Chapter 26 Outline
I.
1865-1896
a.
the wild west was transformed very quickly
II.
The Clash of Cultures on the Plains
a.
Pioneers moved in on native American lands
b.
They spread cholera, typhoid, and smallpox among
the native population
c.
White intruders also shrunk the bison population
even further by hunting and stealing their prairie grasses
d.
The federal government attempted to make peace
with the Native Americans by signing treaties with the chiefs, this began the
reservation system
e.
The nomadic culture of the plains Indians,
however, could not be contained to a reservation, and many wars /battles were
fought between the US army and native Americans
f.
Federal Indian agents were often corrupt and the
promises of food, and shelter were often not kept, or Indians were given defective
supplies
III.
Receding Native Populations
a.
Native population began to diminish
b.
Aggressive whites sometimes shot peaceful
Indians on sight just to prevent future trouble
c.
Custer led a scientific exploration into the
Sioux region and declared that he found gold. This resulted in many gold
seekers to flood Native territory causing clashes amongst the groups
d.
One of the only Native wins was the Battle of
the Little Bighorn
e.
Native Americans were finally pushed onto
reservations
f.
One of the most important things that the
government used to fight the Natives was they were able to use the US army to
suppress the Natives
g.
Indians died from diseases, firewater, and the
extermination of the Buffalo
IV.
Bellowing Herds of Bison
a.
By 1885 fewer than one thousand buffalo were alive
V.
The End of the Trail
a.
People like Helen Hunt Jackson inspired sympathy
for the Indians
b.
Christian reformers attempted to help Natives,
but some withheld food to force the Indians to give up their tribal religions
and assimilate to white society
c.
In1884 the US government outlawed the sacred sun
dance. When the natives continued to do this the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890
took place
d.
Dawes Severalty Act of 1887: dissolved many
tribes, wiped out tribal ownership of land, set up individual family heads with
160 free acres. If Natives assimilated as good white settlers they would gain
full title to their holdings. They would also be granted citizenship in 25
years
e.
Full citizenship was granted to all Indians in
1924
f.
Former reservation land not given away under the
dawes act was to be distributed to the railroads to educate and “civilize” the
Native peoples
g.
Indian population began to increase
VI.
Mining: From Dishpan to Ore Breaker
a.
The age of big business came to the mining
industry
b.
Miners were replaced by impersonal corporations
c.
The mining frontier attracted population and
wealth
d.
Women won a kind of equality on the rough
frontier
e.
The outpouring of silver and gold enabled the
treasury to resume specie payments in 1879 and injected the silver issue into
American politics
VII.
Beef Bonanzas and the Long Drive
a.
There was no way to get the meat of the long
horned cattle to market profitably until railroad cars and stockyards were
formed
VIII.
The Farmers’ Frontier
a.
Homestead Act of 1862 allowed a settler to
acquire as much as 160 acres of land by living on it for five years, improving
it, and paying a nominal fee of about 30 dollars
b.
Fraud was spawned by the Homestead act
c.
Farmers also moved west due to higher wheat
prices and the lure of riches
d.
They quickly went broke as a six year drought
took place in the 1880s
e.
The development of barbed wire solved the issue
of treeless prairies and fences
f.
Hydraulic engineers had more to do with the
shaping of the modern West than any other group because they helped with
irrigation
IX.
The Far West Comes of Age
a.
Six new states were admitted to the Union: North
Dakota, South Dakota, Montana Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming
X.
The Fading frontier
a.
1890 all unsettled areas were broken into
b.
There was no longer an unsettled west
c.
The government set aside land for national parks
XI.
The Farm Becomes a Factory
a.
High prices shifted farmers to concentrate on
growing single cash crops rather than being self sufficient.
b.
Farmers became consumers and producers
c.
Agricultural modernization drove many marginal
farmers off the land
d.
The farm was attaining the status of a factory
as new machinery was produced
XII.
Deflation Dooms the Debtor
a.
As farmers relied on one crop as long as the
prices stayed high all was well
b.
The price of grain fell and farmers soon became
debtors
c.
In a vicious circle, their farm machinery
increased their output of grain, lowered the price, and drove them even deeper
into debt
d.
By 1880 one fourth of all American farms were
operated by tenants due to bankruptcies
XIII.
Unhappy Farmers
a.
The earth was going sour
b.
Farmers had no choice but to sell their product
in an unprotected world wide market
c.
They were by nature independent and
individualistic. This made it difficult for them to join together to fight for
prices.
XIV.
The Farmers Take Their Stand
a.
Oliver h. Kelley objective was to enhance the
lives of isolated farmers through social, educational, and fraternal activities
b.
He led the National Grange of the Patrons and
Husbandry
c.
The Grangers helped fight for the collective
plight of all farmers
d.
Farmers also used the Greenback Labor Party to
voice their grievances
XV.
Prelude to Populism
a.
The Farmer’s Alliance was formed in the 1870s
b.
Farmers came together to socialize , and also to
fight against the railroads and manufacturers through cooperative buying and
selling
c.
They still excluded blacks
d.
The Farmers’ Alliance created the Populist party
i. Their
platform was nationalizing railroads, telephone, and the telegraph, instituting
a graduated income tax, and creating a new federal sub treasury
XVI.
Coxey’s Army and the Pullman Strike
a.
“General” Jacob S. Coxey was a populist marcher
i. his
platform was that the government relieve unemployment by an inflationary public
works program, supported by some 500 million dollars in legal tender notes to
be issued by the treasury
b.
In Chicago the Pullman strike of 1894 happened
where laborers overturned Pullman railroad cars due to cutting wages, but
remaining at the same rent prices
i. The
Federal government sent in troops to break up the fight due to the post not
being delivered
ii. This
was the first time that Washington used this excuse to break a strike up
XVII.
Golden McKinley and Silver Bryan
a.
Whether to maintain or inflate the currency by
monetizing silver loomed as the issue on which the election would turn
b.
William McKinley
i. Republican
of Ohio
1.
The Republican platform leaned toward hard money
policies and condemned hard times and democratic incapacity while praising the
protective tariff
2.
But McKinley himself was favorable to silver
ii. Had
a creditable civil war record
iii. Had
long years of service in congress
c.
William Jennings Bryan
i. He
radiated honesty, sincerity, and energy
ii. Democratic
platform: demanded inflation through unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio
of 16 ounces of silver o 1 of gold even though the market was 32 to 1
XVIII.
Class Conflict: Plowholders versus Bondholders
a.
The McKyinleyites amassed the most formidable
political campaign chest with about 16 million dollars
b.
McKinley won the presidential election of 1896
c.
This was a victory or big business, the big
cities, middle-class values, and financial conservatism
XIX.
Republican Stand-pattism Enthroned
a.
McKinley was cautious and conservative, allowing
many big businesses to have free reign
b.
The Dingley Tarriff Bill was jammed through the
House in 1897
i. The
result was that the average rates became 46.5 percent
c.
Farm prices rose
d.
Gold Standard Act of 1900 provided that the
paper currency be redeemed freely in gold
e.
This improved the circulatory system
f.
