Historical Significance of a Political Cartoon on Westward Expansion

1. 12/9: What is the historical significance of this cartoon and why would it have been drawn and published? Write what you see and think.

2. AGENDA: • Finish assassination viewing • Extra credit due tomorrow • On to the WEST notes (they are also online) p24-25

3. Plains Indians -Great Plains or Great American Desert – Land reserved for Plains Indians, otherwise unwanted by settlers -Nomadic lifestyle – Constantly on the move -importance of the horse and buffalo – horse for transportation. Indians used every part of the buffalo. -communal living – tribal unit shared all goods – dif. From our idea of family -common use of the tribe’s land -Sioux, Lakota, Cheyenne, Apache, Nez Pierce, Blackfoot

4. “American” Interests -Lands given by treaty to Indian groups -California Gold Rush, 1848 -Homestead Act, 1862 – gave cheap lands to anyone who would settle out west -transcontinental railroad building Massacre of the buffalo herds -Central and Union Pacific Railroads -Irish and Chinese Immigrants – worked on the railroad -Promontory Point, Utah, 1869 The Union & Central Pacific Railroads joined their rails at Promontory Summit, Utah . This defines the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad. “golden spike” Chinese worked on Central Pacific (West) Irish worked on Union Pacific (East)

5. Indian Restrictions -treaties were broken -Indians forced onto reservations -gov’t payment and supplies were not delivered as promised -Indian Uprisings -Dakota Uprising, 1862: Minnesota erupts in violence as desperate Dakota Indians attack white settlements along the Minnesota River. They were eventually overwhelmed by the U.S. military six weeks later.

6. Indian Restrictions -Massacre at Sand Creek, 1864 John Chivington leads Army unit in massacre of Cheyenne Indians: 700members of the Colorado Territory militia embarked on an attack of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian villages. The militia was led by U.S. Army Col. John Chivington, a Methodist preacher. After a night of heavy drinking by the soldiers, Chivington ordered the massacre of the Indians. Over 2/3 of the slaughtered and maimed were women and children.  -Settlers built a road through Sioux hunting grounds -Fetterman’s Massacre, 1866 On December 21, 1886, Indians in northern Wyoming on federal fort property, massacred Lieutenant Colonel William Fetterman, along with 80+ of his USsoldiers. The Indians were fighting over the encroaching military presence in their region.-Main leaders were: Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud’s warriors. Indians kill 80+ soldiers. Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 – The Black Hills were a hunting ground and sacred territory of the Western Sioux Indians, whose rights to the region were guaranteed by this treaty.  But after a U.S. military expedition under George A. Custer discovered gold in the Black Hills in 1874, 1000s of white gold hunters and miners swarmed into the area the following year. Native American resistance followed….

7. Reservations: • piece of land that has been given over to Native Americans • They do not have full power over the land, but they do have limited governmental rule • 300 today

8. Indian Wars -Gold found in the Black Hills of the Dakotas -Sioux try to defend area promised to them -Army sends George Armstrong Custer: served in the Civil War with General George B. McClellan. He became a brigadier general, and his pursuit of General Robert E. Lee helped to bring an end to the Civil War.On June 25, 1876, heled 210 men into battle at Little Bighorn against Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. Custerand all of his men were killed in the battle -Little Bighorn, 1876 (aka Custer’s Last Stand) Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull lead warriors as Custer and all his men were killed http://www.biography.com/people/george-custer-9264128

10. Indian Wars -Nez Perce Indians, 1877 lived in scattered villages in the Plains west of the Rocky Mountains. About 4,000 in number, they were excellent horsemen and owned the largest horse herd on the continent.  -Led by Chief Joseph, they refused to go to reservation US attempted to force the Nez Percé to move to a reservation in 1877, he reluctantly agreed. Following the killing of a group of white settlers, tensions erupted again, and Chief Joseph tried to lead his people to Canada, in what is considered one of the great retreats in military history -chased by the Army for over 1000 miles until captured -”I will fight no more forever”

11. Assimilation • -”Century of Dishonor” • bookrecords the experiences the NA had in the US, and focused on injustices. She wrote the book to attempt to change government policies towards the NA • Helen Hunt Jackson • Assimilate - to adapt to a culture • -some people supported assimilation of Indians • -Dawes Act passed, 1887 • 160 acres to each family • Broke up communal living • - tried to make an American farmer out of them (WHAT?) • -left over land was sold off • most of land was eventually taken

12. End of the Indian Lifestyle  -assimilation education of Indians to be more like whites -destruction of the buffalo- causing Indians to become farmers

13. End of the Indian Lifestyle -Ghost Dance Movement – To deal with wars Sioux spiritual dance Dance was outlawed “People are scared of what they don’t understand” -Wounded Knee, 1890 massacre of several hundred Sioux -Indian era comes to an end South Dakota/Massacre left 150 Native Americans dead, in what was the final clash between federal troops and the Sioux. In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied Wounded Knee for 71 days to protest conditions on the reservation.

14. http://www.history.com/topics/wounded-knee/videos#sitting-bullhttp://www.history.com/topics/wounded-knee/videos#sitting-bull http://www.history.com/topics/wounded-knee/videos#the-buffalo-and-native-americans