Warm-up for 13-1
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Musical- Bob Marley- Buffalo Soldier
What are your images of cowboys like? How
have movies and novels influenced those
images? How true do you think those images
are to the reality of life on the open range?
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Great Plains- grassland that
extends through the central
portion of NA
Plains Indians had
developed a distinctive
culture
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horses brought by the Spanish
in late 1500’s increased
mobility
increased mobility led to
hunting buffalo & war parties
buffalo provided many basic
needs
family structure- small
extended groups w/ ties to
other bands
tribes ruled by counsel, not
force
land could not be owned
Plains Indians and Buffalo
1. Meat- main food source
2. Hides- used for clothing, blankets, robes, shoes, and teepees
3. Bones- arrow tips, knives, tools and farming implements
4. Tendons- used to thread or string bows
5. Fat- cosmetics
6. Bladder- water bags
7. Buffalo droppings- used as fuel and burned
Hunting
1. Piskin method- funneling buffalo together in a V to kill or drive
them off cliffs
2. Horseback- using speed as weapon
Nomadic Tribes
1. Teepees- portable tents easy to dismantle
2. Travois- used to transport possessions
White Man and Buffalo
1. Buffalo tongue- a delicacy in eastern restaurants
2. Hides- used to make leather
3. Shooting became a sport
Settlers push Westward
believed Indians had forfeited
rights to land by not settling it
 lure of silver & gold attracted
thousands onto Indian land
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Government restricts Native
Americans
railroads influence govt. to
clearly define specific
boundaries for Indians
 Treaty of Fort Laramie (2nd)1868 -forced Sioux reservation
along Missouri River
 Sitting Bull- Sioux leader, never
signed treaty (prophesized George
Custer’s attack)
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Treaty signing by William T.
Sherman and the Sioux at Fort
Laramie, Wyoming. Photo by
Alexander Gardner, 1868.
George A. Custer
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Colonel in the 7th Cavalry
 (youngest general in the Civil War at 23; he led
the cavalry at Gettysburg saving the Union flank)
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reported that the Black Hills had gold (E
Montana territory)
famous last stand at Little Bighorn River1876
Crazy Horse & Sitting Bull outflanked &
killed all 7th cavalry troops
 (268 killed- Americans outraged over incident)
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Sioux later defeated
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assimilation- govt. plan
under which Indians
would give up their beliefs
and way of life and
become part of the white
culture
Dawes Act- 1887 law
intended to “Americanize”
Indians by distributing
reservation land to
individual owners
extra land sold to settlers w/
$ to go to Indians
 2/3’s of land taken by
whites, no $ was ever given
to Indians
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destruction of buffalo was
major blow to tribal life
 1800; ~65 million buffalo roamed
the plains
 1890; fewer than 1000 remained
 1900; a single herd remained in
Yellowstone National Park
 ~500,000 today
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Ghost Dance- Sioux ritual
thought to be a way to
restore lands & way of life
Battle of Wounded Knee1890
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massacre of 300 unarmed
Indians at Wounded Knee
Creek, South Dakota
*marks an end to the Indian
Wars *
Cattle & Cowboys
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Cattle & horses flourish as
buffalo disappear
longhorns- breed of cattle
brought by Spanish to
Mexico & suited for dry
conditions of the SW
American cowboy’s
clothes, food, & vocab
heavily influenced by
Mexicans
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(chaparreras-chaps, ranchoranch, bronco caballo-bronco,
corral & rodeo)
growing populations &
cities after Civil War
demand increased beef
production
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Chisholm Trail- major cattle
route from San Antonio to
Kansas
folklore & legend depict cowboy
as white; 25% African American,
12% Mexican
cowboy work was difficult &
non-stop
long drive- overland transport
of cattle; could last up to 3 months
legends of the west include Wild
Bill Hickok & Calamity Jane
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(Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show)
*neither ever dealt w/ cattle
Late 1880’s
Cattle frontier comes to an end
due to overgrazing of land, bad
weather, & barbed wire
Dead Man’s Hand
Warm-up for 13-2
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Musical - Old Chisholm Trail
Describe what you think life on the Great Plains
(prairie) was like for a typical family in the late 1800’s
along with the roles of each family member. Do you
think you would have wanted to move west? Explain.
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fed govt.
made huge
land grants
to the
railroad
companies
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(received 1020 square
miles of
public land
for every mile
of track laid
down)
Gov. also supported settlement
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Homestead Act- 1862
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exodusters- African Americans who moved from post-Reconstruction S to
Kansas
1889 land giveaway in Oklahoma attracted thousands more
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offered 160 acres to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of household & would
cultivate land for 5 yrs.
2 million acres claimed in less than a day, some claimed sooner than they were supposed to; Sooner
State
1872- govt. created Yellowstone National Park to preserve land
1890- Census Bureau declared the frontier no longer existed
Emerald Pool
Life on the Plains
 hazards- droughts, floods,
fires, blizzards, locust
plagues, outlaws, & Indians
 soddy- home built of blocks
of turf
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small, stuffy, allowed little
light, inviting to snakes &
insects, & leaked
women worked alongside
men while caring for
children
reaper, plow, barbed wire,
corn binder, grain drill make
more grain available to a
wider market
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In 1830, producing a bushel of
grain took ~183 minutes. By 1900,
it took only 10 minutes.
The first patent in the United States for barbed wire was issued
in 1867 to Lucien B. Smith, who is regarded as the inventor.
Joseph F. Glidden, received a patent for the modern invention
in 1874 after he made his own modifications to previous
versions. Barbed wire was the first wire technology capable of
restraining cattle. Wire fences were cheaper and easier to erect
than their alternatives. Barbed wire fencing requires only fence
posts, wire, and fixing devices such as staples. It is simple to
construct and quick to erect, even by an unskilled person. There
are over 530 patented barbed wires, approximatlety 2,000
variations and over 2,000 patented barbed wire tools.
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Morrill Act- 1862 & 90’
gave federal land to
states to build
agricultural colleges
expensive farming
machinery causes debt
bonanza farmsenormous farms created
by railroad companies &
investors on which a
single crop is grown
bad weather & rising
shipping costs led to
bankruptcy
 small farms flexible in their
crops survived but still
struggled
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Warm-up for 13-3
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If you were going to create a new political
party for the middle class, concentrating on
economic reform, what would be the party’s
platform?
Farmers dealt w/ many problems
in the late 1800’s
1. falling crop prices
(price of wheat drops from $2 a bushel to 68
cents between 1867 and 1887)
2. indebted to banks
(govt. withdrew greenbacks after the war
increasing value of the $ in circulation which
meant those who had to repay debts paid
higher prices)
3. railroads charged outrageous
shipping prices
(more expensive to ship from Dakotas to
Minneapolis by rail than from Chicago to
England by boat)
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Grange (Patrons of Husbandry) – social outlet/
organization started by Oliver Hudson Kelly in
which farmers attempted to fight the power of
the railroads by sponsoring legislation
Farmers Alliance- groups of farmers that
educated people on agricultural, rural issues,
banking & loans, & govt. controlled railroads
Populism (People’s Party)
 late 19th century political
movement that sought to
advance interests of farmers
& laborers giving people a
greater voice in govt.
 Platform
Economic- increase $ supply, a
graduated income tax, & a
federal loan program
 Political- Senators elected by
popular vote, single term for P
& VP
 Social- 8hr work day, restrict
immigration
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*programs became platform
of the Democratic Party- idea
that govt. responsible for
social reform*
Panic of 1893
 farmers overextended
 railroad construction expanded faster than markets
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(Erie, Union Pacific, Santa Fe, & Reading Railroad went bankrupt)
paper $ traded for gold, which led stock prices to
drop
1/5 of population lost their job
Silver v. Gold becomes important issue
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bimetallism- $ system in which the govt. used both silver & gold (Democrats)
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gold standard- $ system that backed paper $ only w/ gold (Republicans)
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Populist party supported bimetallism
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William Jennings Bryan- Democratic nominee for 1896 election
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(famous speech at convention known as the “Cross of Gold”)
populist supported Bryan
William McKinley- Republican nominee- becomes 25th U.S. President
populism collapsed, but legacy of organizing & reform lived on
This political cartoon, sympathetic to the Silverites, prophesied
that a gold standard would destroy prosperity by 1894. A severe
economic depression did indeed hit the US in 1893, but as with all
things political, the causes of the downturn were hotly contested
Gold Bugs
Silverites
Who were they
Bankers and businessmen
Farmers and laborers
What they wanted
Gold standard
Less $ in circulation
Bimetallism
More $ in circulation
Why
Loans would be repaid in
stable $
Products would be sold at
higher prices
Effects
Deflation
• Prices fall
• Value of $ increases
• Fewer people have
money
Inflation
• Prices rise
• Value of $ decreases
• More people have
money
Frank Baum (1900)
Allegory- figurative treatment of one subject under the disguise of another. Conveys a message other
than the literal. Movie is a child’s tale, but is also a sophisticated commentary on the political and
economic debate of the Populist platform.
1. Dorothy -American people
-good natured and naïve
2. Scarecrow -Western farmer
-felt inferior and had self doubt
-scared of the realities around them
3. Tin Man-Industrial workers of the NE
-a machine for Eastern capitalists
-dehumanized unemployed worker, yet with a few drops of oil he can continue his duties
4. Cowardly Lion-William Jennings Bryan
-all bark and no bite
-Pacifist and anti-imperialist
5. Munchkins -Slaves to the Eastern bankers and industrial interest
-workers who did not vote for Bryan
6. Wicked Witch of the East -Nature (hardships)
-killed by the house during a tornado
7. OZ -The abbreviation for an ounce of gold
8. Yellow Brick Road -Gold standard
-leads to the Emerald City (White House)
9. The Wizard -President McKinley
-promises everything to everyone, but its all smoke and mirrors
10. Wicked Witch of the West -Populist movement
-the wizard wants Dorothy to kill the witch
11. Water -precious commodity of the West, which the drought-ridden farmers
on the plains needed badly
12. Flying monkeys -Plains Indians
-at one time they were free, but the Wicked Witch had captured them
13. Dorothy’s slippers -Silver in the book
-the key to help the farmers