Manifest Destiny – the belief that God was telling White Americans to share progress, freedom and democracy across America (only for White people of course)

There was much change on the Plain and this chapter will look at the following changes and their impacts

1. The Railroad

2. The Cattle Business

3. Homesteaders

4. Conflict

The Railroad

· Lincoln was keen to link the East and West of America

· People were encourage to invest by being given land on each side of the track

· Building was delayed due to the Civil War

· In 1864 the government invested and the railway was built

· Companies received 6400 acres for every mile of track built

The Impact

· Exploited Chinese migrants to work on tunnels in poor conditions

· Towns were built on the Plains where the Trains would stop

· This encouraged many more Americans to move to the Plains

· The towns were often lawless and had drinking and gambling problems

· The tracks divided Indian hunting grounds

· The towns cut into the plains where the Buffalo roamed

The Cattle Business

· Ranchers in Texas grew a type of cattle that roamed freely on the Plains. Cowboys would then round them up and take them to market to sell

· Cattle multiplied during the war because they weren’t being taken to market and so a huge trade started selling Beef to Northern Cities

· The railroads helped because they could drive the cattle to the tracks and load them onto trains

· Cow Towns were created where people could drive the cattle ready to load onto the trains

· Cattle Ranches grew after some people realised that keeping the cattle close to the cow towns was more effective than driving them on the open range

The Impact

· Cowboys would spend weeks driving the cattle there and then ‘relax’ in the towns which were full of saloons and brothels and violence

· Cattle ranches meant grass and water became scarce and the Buffalo died out meaning there was a threat of starvation for the Natives

Homesteaders

· Were farmers who fenced the land and tried to grow crops

· Most were free slaves or immigrants from Europe

· They wanted to be independent farmers and they could buy the land cheaply

· Living on the Plains was hard and many suffered due to poor housing, lack of water, isolation, difficulty farming and the weather

The Impact

· Nearly half of homesteaders returned back to the cities

· Disease and death amongst the homesteaders was common

· Farmers had to adapt new techniques such as dry farming

· The number of homesteads meant competition for resources with the Native Americans

Conflict

Tensions grew with the Natives for 3 main reasons

1. Competition over land and resources

2. Growing racism towards the Natives

3. Fear of the Natives access to guns

There were 4 main conflicts between 1861 and 1867

Why were there issues between Native Americans and the USA?

1. The US government believed in Manifest Destiny, that whites should own all of America from ‘sea to shining sea’

2. Ranchers grazed their cattle on the land where the buffalo used to graze – many buffalo were wiped out because of the lack of food

3. The US government usually supported the white settlers in any conflict with the Indians

4. Miners were digging for gold in land that was owned by the Indians

5. The homesteaders took a lot of land away from the Indian tribes – the government gave them this land causing resentment from the Native Americans who felt betrayed.

6. The Us government tried to destroy the Indian culture by forcing them onto reservations and making them reliant upon handouts

7. The US army were often brought in to help the white settlers in conflicts with the Indians

8. Thousands of buffalo hunters invaded the Plains – by 1885 there were only 200 buffalo left on the Plains. In 1840 there had been an estimated 13 million

9. Indian children were taken from their families and sent to boarding schools where they were taught life in the “white man’s world”. If parents tried to stop their children from going their rations were stopped

10. The railroads divided up the Plains and invited more settlers onto the Plains. They also helped supply the army and facilitate its fast deployments and movements

Timeline of the Indian Wars

· Permanent Indian Frontier 1840 - all land given to the Indians

· 1848 gold rush

· First Fort Laramie treaty 1851

· 1857 gold rush

· Fort Lyon treaty 1861

· Little crow’s war 1862 –

revolt by Santee Sioux against bad conditions on reservations

· Cheyenne Uprising 1863 – revolts against conditions on reservations. Wagon trains attacked for food

· Sand Creek Massacre 1864 –

at least 163 killed of which at least 110 were women and children – US army attacked despite white flag being raised

· Red cloud’s war 1867 –

Sioux attacked travellers on the Bozeman trail and forced withdrawal of army

· The Second Fort Laramie treaty 1868 -

US government abandon Bozeman trail, Sioux given permanent reservation in Dakota (even when they win they lose)

· The winter campaign of 1868

· Sheridan and Custer attack black kettle’s winter camp –

the Battle of Washita this was exactly the same as the events at Sand Creek

· Gold in Dakota - 1874

· The Battle of Little Big Horn 1876 –

The Defeat of Custer and the 7th cavalry.