Chapter 26 The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution

1. Chapter 26The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution 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. Frederick Jackson Turner, 1893

2. Culture Clashes on the Plains • Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) • Treaty between U.S. government and 8 Indian groups • Forced Indians to accept specific boundaries in exchange for government protection • Marked the beginning of the reservation system for Indians • Treaty of Fort Atkinson • Treaty between U.S government and 3 Indian groups • Indians agreed to maintain peaceful relations with U.S. and to allow unimpeded American access to roads leading to Mexican Territory in exchange for annuity payments from the government for 10 years • Buffalo Soldiers • U.S. sent troops to protect the West • One-fifth of all soldiers were African American • Nicknamed by the Indians because of the resemblance of their hair to bison fur

3. Dakota Sioux Uprising • Congress delayed annuity payment to Dakota Sioux Indians in Minnesota (1862) • Chief Little Crow asked traders to extend credit to Indians to prevent starvation • Dakota Sioux waged war against traders, settlers, and army officials • Army put down uprising and 307 Dakota Sioux were sentenced to death (Lincoln reduced # to 38) • Sioux fled to Dakota Territory (named after them)

4. The Lakota Sioux Red Cloud Sitting Bull Red Cloud

5. Fetterman’s Massacre • Lakota Sioux, led by Red Cloud, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, were nomadic tribe who claimed territory from the Blacks Hills to the Bighorn Mountains • Lakota blocked the Bozeman Trail, used by prospectors to reach western gold mines • Crazy Horse led a Sioux war party in an ambush of Captain William Fetterman and soldiers in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming in 1866 • No survivors; corpses mutilated

6. Sand Creek Massacre • Cheyenne Indians in Colorado were ordered to surrender at Fort Lyon in 1864 • Chief Black Kettle tried to negotiate peace and was ordered to make camp at Sand Creek • Colonel John Chivington attacked Cheyenne at Sand Creek, brutally killing men, women and children • Indian Peace Commission • Formed by Congress in 1867 • Proposed creation of two reservations – one for Sioux and one for other Plains groups • Bureau of Indian Affairs given charge of reservations • U.S. army responsible for dealing with resistance • Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) • U.S. government abandoned claims to Bozeman Trail • Guaranteed the “Great Sioux Reservation”

7. Little Bighorn • Lakota Sioux lived on a reservation in the Black Hills of South Dakota • Gold discoveries in 1876 led miners to overrun the reservation • Many Lakota left the reservation to hunt in the Bighorn Mountains of Montana • Sitting Bull performed the Sun Dance, a sacred ritual believed to give visions that would help Indians defeat whites • Government sent detachment to deal with renegade Lakota and Cheyenne • Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer led attack against Indians camped along the Little Bighorn River on June 25, 1876 • Custer and his entire detachment were killed • Sitting Bull, the Lakota leader, fled with his followers into Canada but was forced to return to the reservation • Custer portrayed as victim and army increased attacks against Indians

9. Nez Perce • Chief Joseph, leader of the Nez Perce Indians, resisted efforts to move his people onto a reservation • Led his people on a 1500+ mile journey toward Canada in an attempt to rendezvous with Sitting Bull • Finally forced to surrender and relocate to reservation in Kansas

10. Geronimo • Military leader and medicine man of the Apache • Hated all whites because they had killed his wife, children, and mother • Believed to have ‘powers’ of telekinesis and telepathy • Fled into Mexico • Forced to surrender • Women exiled to Florida • Became successful farmers in Oklahoma • Died as a prisoner at Fort Sill in 1909

11. Disappearance of the Buffalo • Numbers declined as Indians hunted buffalo for food (by 1885 less than a thousand buffalo left alive) • Gold Rush contributed to decline • Professional buffalo hunters sent hides to markets back East • Railroad companies hired sharpshooters to kill buffalo (‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody killed 4000+) • U.S. government encouraged buffalo killing to force Indians onto reservations • Reservation system disrupted hunting patterns of Indians

12. Wounded Knee • Ghost Dance • Ceremonial dance that celebrated Lakota Sioux beliefs that white would disappear, buffalo would return, and Indians would reunite with dead ancestors • Banned by government on reservations • Lakota Sioux continued to perform ritual in defiance • Sitting Bull • Returned to reservation • Blamed by government agents for Sioux defiance • Army sent to arrest him • Killed in exchange of gunfire • Massacre • Sioux fled reservation • Troops met Indians at Wounded Knee Creek in December, 1890 • Killed 200+ men, women and children

13. Doom for Indians • Railroads • Brought settlers into western Indian lands • Allowed government to transport troops to fight Indians • Disease • Indians had little resistance to white diseases • Often used to wage biological warfare against Indians • ‘Firewater’ • Little resistance to alcohol • Indians had increased rates of alcoholism • Extermination of buffalo • Ended nomadic way of life • Buffalo almost extinct by 1885

14. Dawes Act of 1887 • Legal policy of assimilation • Dissolved many Indian tribes • Ended tribal ownership of land • Allotted each head of household 160 acres of reservation land, single adults 80 acres, and children 40 acres • Offered citizenship and full title to holdings after 25 years (if Indians accepted assimilation) • Remaining reservation land would be sold with the proceeds placed in trust for Indian tribes (for the education and “civilizing” of Indians) • Indian Reorganization Act (“Indian New Deal) of 1934 partially reversed Dawes Act and tried to restore autonomy of Indian tribal life

15. The Mining Industry • Types of mining • Placer mining (used by early prospectors) made use of simple equipment live picks, shovels and pans • Quartz mining (used by corporations) involved digging deep beneath the surface • Pikes Peak (1858) • Gold discovery brought miners pouring into the region • Comstock Lode • “Fifty-niners” poured into Nevada in 1859 after huge gold and silver deposit discovered • Worth more than $340 million • New Territories • Nevada, Colorado, Dakota Territory, Montana

16. Changing Times • Boomtowns • Mining towns like Virginia City and Leadville sprang up • Soaring crime rate • Prospectors fought over claims • Theft rampant • Vigilance committees, self-appointed law enforcers, kept order (often at the expense of the innocent) • New businesses • Saloons, boardinghouses, bath houses, prostitution • Increased opportunities for women • Ran businesses • Often given the right to vote (Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho)

17. Effects of Mining • Gold and silver discoveries financed the Civil War and the building of railroads • Intensified conflict between Indians and whites • Gold and silver discoveries spurred greed for Indian land • Allowed U.S. Treasury department to resume specie payments in 1879 • Made silver a political ‘hot topic’ of the late 19th century • William Jennings Bryan • Farmers • Goldbugs v. silverites • Added to American folklore and literature • Bret Harte • Mark Twain

18. Ranching and Cattle Drives • Texas Longhorns • Breed of cow descended from Spanish cattle brought to Mexico • Lean and rangy with long horns (sometimes up to 8 foot spread) • Open Range • Vast area of grassland owned by government on which wild cattle freely grazed • Mexican cowboys, called vaqueros, developed tools and techniques to round up and drive cattle • Introduced the lariat, lasso, and stampede to English language

19. Long Drive • Development of railroads allowed cowboys to drive cattle to markets, making cattle profitable for their meat (previously valued only for hides) • Cowboys drove herds over the plains to railroad terminals • Began with spring roundup where cattle were branded, with mavericks divided among major ranch owners • Many cowboys were former Confederate soldiers, some were Hispanic, and a few were black • Cities like Dodge City, Abilene, and Cheyenne became famous ‘cow towns’ • During Civil War, millions of cows slaughtered to feed troops and beef prices soared after the war • “Beef barons” like Swift and Armour allowed meatpacking industry to become economic mainstay • Refrigerator cars allowed meat to be transported from western stockyards to East Coast • Chisholm Trail became main route (from Texas to Abilene) • Long drive ended as railroads brought farmers to the western plains

20. Range Wars • Barbed Wire • Joseph Glidden perfected barbed wire in 1874 • Farmers began fencing in land, sparking ‘range wars’ with ranchers, who were felt threatened by end of free grazing • Overproduction • High prices of beef prompted heavy investment in the cattle industry • Oversupply of animals drove down prices • Blizzard of 1886-87 devastated the industry • Survival of the Cattle Industry • Open range ended • Breeders fenced in land, replaced longhorns with European breeds, learned to store food for the winter, and organized

21. The Farmer’s Frontier • Homestead Act • Most farmers were not successful due to drought • Increased fraud as railroad promoters took advantage of cheap land • Railroads opened the West to crop production • Steel Plow • Invented by John Deere • Allowed farmers to break through thick sod of the Great Plains to reach the fertile soil underneath • Sodbusters • Lack of trees and water on Great Plains forced farmers to build houses from sod • Prairie fires, swarms of grasshoppers, and extreme weather conditions made life miserable • New Methods • Dry farming was method in which farmers planted seeds deep in ground where there was enough moisture for germination (contributed to Depression Era “Dust Bowl” • Mechanical farming developed as new machines were used to plant crops

22. Bonanza Farms • Wheat Belt • Wheat became main crop of the Great Plains, mainly because it withstood drought better than other crops • High wheat prices worldwide led farmers to invest heavily in crops • New strains of wheat imported • Mechanization • Investment in expensive machinery tied farmers to banks • New inventions sped up harvesting – twine binder and combine • Drove small farmers off the land • Commercial Farming • Bonanza farmers formed companies, made large investments in land and equipment, and hired farm laborers • Allowed U.S. to become leading exporter of wheat • Glutted world market and extended drought led to falling prices in 1890s, and many farmers (who had borrowed money for equipment) lost farms because they were unable to make payments

23. Growth of the Far West • New States • Colorado (1876) • North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming added (1889-1890) by Republican Congress to pad electoral and congressional majority • Utah (1896) added after Mormon Church banned polygamy • Oklahoma Land Rush • “Sooners” illegally entered Indian Territory and were forcibly removed by the federal government • Government opened territory to settlers in 1889 • “Boomers” flooded into the territory, and Oklahoma became a state in 1907

24. Closing the Frontier • Census Bureau reported in 1890 that there was no longer a ‘discernible’ frontier line • Frederick Jackson Turner wrote “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” about the ‘closing’ of the frontier • National Parks • U.S. government recognized need to preserve land • Yellowstone established in 1872 • Yosemite and Sequoia established in 1890 • Safety Valve Theory • Idea that unoccupied land on the frontier provided a ‘safety valve of social discontent’ – a place where Americans could always make a fresh start • Westward moving experience significant in American history

25. Deflation Dooms Debtors • Falling farm prices of late 19th century left farmers who were in debt unable to repay loans • Deflated currency hurt ability of farmers to repay debt • Static money supply forced prices down • Cycle of debt • New machinery increased agricultural productivity • Increased output of grain lowered prices • Lower prices increased borrowing by farmers • Many farmers were forced to become tenant farmers

26. Ailing Farmers • Mother Nature Wreaks Havoc • Grasshoppers (‘Plagues of locusts’) devoured crops in the West • Boll weevil ravaged cotton crops in the South • Floods eroded topsoil in many areas, while extended droughts seared lands west of the Mississippi • Gouged by Government • Land was over-assessed • High protective tariffs benefitted manufacturers at farmers’ expense • Trusts and middlemen cut into profits • Railroads charged exorbitant rates for shipping

27. The Grange • The Grange (officially National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry) • Organized in 1867 by Oliver H. Kelley, a Minnesota farmer, as the first national farm organization • Goals were to organize social, educational, and fraternal activities for farmers, regulate railroad and warehouse rates, increase money supply, and create cooperatives (marketing organizations that worked for the benefit of members by pooling farm resources) • Political Activism • Many members joined Greenback Labor Party • Granger Laws (series of state laws passed to protect agrarian interests) set maximum railroad rates • Wabash v. Illinois (see Ch. 24) limited state ability to regulate railroads, seriously injuring the Granger movement

28. Farmers’ Alliance • Organization • Created in 1877 as Grange declined • Members traveled throughout South and West speaking to farmers and organizing local chapters • Hoped to raise farm prices & make loans to farmers at low interest rates • Ultimate Failure • Ignored landless tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and farm workers • Excluded blacks, who made up almost half agrarian population • Overextended by loaning too much money • Discriminated against by railroads, manufacturers, etc.

29. Populism (People’s Party) • Populist Platform • Free and unlimited coinage of silver • Graduated income tax • Government ownership of railroads, telegraph, and telephone • Direct election of U.S. senators • Single term limit on presidency • Adoption of initiative & referendum • Shorter workday • Immigration restriction • Subtreasury Plan • Proposed by Charles Macune • Called for government to set up warehouses (in which farmers could store crops) and to issue low interest loans to farmers • Believed plan would allow farmers to hold crops out of market until prices rose • Ocala Demands • Farmers’ Alliance did not want Democratic Party to lose control of South • Met and drafted series of demands intended to guide farmers in choosing whom to vote for • Included many of the Populist Party’s ideas • Sherman Silver Purchase Act • Passed by Congress to prevent farmers from voting for Populists • Allowed U.S. government to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver per month • Reduced deflation • Nominated General James Weaver for president in 1892

30. Coxey’s Army • Panic of 1893 gave credibility to Populist argument that farmers and laborers were being taken advantage of • Armies of unemployed workers participated in protest marches • ‘General’ Jacob S. Coxey marched on Washington, D.C. with supporters and reporters • Demanded that the government establish public works programs to relieve unemployment with notes issued by U.S. Treasury • Commonwealth Army • Nickname of Coxey’s supporters • Protest fell apart when Coxey and supporters were arrested for walking on the grass

31. Coxey’s Army

32. Goldbugs and Silverites • Panic of 1893 created crisis for U.S. Treasury when government bonds owned by investors were cashed in for gold, causing shortage in gold reserves • Sherman Silver Purchase Act had allowed people to exchange silver for gold • Cleveland, who supported gold standard, called Congress into special session to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act • Resulted in split of the Democratic Party into “goldbugs” and “silverites” • Goldbugs believed that American currency should be based only on gold • Silverites believed coining silver in unlimited quantities would solve U.S. economic crisis

33. Election of 1896 William McKinley William Jennings Bryan

34. The Cross of Gold Speech • William Jennings Bryan was strong supporter of silver • Former member of Congress from Nebraska • Speech before Democratic convention sealed his nomination • Called the “Cross of Gold” speech, Bryan transformed the campaign into a crusade by calling the issue a ‘defense of a cause as holy as the cause of liberty – the cause of humanity’ • “Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” • Populist Party, which chose to hold convention after Democrats and Republicans, supported Bryan • Bryan traveled around the nation during the campaign

35. Front Porch Campaign • William McKinley, former governor and member of Congress from Ohio, was chosen by the Republican Party • McKinley’s candidacy was sponsored largely by Marcus Hanna, an iron magnate who believed that the prime function of government was to aid business • McKinley’s campaign slogan was a “ full dinner pail” for all people • Hanna built up a huge ‘slush fund’ by shaking down trusts and plutocrats, creating the largest political campaign chest in American political history • Democrats accused Republican Party of winning the election with mud and money • Businesspeople placed contracts with manufacturers that would only be good if McKinley was elected • Factory owners paid off workers and told them not to come back to work if Bryan was elected • Some employers were accused of threatening to pay workers in fifty cent pieces rather than dollars if Bryan won

36. Election Results

37. New Era in American Politics • Political Turning Point • Most significant election since Lincoln • Wage earners ‘voted with their pocketbooks’, rejecting free silver and inflation as a threat to their fixed wage lives • New Era in Politics • Huge victory for big business, middle class values, and financial conservatism • Marked last serious effort to win the White House with agrarian votes • Placed presidential politics in the hands of urban populations, including immigrants • Heralded era of lower voter turnout in elections, weakened party organization, and dwindled interest in old political issues like monetary policy and civil service reform • Period of Republican domination that followed became known as the ‘fourth party system’

38. Republicans Enthroned • McKinley Holds Party Line • Held with majority opinion • Cautious, conservative • Business given free rein and trusts allowed to grow unchecked • “Battle of 96” • Tariff issue became political hot topic after McKinley’s election • Wilson-Gorman law not raising enough revenue • Dingley Tariff Bill passed in 1897, raising tariff rates to approximately 46.5% • Economic Prosperity • Depression caused by Panic of 1893 ended, resulting in higher farm prices • Debate over monetary policy became moot point • Gold Standard Act of 1900 passed, which provided for the redemption of paper currency in gold • New discoveries of gold worldwide led to inflation, which improved national economy