of
Missouri emigrants on the Oregon Trail. When Bush reaches Oregon City in November, he decides to move to
the sparsely populated area north of the Columbia to avoid the exclusion law. His decision encourages other
settlers to follow. Eventually they petition Congress to create Washington Territory. In 1849, early African
American settlers in San Francisco create the first two mutual aid associations for blacks in the far west, the
West Indian Benevolent Association and the Mutual Benefit and Relief Society.

St. Andrews African Methodist Episcopal Church of Sacramento is the first black church west of Texas, which
was established in 1851. In 1852, San Francisco had 464 African
Americans. That was the largest urban black population of the Far
West. Sacramento had 338 black residents, which had the second
largest black community. Black owned businesses back then in San
Francisco include the New England Soap Factory established by James
P. Dyer and Pioneer Boot and Shoe Emporium owned by Mifflin
Gibbs and Peter Lester. In January of 1856, Los Angeles District Court
Judge Benjamin Hayes frees Bridget Biddy Mason and her thirteen
extended family members. By 1862, San Francisco black Americans
organize the Franchise League to campaign for voting rights and to end
courtroom testimony restrictions.

On April 17, 1863, Charlotte Brown files the first of several lawsuits
that challenge black exclusion from San Francisco streetcars. By the late
1860's the streetcar companies end their discriminatory policies. On
July 17, 1863, the First Kansas Colored Infantry, fighting with the
Cherokee Native American and white Colorado Union regiments,
defeat Confederate forces at the Battle of Honey Springs in Oklahoma, the largest military engagement in the
Indian Territory during the Civil War. The Buffalo Soldiers were famous from the all black 9th and 10th
Cavalry regiments and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments of the U.S. Army. Many of them served in many
western forts. About 4,000 black people came into California during the Gold Rush. By 1879, after the end of
Reconstruction in the South, several thousand Freedmen moved from Southern states to Kansas. Known as
the Exodusters, they were lured by the prospect of good, cheap Homestead Law land and better treatment. The
all-black town of Nicodemus, Kansas, which was founded in 1877, was an organized settlement that predates
the Exodusters but is often associated with them.

Asian Americans worked as builders of the railroads and worked in mines throughout the frontier West. They
had a major role in the workforce of building the Central Pacific portion of the transcontinental railroad. Most
of the Chinese Americans went back into China after the railroad was finished by 1870. Many were peasants.
Others worked in mining, agriculture, and opened small shops such as groceries, laundries and restaurants.
Hostility remained high as seen by the Chinese Massacre Cove episode and the Rock Springs massacre. The
Chinese were generally forced into self-sufficient "Chinatowns" in cities such as San Francisco. In Los Angeles,
the last major anti-Chinese riot took place in 1871, after which local law enforcement grew stronger. In the late
19th century, many (not all) Chinatowns were squalid slums known for their vice, prostitution, drugs, and
violent battles between "tongs." By the 1930's, however, tons of Chinatowns had become clean, safe and
attractive tourist destinations. In the 18901907 era, thousands of Japanese permanently migrated to Hawaii
and California as farm workers. Immigrants born in Asia were generally ineligible for US citizenship until
World War II. However their children born in the U.S. automatically became citizens, because of the 14th
Amendment rightfully made legal birthright citizenship.

Hispanic Americans were in the West for centuries before the 1800s. The great majority of Hispanic people
lived in the forming territories of New Spain. Many of them became American citizens in 1848. About 10,000
or more lived in California. They were called Californios in southern California. After 1880, more people came
into California from the east in the thousands. Those in New Mexico lived in towns and villages. This didnt
change into the early 20th century. More Mexicans came into New Mexico because of the Revolution of 1911.
The Revolution caused devastation to thousands of villages across Mexico. Most refugees went to Texas or
California, and soon poor barrios appeared in many border towns. The California "Robin Hood", Joaquin
Murieta, led a gang in the 1850's which burned houses, killed miners, and robbed stagecoaches. In Texas, Juan
Cortina led a 20-year campaign against Anglos and the Texas Rangers, starting around 1859. The Hispanic
community grew larger and became involved in agricultural, farming, civil rights activism, and a diversity of
constructive actions in the frontier West.

European immigrants often built communities of similar religious and ethnic backgrounds. For example, many
Finns went to Minnesota and Michigan, Swedes and Norwegians to Minnesota and the Dakotas, Irish to
railroad centers along the transcontinental lines, Volga Germans to North Dakota, and German Jewish people
to Portland, Oregon.
Various Characters of the West

From 1865 to 1900, tons of people lived in the West. Some were heroes and some were villains. The following
are stories of many of the characters of the West whose stories have been shown in books, magazines, movies,
and other literature. Wild Bill Hickok killed the gambler Davis Tutt in a shootout in Springfield, Missouri in
July 21, 1865. This confrontation is shown in Harpers Magazine. Hickok is a household name. This represents
a popular image of the Old West. Hickoks real name is James Butler Hickok. He was a drover, a soldier, a spy,
a gunfighter, a showman, and an actor. Sometimes, he exaggerated his exploits. He was born and raised on a
farm in northern Illinois. He also fought and spied for the Union Army during the American Civil War. In
1876, Hickok was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory
(present-day South Dakota), by Jack McCall, an unsuccessful gambler. The hand of cards which he supposedly
held at the time of his death (including the ace of spades, the ace of clubs, the eight of spades and the eight of
clubs) has become known as the dead man's hand. The outlaws Frank and Jesse James robbed their first bank
in Liberty, Missouri. Jesse James and his brother worked as Confederate guerillas or bushwhackers during the
Civil War. They were accused of executing atrocities against Union soldiers like the Centralia Massacre. They
were from Missouri. They worked with a gang of outlaws to rob banks, stagecoaches, and trains. The James
brothers were most active as members of their own gang from about 1866 until 1876, when as a result of their
attempted robbery of a bank in Northfield, Minnesota. Several members of the gang were captured or killed.

They continued in crime for several years, recruiting new members, but were under increasing pressure from
law enforcement. On April 3, 1882, James was killed by Robert Ford, a young member of his gang who hoped
to collect a reward on James' head. In 1867, Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio issued the first patent for barbed
wire fencing. This invention revolutionized cattle ranching on the open prairies of the West. In 1870, William
"Hurricane Bill" Martin, a notorious Kansas outlaw, begins rustling cattle southeast of Abilene before he and
his gang are driven off by a posse from Marion. The Utah Territorial Assembly (in 1870), supported by
Brigham Young, granted women the right to vote. Over the next several decades, this provides Mormons with
an added margin of political power. Calamity Jane was a woman, who was an American frontierswoman. She
was a professional scout and was born in Missouri. She died in 1903 in Terry, South Dakota. John Younger, a
member of the Younger Gang, is killed by Pinkerton detectives Louis Lull and Jim Duckworth in St. Clair
County, Missouri (in March of 1878).
In the same year, Ike and Billy Clanton enlist William "Curly Bill" Brocius and Johnny Ringo as they begin
cattle rustling in the New Mexico and southern Arizona Territories. Other famous people of the West were
Billy the Kid, Doc Holiday, Belle Starr, and Geronimo. Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 January
13, 1929) was an American Old West gambler, a deputy sheriff in Pima County, and deputy town marshal in
Tombstone, Arizona Territory, who took part in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which lawmen killed
three outlaw cowboys. He is often regarded as the central figure in the shootout in Tombstone, although his
brother Virgil was Tombstone city marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal that day, and had far more experience as a
sheriff, constable, marshal, and soldier in combat. Wyatt Earp lived restless and had a large list of jobs from
hunter, bouncer, saloonkeeper, and boxing referee. He was born in Illinois and died in Los Angeles, California
in 1929. Jim Baker (18181898), trapper, scout and guide, was a friend of Jim Bridger and Kit Carson and one
of General John C. Fremont's favorite scouts. He was one of the most colorful figures of the old west. Mary
Fields was the first African-American woman star route mail carrier in the United States. George McJunkin was
an African American cowboy, amateur archaeologist and historian in New Mexico. He discovered the Folsom
Site in 1908. Born to slaves in Midway, Texas, McJunkin was approximately 14 years old when the Civil War
ended. He worked as a cowboy for freighters. He reportedly learned how to read from fellow cow punchers.

McJunkin taught himself to read, write, speak Spanish, play the fiddle and guitar, eventually becoming an
amateur archaeologist and historian. Bill Pickett was a great African American cowboy, rodeo, and Wild West
show performer. He was born in Texas in 1870. His father was a former slave. He had nine children with
Maggie Turner. He invented the technique of bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and
wrestling them to the ground. It was known among cattlemen that, with the help of a trained bulldog, a stray
steer could be caught. Bill Pickett had seen this happen on many occasions. He also thought that if a bulldog
could do this feat, so could he. Pickett practiced his stunt by riding hard, springing from his horse, and
wrestling the steer to the ground. Pickett's method for bulldogging was biting a cow on the lip and then falling
backwards. He also helped cowboys with bulldogging. This method eventually lost popularity as the sport
morphed into the steer wrestling that is practiced in rodeos. Bill Pickett was very popular and he passed away in
Oklahoma.

Sarah Gammon Brown Bickford, who was an African American woman, (c. 1852 1931) was born into slavery
in either Tennessee or North Carolina. In the 1870s, she made her way to the Montana goldfields, trading
work as a nanny for transportation. She ultimately became sole owner of the Virginia City Water Company,
becoming the first and only woman in Montanaand probably the nations only female African Americanto
own a utility. She had children. She organized a restaurant, bakery, and boarding house in Virginia City. She
always worked hard as a manager and people in her community respected her. In 2012, the State of Montana
honored her by inducting her into the Gallery of Outstanding Montanan.

Cowboys and Cowgirls

The cowboys of the frontier West have been subject to a lot of myths. Now, in our generation, people know
more of the truth. Many cowboys were law abiding people. Many were criminals. Many were bandits and many
were caring for their families. Cowboys were diverse. The life of the American cowboy was very hard. Many
rounded up cattle during the spring and fall. They drove animals into the market. Some of them used money to
spend on food, clothing, gambling, and prostitution. They worked on equipment and buildings during the
winter near the cattle towns. On many occasions, one cowboy would handle 250 head of cattle. Some cowboys
were hired to do herding, ranching, and protecting cattle. Many cowboys carried weapons like the Bowie knife,
lasso, bullwhip, pistols, rifles, and shotguns. They faced many Native Americans and rustlers. Some of them
were veterans of the Civil War (from both the Union and the Confederacy).

They were very diverse. They included African Americans, Latino-Americans, Native Americans, European
Americans, immigrants, and those from other parts of America. The earliest cowboys as we see them today
came from Texas. They traded and used unique clothing. Some of them adopted jargon from the Mexican
vaqueros. These were heirs of the Spanish cattlemen from middle-south Spain. African Americans from the
Buffalo Soldiers were involved in cowboy like activities from capturing livestock thieves, protecting settlers
heading west, building infrastructure, etc. Bass Reeves was a black deputy U.S. Marshall. He arrested more than
3,000 felons and shot and killed 14 outlaws in self-defense. Bass Reeves was born in Crawford County,
Arkansas and loved the frontier life in Oklahoma. Ned Huddleston (also known as Isom Dart) was one of the
famous black cowboys. He traveled to work on ranches and did other actions too. He lived in Wyoming.

Cowboys wore clothing to protect themselves. All the distinct clothing of the cowboyboots, saddles, hats,
pants, chaps, slickers, bandannas, gloves, and collar-less shirtswere practical and adaptable, designed for
protection and comfort. The cowboy hat quickly developed the capability, even in the early years, to identify its
wearer as someone associated with the West; it came to symbolize the frontier. The most enduring fashion
adapted from the cowboy, popular nearly worldwide today, are "blue jeans", originally made by Levi Strauss for
miners in 1850. Handling cattle was a long process. Most male cattle were castrated. They were dehorned and
examined plus treated for infections. On average, cowboys earned $30 to $40 per month, because of the heavy
physical and emotional toll; it was unusual for a cowboy to spend more than seven years on the range. As open
range ranching and the long drives gave way to fenced in ranches in the 1880's, by the 1890's the glory days of
the cowboy came to an end, and the myths about the "free living" cowboy began to emerge.

Cattle trading grew the cowtowns (which promoted the cattle industry). Cattle towns include places like
Abilene, Dodge City, and Ellsworth. They lasted for a few years in many cases. Some cowboys worked in
rodeos to celebrate their talents. Cowgirls existed too and they have made many achievements involving the
frontier West. Cowboys existed globally in South America and Australia as cattle herders. Cowboys in Hawaii
were called the panjolo. They learned skills from the Mexican vaqueros. Cowboy celebrations and rodeos
continue to exist in the 21st century nationwide. In our time black women have participated in athletic
completion in the Bill Picket Rodeo, which is the nations only touring black rodeo competition. Some modern
day black women in the competition include four Washington, D.C. based women. Their names are Kisha
Bowles, Selina Brown, Sandra Dorsey, and Brittaney Logan.

The environment

Caring for the environment is always important. To care for the environment is to care for yourself. The
modern environmental movement in America existed during the 19th century. Many lumber and coal
companies wanted the maximum usage of trees, coals, and other resources for jobs, economic growth, and
profit. They wanted natural resources. There were many conservationists back then too. Many of them were
moderates on environmental issues like Theodore Roosevelt. They were diverse. Some were outdoorsmen,
sportsmen, bird watchers, and scientists. They united to fight to reduce waste. They wanted the natural beauty
to be preserved. They embraced tourism. They wanted ample wildlife for hunting. So, they desired the careful
management of the lands. In that sense, they would in their minds cause long term economic benefit along with
environmental protections. Theodore Roosevelt worked in his life to conserve natural resources. He worked
closely with Gifford Pinchot and used the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902 to promote federal construction
of dams to irrigate small farms and placed 230 million acres (360,000 mi or 930,000 km) under federal
protection. Roosevelt set aside more Federal land, national parks, and nature preserves than all of his
predecessors combined. Roosevelt explained his position in 1910: "Conservation means development as much
as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources
of our land but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that
come after us."

There were many environmentalists who honored nature for its own sake. They rejected the maximizing of the
human benefits as a goal. These were progressive environmentalists. One leader of this movement was John
Muir. He lived from 1838 to 1914. Muir promoted preservation of wilderness. He was an author and naturalist.
He founded the Sierra Club, which is based in California. To this day, the Sierra Club has promoted
environmental causes. In 1889, he started to organize support for the preservation of the sequoias (or trees) in
Yosemite Valley. Congress passed the Yosemite National Park bill in 1890. In 1897 President Grover
Cleveland created thirteen protected forests but lumber interests had Congress cancel the move. Muir, taking
the persona of an Old Testament prophet, crusaded against the lumberman, portraying it as a contest "between
landscape righteousness and the devil." A master publicist, Muir's magazine articles, in Harper's Weekly (June 5,
1897) and the Atlantic Monthly turned the tide of public sentiment. He mobilized public opinion to support
Roosevelt's program of setting aside national monuments, national forest reserves, and national parks.
However Muir broke with Roosevelt and especially President William Howard Taft on the Hetch Hetchy dam,
which was built in the Yosemite National Park to supply water to San Francisco.

Biographer Donald Worster says, "Saving the American soul from a total surrender to materialism was the
cause for which he fought." The buffalo dealt with the environment too. The rise of the cattle industry and the
cowboy influence the decline of bison. The bison is called buffalo too. Once, bison was about 25 million on
the Great Plains. They ate grass. Native Americans in the Plains region used the buffalo as a resource for
survival literally. They used their bodies for food, hides for clothing and shelter, and bones for implements.
The buffalo loss habitat, diseases, and over hunting reduced the hurts through the 19th century. They almost
became extinct. The last 1015 million died out in a decade 18721883; only 100 survived. Many Native
Americans went into reservations by the government in order to survive the slaughter of the buffalo. The
government forced the Native Americans to accept the offer of reservations on the condition that they didnt
militarily resist them. Conservationists founded the American Bison Society in 1905; it lobbied Congress to
establish public bison herds. Several national parks in the U.S. and Canada were created, in part to provide a
sanctuary for bison and other large wildlife, with no hunting allowed. The bison population reached 500,000 by
2003. The same environmental issues debated back then are with us today.
The end of the Frontier West
With wars and expansion, the frontier West ended by
the late 19th and early 20th century. The frontier West
evolved from lands where the populations were
mostly Native American to lands filled with diverse
ethnic groups. It experienced many wars from the
Revolutionary War to the Civil War. After the Civil
War, Native Americans fought in battles and wars to
defend their way of life. The Sand Creek Massacre of
1864, the Fetterman Massacre of 1866, the Battle of
Little Bighorn of 1876, the Nez Perce War of 1877,
and the Battle of Wounded Knee of 1890 define the
controversial and bloody nature of those conflicts.
Many Native Americans were forced to live in
reservations, which had dilapidated land and harsh
conditions. Many Native Americans suffered diseases,
alcoholism, economic exploitation, racism,
discrimination, and other oppressive conditions in
those reservations. The federal government not only
committed violations of treaties, but was active in
genocide against the indigenous peoples of the
Now, you know the truth. The duty of us is to educate,
inspire, and help our neighbors.
By Timothy
Americas. This history must be shown. Ironically, the
technological development of America (from
railroads, telegraphs, mining, etc.) contributed to the
further exploitation of the Native American people.
The environmental movement grew during this time
and the bison became nearly extinct because of over
hunting and other factors. The frontier West
experienced the growth of towns and cities from Los
Angeles to Las Vegas which has changed American
culture forever. The 1890 national census said that no
longer a square mile of the United States not have
least a few white residents. The Manifest Destiny of
tyranny and theft expanded beyond the continental
United States. It expanded into Guam, the Philippines,
Cuba, and other locations globally. The next chapter
of this series would be the final chapter of the frontier
West. It will describe information about the legacy of
the West, movies dealing with the frontier West, and
the Native American movement for human liberation
(of the 20th century and the 21st century).