In 1840’s - Great Plains sparsely populated by Plains
Indians (nomadic hunters/different tribes).
By 1845 - Great Plains populated by homesteaders with
ranches/towns/cities/railroads. Plains Indians confined
to reservations and their precious buffalo had been
slaughtered.
EACH FAMILY LIVED IN A TIPI
 Made from buffalo skins/supported by circular wooden
frame
 Responsibility of the women—made them/owned them/put
them up/moved them/packed them up for transport
RELIGION
SPIRITS: Wakan Tanka (Great Spirit) created the world and everything that
lived. All things had spirits and these influenced their lives
LAND: People came from the land and returned to the land after death. Land
could not be owned or bought. High places were sacred. Black Hills were
sacred as it was where their nation began.
CIRCLES: Sioux circle of nature, circles surrounded them (sun, mon, horizon).
Life was a circle (birth, childhood, adulthood, old age, second childhood,
death). Tipis were circular.
DANCES/CEREMONIES: Used when whole tribe would contact the spirits.
Buffalo Dance (call the spirits to call the buffalo). Sun Dance (guidance from
spirit world).
VISIONS: To contact the sprit world. Women could easily contact the spirit
world which gave them status. Girls trained from early age. Visions influenced
decisions, especially about war.
MEDICINE MAN: Believed they could cure illness by using spirits. Could be
possessed by an evil spirit if ill so would need to be driven out. Herbs also
used.
 Skin for wool/clothing/
shoes/tipis
 Sinews for threads/ropes/
bow strings
 Bones for implements
OLD PEOPLE: Important to the tribes as they could offer advice, help to
bring up the children. If too old, however, may be left behind when
moving.
PLAINS
INDIANS
POLTICAL ORGANISATION: Band members had to co-operate and work together, be well organised. Sometimes,
they would meet up, camp and hunt together. Once a year they would meet up as a nation.
GENEROSITY EXPECTED BY CHIEFS: Highly individualistic and cherished fine possessions - but not more than they
could use. Those in need would be provided for - added prestige. If not then could lose influence.
FIGHTING AND WAR How did Indians fight?
Why did Indians fight?
 Demonstrate
bravery/courage
skills/
 Short raids in small
groups
 Warriors gained honour
 Protect hunting ground
 Revenge or honour
horses/ 
 Help tribal unity
Why were the Plains Indians
able to live so successfully
on the Great Plains?
WOMEN: Responsible for the tipis. In charge of food, water, making
clothes. Judged by their skills in crafts, home makers. Highly valued as
bearers of children.
CHILDREN: Future of the bands. Learned useful skills from early age
from their parents and relatives.
 Dung for fuel
weapons
QUESTION:
Why was the buffalo so
important to the Plains
Indians?
MEN: Hunters, looked after horses, protector of the band. They were
judged by their skills as hunters, warriors, horsemen. Most men were
warriors—warfare was part of their culture (low intensity warfare/raiding
for animals would gain prestige).
 Meat
 Capture
12 MARKER
FAMILY LIFE
RELIED ON BUFFALO
by
‘counting
coup’ (performing feat
such as touching enemy
with hand or stick)
Killing was rare - few
tribes scalped dead
enemies so their spirit
could not fight in heaven
 Chiefs could test their  Retreating was a repower/position
 Elders
could control
younger braves
sponsible action (to stay
alive for families) Refuse
to fight if the couldn't
win.
INDIAN SOCIETY
1) BAND - Usually related to each other and led
by chiefs. Had council
advisers that would
agree to everything the
bad did. Protection/
survival of the band was
more important than
individuals.
2) CHIEF/COUNCILS Chiefs were chosen
due their wisdom/skills
as warriors and hunters. Alongside the
council the Chief would
make decision for the
tribe. They did not
have to be obeyed.
3) TRIBES - Bands in
the same tribe supported each other. Held
tribal meetings to arrange marriages, trade
horses and discuss issues. Chief and elders
formed tribal councils.
4) WARRIOR SOCIETIES - Best warrior
from each band formed
its society and would
supervise hunting and
protect their bands
from attack.
MOUNTAIN MEN
CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH
Explorers/trappers had knowledge of routes (Oregon Trail/California
Trail/South Pass Route). Had a variety of backgrounds but mainly
adopted Native American survival skills.
 1848 - GOLD FOUND! By James Marshall working in a sawmill (9 days before California
changed hand from Mexico to USA. People went crazy and soon ten of thousands of people arrived
seeking fortune - known as the ‘49ners’
 1848-1852 - Non Native population increased from 14,000 to 225,000. Many lived in makeshift
camps which began to grow into mining towns (Angel Camp/Placerville)
GREAT AMERICAN DESERT: Great Plains were situated
between east and fertile lands in Oregon. Extremes of climate,
sparse rainfall and hard ground. First thought to be suitable for
agriculture.
WHY DID PEOPLE GO WEST?
PUSH FACTOR
 Few made a fortune from gold but they spent their savings to go mining which kick started California
economy. When they gave up their dreams of gold they moved onto the land and settled as farmers.
Women who have arrived became wives
 1850 - California set itself up as a state of the USA with a
governor
New Start
Disease
Tall tales/ Newspaper
reports
Religious/ Social persecution Fertile land cheap
Exam Tip: LEARN THE
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
PULL FACTOR
Poverty
Taxation
 Some came to run service industries such as store keepers, saloon owners, prostitution
THE GOLD RUSHES OF
EARLY
PIONEERS
Government encourage-
NOT EVERYONE MADE A
FORTUNE - First gold was
1849, 1859 AND 1874
found by panning stream
beds so some people were only equipped for this (soon became
exhausted) and expensive underground mining took over. Price for
everything increased. 49ners’ had little choice - work for mining
companies in foul conditions or starve.
ment
Eastern overpopulation
Gold/Silver
TOUGH JOURNEY THROUGH THE PLAINS
 Oregon/California trails around 2000 miles (approx. 5 month by
wagon)
 Rivers/mountains/deserts had to be crossed (lack of discipline/
experience caused delays or worse)
 Donner Party 1846 - California Trail crossing. Party led by
Jacob and George Donner left with 60 wagons and 300 people.
Smaller group tried a short cut and got trapped in deep snow in
Sierra
Nevada. Less than 50 survived out of 87 emigrants by eating those who had died until spring
 Crossing continent was not cheap and many were famers who
had sold their farms for profit. Young men without funds could
hire themselves out as helpers on long trails
PROBLEMS OF LAW & ORDER IN
MINING TOWNS
 Gold rush attracted criminals, con men, violent thieves
and claim jumpers (who stole other peoples claims to
successful mines). People stole land or mining stakes
so many man carried guns and weapons. Disagreements would often result in shootings
 No US Government law enforcers to protect the miners/
mining areas - people made their own arrangements
 Heavy drinking was common and caused arguments
MANIFEST DESTINY -
Identify 6 ways in which the gold rush of
1849—1856 helped to encourage the
development of the American West.
THINK ABOUT:
 Who were the first settlers to move west
 Why early settlers moved west
 How first settlers moved
 What experiences first pioneers has when
they travelled
White Americans
believed they were destined to occupy and govern all
North America. It was their God given right. White
religion and culture superior than that of the Native
Americans.
12 MARKER EXAMPLE
Trappers and Mountain Men/
Miners - Explain why they travelled
west in the 1840’s
WHO WERE THE MORMONS/ WHAT WAS THEIR BELIEFS?
WHY DID THE MORMANS KEEP MOVING IN THE EAST?
FAITH - Started by Joseph Smith who claimed to have a vision on an angel
who told him to find some engraved golden plates hidden on a hillside. They
were found, translated and published
Kirtland, Ohio 1831—Mormon were hardworking and successful. They founded the Bank of Kirtland. Many
non-Mormons invested in the bank but when there was a financial crisis they became bankrupt and lost money.
Mormons were blamed and driven out of Kirtland.
BOOK OF MORMON - Jesus visited America after his resurrection and lost
tribes of Israel had also come to America. Native Indian descended from them
Missouri, 1837— Mormons mixed with black and encouraged them to join the church on an equal basis. Gentiles
were jealous of their success, their ideas of being superior and feared they were growing in numbers. Government
issued extermination order.
RELGIOUS BELIEFS:
 Polygamy - Men had more than
one wife
 Gods chosen people—superiority
PERSECUTION:
 Non-Mormon - Polygamy was
 Racial equality (free slaves and
friendly with Indians)
 Against drinking/gambling
 Make God’s kingdom on earth
BRIGHAM YOUNG AND
THE DECISION TO GO
WEST
 Danites (‘police force’) attacked
and robbed gentiles
immoral and would increase Mor- 
mon population. Blasphemy.
 Efforts to convert people - fear of
Nauvoo, Illinois 1839— Mormons rebuilt town of commerce, Nauvoo. Gained a charter to become an independent
state. In 1844, Joseph Smith introduced polygamy which others thought was immoral and feared a Mormon
overpopulation. Some Mormons did not agree with polygamy and criticised him in a newspaper. Smith was furious
and destroyed the printing press (showed him as a dictator). When Smith showed his intent to stand for President,
he was arrested and killed when an angry mob attacked him.
Fear of large/growing numbers of
Mormons led to a fear of them
taking over
MORMONS
expansion which annoyed the
gentiles
12 MARKER EXAMPLE
Who had the greater impact on the growth of Mormonism Joseph Smith or Brigham Young?
Joseph Smith
Brigham Young
Founded Mormon church
Made decision/ organised journey
west
Charismatic/personality attracted
new Mormons
Organised a community at Salt
Lake
Organised movements in the east
Encourage converts from Europe
Polygamy made movements
unpopular
Acted like a dictator - his word
was law in Great Salt Lake
Running for US Presidency
increased gentile fears
Acted like a dictator when he
destroyed the printing presses
MORMON JOURNEY WEST
Young was a great organiser and preparations went on over winter - building
wagons, collecting equipment and supplies. Some left early to set up camps/
plant crops/mark out routes. After looting, they set off early and split into smaller groups with a leader in each one to
help keep everyone alive. Followed a
strict schedule and built winter quarters.
CEED IN THE WEST
 Their religious faith encouraged them
to work hard, never give up
New Mormon leader, Brigham
Young, decided that they needed  Young good leader and made good
decisions. Perpetual Emigration Fund
somewhere isolated to live. Knew
allowed Mormons to emigrate
Oregon Trail was most isolated area
in the west and by the Great Salt  Towns ran efficiently/ settlers had
Lake. As it was a part of the Rockies
varying skills/occupations
and still belonged to Mexico it was
outside
the
control
of
US  Dug irrigation ditches providing water
Government. Decision to leave was
to farm land
made in 1845.
WHY DID MORMONS SUCPROBLEMS WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT GREAT
SALT LAKE
Developed irrigation schemes using snow water from the mountains. Area lacked
materials so had to build homes from mud bricks. Not enough people for community
to become self sufficient - called others to join them leading to large migration. No
private ownership - church assigned land according to needs.
12 MARKER EXAMPLE
Which was Brigham Young’s most important
contribution to the Mormons:

deciding to go west

Organising the journey

Organising the community at Salt
Lake
REACHING POLITICAL SETTEMENT WITH US
GOVERNMENT
In 1848, Salt Lake Valley changed hands from Mexico to Utah. Young
became Governor. Mormons ignored US law and Danites suppressed
opposition and attacked US officials. In 1857, US appointed non-Mormon as
Governor and arrived with 2500 troops. Shortly after, 140 non-Mormons
was massacred at Mountain Meadows. Mormons were blamed for this. Utah
was not allowed to become a state while practising polygamy. Young died in
1866. Polygamy abandoned in 1890. Utah became a state in 1896.
HOW DID THE HOMESTEADERS SURVIVE THE PLAINS?
WHY DID SO MANY PEOPLE WANT TO BECOME HOMSTEADERS
AND SETTLE ON THE PLAINS?
Homestead Act 1862 - Families given 160 acres of land for free, providing
they lived on the land for at least 5 years.
Timber Culture Act 1873 - Settlers given further 160 acres of free land if
they agreed to plant 40 acres with trees.
Desert Land Act 1877 - Settlers who wanted more land could buy up to
640 acres cheaply in areas where lack of rainfall was a problem.
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
Water
shortages
Water scarce/difficult to grow crops/could
not keep clean
Windmills used to pump water/dry farming
introduced in the Plains
Weather
Extremes
Droughts in summer/cold in winter/fierce
winds - destroyed crops
Dry farming to overcome problems
Fuel
No wood to burn for heating or cooking
Buffalo dung/cow dung used for fuel
End of Civil War - 1000’s of demoralised soldiers and their families wanted
to rebuild their lives. Freed black slaves were looking for a new life. Many
ex-slaves/ex-soldiers became homesteaders/cowboys/railroad builders.
Dirt and
disease
Disease easy to develop in conditions/
common
Women used natural remedies to treat people
Building the Railroads - It was easy for homesteaders to get into the
Plains. Land cheap to purchase from railroad companies setting land either
side of the railroads.
Building
materials
Lack of wood/couldn’t afford wood to build Blocks of earth cut and used as brick. Barbed
houses/no fences to keep cattle off crops wire used as fencing (patented by Joseph
Glidden 1874)
Manifest Destiny - The idea that white Americans were superior and it was
their fate to expand and encourage the west to adopt the American way of
life. Writer, Horace Greeley, popularised this idea.
Natural
hazards
Prairies fires during summer months/
grasshoppers destroyed crop
No solution - had to endure
Isolation
No doctors/midwives/no social life
Made most of any trips
Law and
Order
Local government non-existent. Early law- Law courts/sheriffs (Wyatt Erap/Pat Garratt)
men (Henry Plummer) worse than bandits established
Farming
Hard soil/couldn’t afford ploughs or machines/not enough workers
PUSH FACTOR
PULL FACTOR
Offer of free land
Escape poverty/
unemployment
Chance of a new start
Looking for good farming
land
Advertisements by railroad Escape religious persecution
companies
Letter from those who
have already gone west successful farming
encourages others
Ex-soldiers saw lack of
opportunity when the
returned home
FACTORS TO BE SUCCESSFUL:

Exact locations of fertile farming land (some parts not fertile
enough)

Adaptability to new farming techniques (fail to adapt = no
success. Weather conditions (severe droughts = bankruptcy)

Hard work/determination - those who survived helped by
Question
examples
on next
page
HOMESTEADERS
ENABLING
FACTORS
Later
homesteaders
could
travel by
railroads.
Indians
cleared from the
lands (after defeat to US army)
and confined to
reservations further west.
Teams of ‘sodbuster’ using steel ploughs.
1880 - hire help for harvests
FEMALE HOMESTEADERS - Jobs included making/washing
clothes/preparing food/making household items/looking after the
family. They had little, if any, social life. Mental health suffered
due to this, the heavy workload and contact with hostile Indians.
PROBLEMS WITH LAW AND ORDER 
Different races—language/culture barriers
Land was federal territory and belonged to the US  Land claims– often disputed
government. Governor, judges and US Marshalls
administered order. Local elected sheriffs support-  Cattle Barons—fear of reprisal/juries bribed/
bias
ed order. Miner’s court set up to settle local matters and disputed claims. However, unable to stop
gangs of outlaws. Vigilante groups dished out  Poor court system—poor knowledge /lacked
convictions
summary justice. Main issues:
 Distance—difficult to cover large areas of land
 Violent cultures—sorted problems with guns
 Poverty—harsh conditions/desperate measures  Vigilantes—took matters into their own hands
 More men in areas—disagreements common
9 MARKERS
1.
2.
Describe the problems faced by the Homesteaders
in the 1860’s and how they overcame them
QUESTION:
What was life like for women on the homesteads?
Explain why the Homesteaders were so successful
in the Great Plains in 1860’s and 1870’s
QUESTION:
What role did the Government
play in persuading the Homesteaders to settle on the Plains?
12 MARKER
1.
2.
Which of these pull factors
was the greatest for filling
the Great Plains -Discovery
of gold or Opportunities to
establish a homestead?
Who was more successful
in the west; Homesteaders
or the Mormons? Explains
your answer with your
knowledge.
HOMESTEADERS
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS
16 MARKER
Push factors were far more important in
getting groups to settle n the Great Plains
than pull factors. How far do you agree with
this statement?
Source: A view of the Homesteaders’ Life 1887
This cartoon entitled “A farmers’ life is not a happy one” or the woes of Western
Agriculture” was published in “The Puck Magazine”. This magazine began in 1876
and was very successful in the 1880s, selling 80000 copies a week. The magazine
tackled social and political issues.
QUESTION:
How useful is Source E for understanding the problems faced by
white people who farmed on the Plains?
WHY DID THE US GOVERNMENT NEED
RAILROADS TO CONNECT THE EAST AND
THE WEST?
 Enable troops to be moved around control
Indian uprisings. Federal law officers could reach
new settlements having issues with law and
order
 Allow Americans to keep in touch - national unity
 Help to fill white Americans Manifest Destiny easier to migrate
 Transport goods
California
to ports in Oregon and
PROBLEMS
SOLUTIONS
Raising money
Largely solved by governments gift of free
land
Difficult terrain
(mountains/deserts)
Great engineers/hard working labourers
Hostile Indians
Remained a problem
IMPACT ON PLAINS
INDIANS
Finding people to work Immigrant labour used from China and Ireland
Dreadful living
conditions
Government Action
Pacific Railways Act 1862 - Union Pacific Railroad Company
(track east to west) & Central Pacific Railroad Company
(track west to east)
Township land Parcels - Given to railroads companies to
help finance railroad building
Labourers died due to bad weather/lack of
food supplies - remained a problem
IMPORTANCE
OF RAILROADS
BENEFITS OF THE RAILROADS
 Created jobs
 New
industries
developed
(cattle
ranching/cow
towns)
 Agricultural produced transported further in the
US. Machinery for farming transported to
homesteaders that could afford it. Goods and
supplies available
 Growth in industries supplying railroad materials
 Law officers could enforce the law more easily
 Increase in migration
 Trade to other countries developed
 New towns and cities grew alongside the railroad
QUESTION:
Why did the US government
need railroads to connect
the east and the west
coasts?
Explain
your
answer.
Plains Indians depended on the
buffalo but had difficulty hunting due
to settlers, farming, fences, other
cattle and white hunters who killed
buffalo for sport
Plains Indians thought the railroads
and settlers were ruining sacred land
causing hostility and conflicts
TURNING POINT IN DEVELOPING
THE WEST:

Helped to start USA’s industrial revelation - increased
demand for material - which stimulated economic
growth and increased markets

Improved communications - ease the sense of isolation, created communities and increased national
cohesion

Led to more people successfully settling in the west,
improved law and order

Played large role in destroying the Plains Indians’ way
of life
QUESTION:
How did the homesteaders who
had settled on the Great Plains
benefit from the railroads?
Explain you answer.
Brought other settlers into the area
the Plains Indians use to roam freely
(reduced access, loss of lands)
QUESTION:
Why did the railroad companies want to build
railroads across the whole of the USA? Explain
your answer
QUESTION:
Give four types of transport
used to cross America.
HOW DID THE CATTLE INDUSTRY DEVELOP?
JOHNSON COUNTY WAR
Background Information: Cattle first introduced to America by European
invaders. By 1880’s, Southern Texas was the major centre of cattle
ranching. Cattle was driven by cowboys to markets where they were
sold. As they did this they came into conflict with the homesteaders.
BACKGROUND: Johnson County, Wyoming was settled by cattle barons in 1870’s - men who ran
 Beef popularity - demand increased in 1880’s in eastern USA
 Beef prices had fallen. Harsh winters of 1886/87 had damaged ranching cattle
 Effect of the Civil War - Cattle ranchers returned from fighting to find
herds had grown dramatically
 Homesteaders/small ranchers settled in Wyoming causing disputes over land ownership
 New Markets - US army in west, Indians on reservations, miners,
railroad builders
large ranches. They became powerful in the state and joined the Wyoming Stock Gravers Association,
whose purpose was to protect the interests of powerful members. By 1880’s - 3 threats/issues had
developed:
 Cattle rustling a problem. Barons had lost cattle to rustlers and blamed it on the homesteaders and small ranchers. Hard to get the juries to convict men accused of rustling so the barons took matters into their own hands.
 Railroads - beef could quickly get to new markets. ‘Cow
towns’ (Abilene/Dodge City) built along the railroads
 Charles Goodnight/Oliver Loving - first to drive cattle out of Texas
(north route known as the ‘Goodnight Loving’ trail
 Joseph McCoy - created ‘cow town’ Abilene in 1867. Bought the land,
built pens and advertised the town as a shipping point
PROBLEMS FOR CATTLEMEN
 Hard to drive cattle to markets in the east (long, tough
journey)
 Cattle
drives brought cattlemen into conflict with
homesteaders
 Homesteaders settled and block cattle drive routes
EVENTS OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY WAR
CATTLE INDUSTRY
& RANCHES
John IIiff:
As a young man he
set up as a trader in Kansas, selling
food and goods to travellers on the
Oregon and California trails. He then
decided to try being a cattleman. He
began to graze cattle on the Plains.
This was the beginning of cattle
ranching as others began to copy IIiff.
 Texas Longhorn carried Texas fever killing cattle -
created fear for homesteaders
WHAT WAS THE OPEN RANGE?
WHY DID THE OPEN RANGE END?
 Terrible winters of 1886/87 caused the
death of thousands of cattle
1889 - Jim Averill, who ran a small store and saloon with his partner Ella
Watson, was living on land claimed by a cattle baron (and Ella had been
accused of rustling). They were lynched outside their cabin. No one was
prosecuted for the crime.
1892 - Cattle barons planned an invasion of Johnson County. The governor of Wyoming supported cattlemen and supplied guns. A death list was
created and up to 50gunfighters hired ready, who were brought to
Wyoming by railroads.
PLAN - To capture the town of Buffalo and kill the sheriff (Red Angus who
showed support for the homesteader and thought that the cattle barons
were stealing the land) and kill the men on the list.
INVASION - Began by cutting the telegraph wires to cut Johnson County
off from the outside world. They attacked the KC ranch and were stopped
by Nick Champion and Nick Ray. Champion round-up local foreman of the
Wyoming Farmers and Grower Association and held of the invaders all
day, until they burnt him out of his cabin. The invasion was spotted by
passer-by who raised the alarm in Buffalo. As the invaders approached
Buffalo, they heard that the locals were armed and ready and decided to
retreat. Red Angus and approx. 300 men rode out and trapped the
invaders at a ranch. The US Cavalry arrived and rescued the cattlemen
and took them into protective custody. The cattlemen were charged but
the case was dropped. ‘War’ had ended and so has the power of the
cattlemen. Homesteaders continued to live in peace.
Rather than driving across the Great Plains, ranches were set up instead known as the Open Range. Unfenced land was used to graze cattle as
they roamed around freely. Cattle was branded to show which ranch they
belonged to. The land was not owned as no rancher could afford to own
the land required to graze cattle.
 Overcrowding of cattle as more came
WHY WAS THE OPEN RANGE SO SUCCESSFUL
 Price of beef fell due to over-stocking.
QUESTION:
 Large ranching corporations squeezed
‘The Railroads were the critical factor in the development of
cattle ranching’ Do you agree with this statement?
(Remember WHY, HOW, WHO, WAY THE RAILWAY AFFECTED


Plains Indians had been defeated and were confined to Reservations
Buffalo slaughtered by hunters - cattle demand increased
to settle
 Cost
of cattle increased
decreased profits for ranchers
which
Ranchers struggled to make a profit
out the smaller cattle ranches
THE DEVELOPMENT)
LIFE OF A COWBOY
TRAILS AND DRIVES
Cowboys’ basic responsibilities were the care of the cows,
particularly on the long trails. They drove cattle from
Texas to the cow towns within the Plains. Ton a regular
basis they treated sick cattle and protected the cattle from
rustlers, who would try to steal cows. Other jobs included
repairing fences when cattle ranching took over from the
long cattle drives.
The cowboys rounded up the cattle in the Spring and sorted out which were to go on the long
drives and which would be left behind. They might drive their boss’ herd or several herds at
once - trails of cow could be 2km long. Organisation was essential, each had a specific job so
that the animals did not wander off and the drive was kept up to speed.
Cowboys were usually young men; black Americans and
Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans as well as white Americans.
Many were former Confederate soldiers who were
desperate for work after the Civil War. A lot of them were
drifters and criminals on the run from the law. As they
were usually hard hitting, hard drinking men, they were
rarely married an took full advantage of brothels and
saloons in cow towns when their work was done..
Dangers and Problems: Cowboys moved the herd fast to start with and then slowed it
down to allow the cows to graze - enabling the cows to be fat for market.

Stampedes were frightening and usually happened during the first days of the drive,
when the cows were nervous and ready to bolt at anything

Wildlife was abundant on the Plains - wolves could be particularly troublesome, as could
scorpions and poisonous snakes

Water was treacherous. Rivers had to be crossed and undercurrents could be dangerous

Indians could be unpredictable - sometimes friendly and sometimes aggressive

Night - when the cows were contained within one or more rope corrals, was the time
when most cowboys could relax. However, they still needed to be guarded
12 Marker
Ranching
Why did the life and work of the cowboy change
in the years 1865-95? Explain your answer.
Ranching and the end of the drives changed the work
patterns and the lives of cowboys. They still rounded up
cattle and branded them and they still took cattle to market.
But they also had to ‘ride the line’, checking the boundaries
of their boss’ range to make sure no one else was crossing
the property line, looking out for sick animals and animals in
distress and shooting predators. They also would repair
fences.
You can use:

1866, cattle drives began from Texas

By 1880, there were approx. 4.5 million
cattle on ranches on the Great Plains

During 1865-1886, there were huge losses
of cattle owing to drought and a severe
winter

Excellent answers will include detailed information on how the cattle industry
changed in this period and why these developments meant that the life and work of
the cowboy had changed.
LIFE AS
A
COWBOY
Cowboy’s lives were more comfortable - they had
bunkhouses to sleep in and provided shelter and
cookhouses where their food was prepared.
SUMMARY— The establishment
of fenced ranches meant that the
need for cowboys decreased.
Those that remained had to live
with jobs that were becoming
mundane and predictable. The
wild life of a cowboy was over.
It was not always easy to force men who had been used to
the freedom of the open range to live on ranches and keep
to the rules of the ranch, working regular hours. It was
common for ranch bosses to forbid drinking and gambling
as well as carrying guns and knives whilst on the ranch.
FACTORS ENCOURAGING LAWLESSNESS
GEORGRAPHICAL - West
was vast and initially
sparsely populated. Terrain rough and weather
extremes. Transport was
very slow
SOCIAL - Conflicts between different ethnic
groups (Chinese, black
free slaves, Europeans).
Civil war soldiers struggled to readjust to normal life. Conflicts between North and South
Civil war soldiers
POLITICAL - Shortage of
reliable law enforcers in the
mining/cow towns. Judges
and juries easy to bribe.
Politicians would not pay to
employ new and better law
officers
ECONOMIC - Many people
trying to make a profit.
Conflicts between competing groups (cattle barons,
small ranchers) *Johnson
County War. Land ownership disputes
COMMON CRIMES
VALUES/ATTITUDES - It was your
responsibility to sort out your own
problems. Lack of respect for the
law. Many carried guns for protection leading to them being used to
solve arguments or in self defence
(which were not against the law)
VIGILANTES - Rise in people taking
the aw into their own hands. Drove
suspected criminals out of towns or
lynched them. In early days it took
time for law and order to get established. These groups helped when
there was no alternative but often
add to the problems by accusing
and punishing the wrong people
 Horse stealing
 Bank robbery
 Racial attacks
 Cattle rustling
 Train/trail robbery
 Claim jumping
 Murder
 Fence cutting
PROBLEMS WITH LAW AND
ORDER
1)LAW AND
ORDER
 Poverty—harsh conditions/desperate measures
 More men in areas—disagreements common
During the 1860’s , most of the areas in the west were territories not
states - meaning the federal government in Washington DC was
responsible for law and order. This meant that justice could take
months. States could appoint there own judges.
US Marshals - Appointed by the President to be responsible for a
state or territory. States were so big they required deputies.
Deputy Marshals - Assigned to specific towns and counties in the
federal territories.
Town Marshals - Appointed by townspeople on a yearly basis. Dealt
with local outbreaks of lawlessness such as saloon brawls and
drunken shootings. They could appoint deputies if required.
Sheriffs - Appointed in the counties for a two year period of office.
They could force people to form into a posse to chase lawbreakers.
They could appoint deputies if necessary.
TASK:
QUESTION
Explain the ways in
which
the
federal
government
tried
to
bring law and order to
the west.
Why did the cattlemen clash
with the homesteaders?
 Different races—language/culture barriers
 Vigilantes—took matters into their own hands
QUESTION
What were the problems that
hindered the establishment of law
and order?
HOMSTEADERS
 Land claims– often disputed
Land was federal territory and belonged to the US
government. Governor, judges and US Marshalls  Cattle Barons—fear of reprisal/juries bribed/bias
administered order. Local elected sheriffs supported
order. Miner’s court set up to settle local matters and  Poor court system—poor knowledge /lacked
convictions
disputed claims. However, unable to stop gangs of
outlaws. Vigilante groups dished out summary jus Violent cultures—sorted problems with guns
tice. Main issues:
 Distance—difficult to cover large areas of land
LEGAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
MINERS
PROBLEMS OF LAW & ORDER IN MINING TOWNS
 Gold rush attracted criminals, con men, violent thieves and claim jumpers (who
stole other peoples claims to successful mines). People stole land or mining stakes
so many man carried guns and weapons. Disagreements would often result in
shootings
 No US Government law enforcers to protect the miners/mining areas - people
made their own arrangements
 Heavy drinking was common and caused arguments
FAMOUS LAWBREAKERS

GANGS AND GANGSTERS
Billy the Kid (1859-1881)
Henry McCarty, nicknamed ‘Billy the Kid’, started his life of crime at the age of 16. Accused of
robbing a Chinese laundry, he fled to Arizona where he became involved in cattle stealing.
From 1877 he began working for John Turnbull, but when Turnbull was murdered he swore
revenge on all involved. He joined the ‘Regulators’, a gang that killed at least 5 men, including
sheriff William Brady - believing them to be involved in Turnbull’s murder. Billy was arrested
for murder but escaped custody. After the escape he formed a gang that specialised in cattle
stealing. In 1880, Pat Garrett was elected sheriff and captured Billy for sheriff Brady’s murder.
Billy escaped once again, but killed 2 guards in the process. Garrett hunted Billy down and
killed him in a shoot out in 1881.

Jesse James (1847-1882)
Jesse was a Confederate supported who joined the ‘Quantrill Raiders’ during the Civil War.
The Raiders attacked troops, terrorised communities and murdered individuals who they
believed were anti-Confederate. In 1863, they attacked the town of Lawrence, killing 150
people and set fire to over 180 buildings. When the Civil War was over, Jesse and his brother
Frank formed a gang that specialised in robbing banks, trains and stage-coaches - killing a
dozen people in the process - in the areas of Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and
Minnesota. It all went badly for them in 1881, when they tried to rob a bank in Minnesota,
where Jesse killed a bank cashier. The townspeople fought back, killing three members of the
gang and wounding all the others. Jesse and Frank managed to escape. Jesse went into hiding
and changed his name to J.D Howard. He recruited a new gang which began raiding in
Missouri. Thomas Crittenden, the governor of Missouri, offered a reward of $10,000 for the
capture of Jesse James. Robert Ford, a member of Jesse’s gang, visited Jesse in his home and
shot him in the head. Ford was arrested, charged with murder and sentenced to death but
only a couple hours later, the governor pardoned him and gave him the reward.
There is no doubt that the West was a violent and dangerous place.
Most of the legendary shoot outs happened in the cow towns of the
Midwest. Trigger happy gangs of high spirited cowboys (desperate to
let off steam after the long drives) created chaos. Desperate for
relaxation and entertainment, they gave the cow towns reputations
for gambling, womanising and gunfights.
However, historians point out that regulations against carrying guns
were in force in all cow towns and between 1870 and 1885, only 39
men died from gunshot wounds. In 1870, Abilene was large enough
to have a local government and official stopped guns being brought
into towns and cowboys themselves were banned in 1872.
QUESTION
What do the careers of
Billy the Kid and Jesse
James tell us about law
and
order
in
the
American West?
ACTIVITY - JOHNSON COUNTY WAR
LAW ENFORCERS
QUESTION - What can you learn from the Johnson
County War?
Just as there were legendary criminals, there were legendary
lawmen, who worked hard to uphold the rule of law.
A study of the Johnson County War will show you some of the
problems involved in keeping law and order in the West. Copy and
complete
the
grid .

PROBLEM
SOLUTION
The Johnson
County War:
Problems and
Solutions
William Tilghman (1854-1924)
Born in Fort Dodge, he spent most of his childhood on a homestead in
Atchison, Kansas. In 1869, he became an animal hunter, claiming to
have killed 12,000 buffalo. His activities angered the local Indians and
in a fight in 1872, he killed 7 Cheyenne braves. He moved to Dodge
City in 1875 and opened a saloon. By 1878 he had become the deputy
sheriff and later marshal of the city. He gained the reputation of being
a honest lawman and pursued criminals relentlessly, using disguises
and entrapment whenever necessary. He preferred persuasion over
violence. In 1889, Tilghman moved to Guthrie, working as a deputy
US marshal and alongside Heck Thomas and Chris Madsen wiped out
organised crime in Oklahoma. He retired in 1910 and became Oklahoma City Chief of Police. He was killed in 1924 whilst trying to arrest
Wiley Lynn, a corrupt probation officer.

Wyatt Earp (1848-1929)
Elected constable of Lamar in Missouri in 1870 but was later sacked for
2) LAW AND
ORDER
QUESTION
Would you describe Wyatt Earp as a
lawman or a criminal?
horse theft and became a lawman in Wichita. He was sacked again in
1876 for fighting with a fellow officer and went on to work in Dodge
City as a deputy marshal. From there, Earp joined his brothers Virgil,
Morgan and James in Tombstone, Arizona as a ‘special constable’. He
worked for the law and helped tame the wild cowboy culture that
pervaded the frontier. The Earp family argued with 2 families; Clantons
and McLaurys, and Sheriff John Behan - which came to head in 1881
in a gunfight at the OK Corral where Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil
overcame both families. Sheriff Behan arrested them for murder but
after a 30 day trial the judge decided their actions were justified. After
that, the Earp family struggled to maintain control; Virgil was injured in
an assassination attempt and Morgan was killed whilst playing billiards.
As a result of Morgan's death, Wyatt Earp set off in search of vengeance with a small posse of others, roaming the frontier on a killing
spree that made headlines around the nation, earning the group both
praise and condemnation for taking on the West's wild cowboy culture.
Forced to flee from Tombstone, Wyatt spent his remaining years engaging in pretty theft and settled in Los Angeles until his death.
GREAT SIOUX WARS 1876/77
LITTLE CROW’S WAR 1861/62
EVENTS
EVENTS
CONSEQUENCES
 1861 - Reservation system  October 1862 - 2,000
introduced by the US
Santee
Sioux
were
government
captured or surrendered
 Bad harvest in the reserva-  303 Sioux sentenced to
tion and non-payment of
death but due to weak evithe annual government
dence. President Abraham
cash payments
Lincoln
reduced
all
sentences to all but 38,
 12,000
Santee
Sioux
who were hanged in
unable to buy food
December
 Indian agency attacked by  Remainder transferred to a
Sioux Indians
new reservation
 Killing of approx. 700 white
settlers by undisciplined
bands
CONSEQUENCES
 1862 - Gold discovered in the Rocky Mountains. The  1868 - Government realised that the Sioux could
Bozeman Trail passed through the Sioux lands
not be defeated by using the military
 Government failed to stop miners from breaking the peace  Alternative route opened in mining areas
treaty
 Government agreed to withdraw from the forts
 Sioux Indians attacked travellers along the trails
on the Bozeman Trail
 Government open talks with Red Cloud to resolve the  Treaty of Fort Laramie - US government agreed
issues. At the same time, the government ordered the US
army to build a chain of forts along the Bozeman Trail to
protect the travellers
 Red Cloud found out and broke off the talks and
the US army
attacked
 Sioux laid siege to forts and although the government were
unable to capture them, they managed to
prevent free
movement of the US army along the Bozeman Trail
16 MARKER
‘Winning the Battle of Little Big Horn in
1876 meant the end of the Indian way of
life on the Great Plains’. Do you agree
with this statement? Explain your answer
to abandon three forts and the Bozeman Trail.
Red Cloud agrees to move his tribe to a reservation stretching from Black Hills of Dakota t Missouri River. Great Sioux Reservation allowed no
non-Indian travellers/settlers to enter this land
(Both partied favoured this treaty, however, the
Indians were now split into reservations on
separate sites and would find it hard to act
together)
12 MARKER
INDIAN WARS
BATTLE OF LITTLE BIG HORN 1868
General Sheridan issues a 3 pronged attack on the Sioux
Indians - Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and their people,
who were camping in the valley of Little Bighorn. The 3
columns had no way of communicating with each other
and failed to find out how many Indians were there.
Custer refused the offer of the Gatlin gun, reinforcements
and refused to wait for General Terry. On 25th June 1876,
Custer and his men attacked the Indian camp and were
defeated - 225 men died and many were stripped,
disfigured and scalped.
Who was most responsible for the Indian victory at Little Big Horn - Crazy
Horse or General Custer?
EVENTS
CONSEQUENCES

1874 - Expedition led by General Custer to Black Hills to protect
railroad surveyors and find gold. This broke the Treaty of Laramie
 News of Battle of Little Big Horn reached the rest of

Custer reported there was plenty of gold which caused an influx of
miners. The US army were unable to prevent invasion of this
territory
 Reaction - great shock and no effort spared in support
Sioux refused an offer to buy the Black Hills as they were sacred
land
 Little bands of Indians split after the battle and were
December 1875 - all Sioux were ordered to return to the
reservation (impossible to achieve)
 They were outnumbered and short of food supplies.

7,000 Indians from various tribes were in Powder River County
 5th May 1877 - Crazy Horse rode into the reservation

February 1876 - army instructed to treat all Indians outside the
reservations as hostile

General Sheridan ordered the army to form a 3 pronged campaign

Army suffered heavy defeat at the Battle of Little Horn


America by the 4th July (100th anniversary
declaration of Independence being signed)
of
of the army and their next campaign
followed and attacked during the winter of 1876/77
They gave in and returned to the reservations
and surrendered the day before Sitting Bull and his
followers escaped to Canada
 Armed resistance of the Sioux was over
THE FORT WISE TREATY 1861 (LATER FORT LYON TREATY)
THE FORT LARAMIE TREAY, 1851

In 1849, the US government had made treaties with the Comanche and Kiowa, whereby
the Indians agreed not to attack travellers in
the Santa Fe trail in return for the promises of
land.

Thomas Fitzpatrick, government agent, agreed
similar terms with the Cheyenne and Arapaho
Indians (who were attacking wagon trails along
the Oregon trail)

The Indians agree to the terms, giving them
lands (that they believed would be forever)
along with the foothills of the Rocky Mountains

Government promised to protect them and pay
the tribes $50,000 a year for 10 years
TREATIES
AND ACTS
FORT LARAMIE TREATY 1868

US government agreed to abandon three forts and
the Bozeman Trail—they had found another route
from the gold fields

Red Cloud agreed to take his people to a reservation
in Dakota, stretching from the Black Hills to Missouri
River

Red Cloud was pleased with this and thought that he
had won

After Gold was discovered in 1859, the white men surged through the Cheyenne
and Arapaho lands—forgetting about the agreement with Indians. Miners and other settlers moved onto the lands owned by Indians in Nebraska and Kansas. Railroad companies demanded the removal of buffalo and Indians from routes which
were to be used to building railroads

The Cheyenne and Arapaho took revenge as the Americans had broken the treaty
terms—began to attack railroad surveyors and travellers

In 1861, the government summoned the tribal chiefs to Fort Wise to force them to
agree to abandon the terms of the Fort Laramie Treaty. In return they were given
a small reservation between the Arkansas River and Sand Creek, Colorado

Indian chiefs had no power to force their people to agree to this, most warriors
refused to accept the Fort Wise Treaty and went on the warpath– raiding mining
camps and attacking mail coaches

The treaties had not worked for the government or the Indians
HOMESTEAD ACT 1862
This set up two companies them shelter.
(Union Pacific Railroad CompaSettlers could legally claim a ny and the Central Pacific OKLAHOMA LAND RACE 1889
section of land to live on and Railroad Company)
Indian territory would be
farm in the open Plains. 160
opened up to white settlers.
acres.
DAWES ACT 1887
President Harrison announced
TIMBER AND CULTURE ACT Dawes General Allotment Act that 2 million acres of land
1873
was passed due to a general would soon be opened up to
belief that if Indians behaved settlers — so they gathered
Government realised 160 acres like white men, they could be around the edges to race and
was not enough to support a given land to farm. It divided claim the land
homesteader
family
and Indian reservations into 160
allowed them to claim a further acres for each adult and 80 ALMOST 60 YEARS EARLIER, THIS
160 acres if they promised to acres for each child in a family. LAND HAD BEEN PROMISED TO
CHEROKEE INDIANS FOR EVER
plant trees on half of it.
Any land left over was to be
sold to shite settlers. The
DESERT LAND ACT 1877
problem
was
that
many
This gave settlers the right to Indians would not accept the
buy 640 acres of land cheaply land and sold it back to the
in areas where lack of rainfall white men as soon as they
was a problem.
sound. More and more Indians
became dependant on white
PACIFIC RAILWAYS ACT
people to feed them and give
1862
By the end of the 1880’s, the atmosphere
among Indians on the reservation was one of
disillusionment
and
despair.
This
was
heightened by the government imposed cut of
the Sioux reservations and he drought of 1890,
which led to the failure of the Sioux crops. The
times were hard and grim and led to the Ghost
Dance.
What was the importance of the Ghost Dance?
A Paiute Indian, Wovoka, claimed to have had a vision which told him that Indians
everywhere had to dance; in turn the Great Spirit would bring all the dead Indians back
to life, a flood would carry away all the white people and all the land would return to
the Indians once again. The Ghost Dance spread rapidly through the reservations.
Indian agents were worried, especially when some Indian began to dance with rifles
held above their heads. US President, Harrison, ordered the army to go into the
reservations and take control. Chief Sitting Bull, one of the Chief’s supporting the Ghost
Dance, was killed in a botched attempt to arrest him. He was shot dead by one of his
own tribe – a Sioux policeman
ACTIVITY
BATTLE OF
WOUNDED
KNEE - THE
FINAL
TRAGEDY
Indians and they were in a
weapons they had but they
BATTLE OF
bad way by the time the 7th did not stand a chance - it
WOUNDED KNEE Cavalry caught up with
was all over in 10 minutes,
1890
them. The Indians were
250 Indians (including
taken under armed guard to children) and 25 soldiers lay
Sitting Bull’s followers fled Wounded Knee Creek, where
dead. A soldier remarked
south to join the band of Big
the army began to disarm
that “this is where we got
Foot in the Cheyenne River
them.
even for the Battle of Little
Reservation. But the US
Big Horn”. The struggle for
army were moving fast to
At least one Sioux warrior
the Plains was over!
arrest Big Foot too, who had resisted and others began to
fled with his band of 120
dance. In the confusion, a
men and 230 women and
shot rang out and the 7th
children.
Cavalry opened fire with
Deep December snows and
repeating rifles and the
many suffering from
Hotchkiss Cannon. The
pneumonia hampered the
Indians fought back with the
1) Reflect on the Battle of Little Big Horn and on the Battle of
Wounded Knee. Would you agree that the Battle of Little Big
Horn marked a turning point in attitudes to and treatment of
the Indians?
2) Was the destruction of the Plains
Indians’ way of life inevitable?
Source: From Dee Brown,
Bury my Heart at Wounded
Knee, published in 1971.
To justify the breaches of the
Permanent
Frontier,
the
policy makers in Washington
invented the
’manifest
destiny’. The Europeans and
their descendants were ordained by destiny to
rule all of America.
They
were
the
dominant race, and
therefore responsible
for the Indians—along
with their lands, their
forests
and
their
mineral wealth.
RESERVATIONS
The reservations were set up to keep the whites and the Indians
apart but they became places that tried to destroy Indian culture
by forcing them to act like white men. It was supervised by
government appointed Indian agents and they were expected to
live as farmers. At first they were allowed to leave for buffalo hunts
but after the conflicts of 1860/70’s they lost this right, this
condition. They were set up on lands that settlers did not want
(poor farm land) and it became difficult for Indians to feed themselves. Indian agents sometime treated them badly too.
1. TERRITORIAL - Series of laws were passed reducing the size of
the Sioux into smaller groups.
2. POLITICAL/TRIBAL CHIEFS LOST THEIR POWER - Their powers
were slowly removed so they could no longer govern themselves.
Lost all power to punish bands within the tribes. 1871: could no
longer sign treaties. 1880’s: No longer looked after the
reservations (councils did). 1883: judged and punished in special
courts. 1887: Dawes General Allotment Act meant that Indians did
not need to go their Chiefs and could become self sufficient.
3. EDUCATION/INDIAN CHILDREN WERE TAUGHT WHITE AMERICAN
VALUES - children were taken away from their families and sent to
boarding schools. Here they lived under military conditions and
punished for using their own language. They no longer fitted in
with their families and were not accepted by whites either.
WHAT LED TO THE END?

Destruction of the buffalo

Development of the railroads

Government
policies

reservation

Cultural
whites

Discovery of gold

Cattle trails and ranches

Homestead on the Plains
differences
with
US army actions
END OF THE PLAINS
INDIANS
KEY STEPS
GRASSLAND DESTROYED - The grassland they fed on was
destroyed or eaten by other animals and also used by settlers for land to build towns farms, houses or railroads.
 October 1877 - Chief Joseph of Nez Percé tribe tried
to escape to Canada also but was intercepted
 1881—1887– Geronimo led a series of rebellions by
Native American children
 1879 - Sioux given cattle to become cattle herders
the Apache warriors and eventually surrendered and
became a vegetable farmer
 1883 - Dawes Act divided the Native Americans on
reservations
 1889 - Oklahoma Land Run. People had to race to
claim a plot of 160 acres (each taken from Indian
territories)
INDIAN AGENCY POLICE - Some
joined forces with the police to
help control the reservations. In
return were given better clothing,
food and shelter
HUNTED FOR HIDE - In 1871, Eastern Tannery produced
high quality leather from buffalo hide. Trains could transport
this easily. White hunters earned good money to supply the
tannery companies. By 1875 the southern herd was destroyed. By 1883 the northern herd was destroyed.
 January 1877 - Sitting Bull fled to Canada
5. INDIANS NOT ALLOWED TO HUNT - Affected their whole social
structure and removed the men’s tradition role within the tribes.
They were de-skilled - no horses on the reservations, not allowed
to hunt and refused to learn ‘white’ skills.
LIVING CONDITIONS - Rations were
poor and crops often failed. Medical
care limited and illnesses were
common
HUNTED FOR SPORTS - Buffalo were hunted for food/sport
and this increased with the introduction of the railroads. Excursions ran so people so people could hunt for sport. Buffalo
hunters were employed to keep workers supplied with meat
also.
HUNTED FOR BONES - Homesteaders, crews, professionals
and bone pickers collected skeleton which were sent to the
east. They were turned into fertiliser, buttons, combs and
knife handles. Their hoofs were made into glue.
starving them to surrender. Colonel Mackenzie destroyed Cheyenne camps driving them into hills
without food supplies
 1879 - Richard Pratt opened first boarding school for
INDIAN AGENTS - Government RESERVATION LANDS - Created
appointed to look after the reserva- on land that was poor and
tions but were often corrupt and unwanted by white Americans
money would disappear
Buffalo was the Indians source of life and in 1840 there were
at least 13 million buffalo on the Great Plains. By 1885, only
200 survived, the buffalo were close to extinction. Settlement on the edge of the Great Plains, railroads, destruction
of their natural habitat and the introduction of new diseases
all contributed to the destruction of buffalo herds.
 November 1876 - US began winter campaigns,
4. RELIGION/INDIAN BELIEFS WERE BANNED - feasts, dances and
ceremonies were banned. Medicine Men were undermined. Little
need for the young to seek vision to give power on war on buffalo
hunts. Christian missionaries were sent in to ‘civilise’ them
LIFE ON THE RESERVATIONS
DESCTRUCTION OF THE BUFFALO
 1890 - Medicine Man called Waroka started the
Ghost Dance, after a vision told him if they kept
dancing, the Great Spirit would bring back the dead
and wash away the white people in a big flood, and
although initially peaceful the army feared rebellion.
Tried to arrest Sitting Bull and he was killed in
attempt. Sioux chief Big Foot tried to avoid the
trouble and led his tribe away to Wounded Knee
Creek where they were massacred by the US army.
‘INDIAN RESERVATIONS’ IS AN IMPORTANT
TOPIC SO YOU MUST REVISE!!
CULTURAL
DIFFERENCES:
nomadic life whereas white
Americans preferred to settle
down in houses (not in tipis)
Plains Indians were very different than the white Ameri- Beliefs/ways of life/religion
(spirits and medicine men)/
can:
customs (whites thought it
Race - Indians had red skins. was barbaric that Indians left
Whites regarded Indians as their elderly to die)
submissive. President Jefferof
warfare
son wrote ‘backward in civili- Methods
Preserve life, ambush and
sation like beasts’
stealth attacks, scalping - all
Attitudes to land (no one can of which whites thought were
own the land, so land cannot barbaric
be bough or sold). White
Americans thought it was Leadership - roles different
their God given right to make
money from the land
Lifestyles - Indians led a
PLAINS INDIANS:THEIR BELIFES AND WAY OF
LIFE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILROADS
CATTLEMEN AND COWBOYS
 US government supported railroad development 
US Civil War interrupted the development
of the cattle trails from Texas to the
markets in the East

Goodnight-Loving Trail - different as it did
not go to a railroad. Supplied the army
and the Indian reservations direct

every part of the ones killed to support their lifestyle
terrain, hostile Indians, unreliable workforce and
need for financial supports
Problems with the long trails to the
railroads led to establishment of cow
towns—first town called Abilene. Led to a
boom period for cattle industry
MIGRANTS AND SETTLERS IN THE WEST
 Impacted on homesteaders and cattle ranchers by 
Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868—Indian
began to charge cattlemen for driving
cows across their lands
 Railroads stimulated the economy by consuming 
Overstocking, fall in demand for beef and
the terrible winter of 1885/65 led to
collapse of the cattle industry
 Plains Indians believed in one Great Spirit that ruled
over everything. All living things had their own spirits
and had to be treated with respect because all life was
holy
 Horses meant that Indians could move around more
freely instead of living on the fringes of the Plains. They
could also wage war more efficiently and with speed
 Buffalo were essential to the Plains Indians— they used
 Trappers and Mountain Men began the process of
opening up the West— they were the first white men to
see fertile lands that lay beyond the Rockies and Sierra
Nevada
 Banking collapse in the East and subsequent farming
crisis in the Midwest led to many contemplating a move
far West—Wagon trails established but not all experiences were successful (The Donner Party)
 Discovery of Gold and the rush of 1848 involved
Americans as well as people from around the world—
further discoveries in 1858/59 increased migration. The
discovery led to the economic development of the West
and the pre-eminence of California as a finance centre
 Mormons were forced West due to persecution and
established themselves on land surrounding the Great
Salt Lake
FARMING ON THE PLAINS
 Concept of ‘manifest destiny’ envisaged the whole of
America being populated by white Americans—they
believed it was their right and the natural thing to do.
The government encouraged this
 Us government helped people settle on the Plains by
passing the Homesteader Act in 1862—enabled
homesteaders to claim 160 acres cheaply and the
Timber and Culture Act in 1873—claim a further 160
acres if planted half of it with trees
 Homesteaders settled; women did housework and kept
families fit and healthy, men did the farming. Early
homesteaders faced enormous problems in farming on
the Greta Plains—need for new technology (solved by
1895)
because it wanted to encourage trade to the Far
East, boost the economy, bring law and order to the
West and achieve its manifest destiny
 Union Pacific Act and Central Pacific railroad companies were granted permission to build tracks and
attract settlers
 Problems of railroad construction involved difficult
supplying materials and goods. Impacted Indians by
enabling the destruction of their way of life
manufactured goods themselves or delivering
goods. Enabled law and order to be established and
created cohesive community

SUMMARY
Cowboy’s basic responsibility was to tend
to the cows, particularly on long trails. It
was a hard life; plenty drinking,
hard-living and from a range of ethnic
groups—lives changes when ranching
came about
1851, Fort Laramie Treaty ended
Permanent Indian Frontier and the
concept of one big reservation‘concentration’ where Indians were
concentrated in specific areas and not
roaming the Plains

Discovery of gold in the Rockies (1859)
led to US government permitting
encroachment into Cheyenne and
Arapaho lands—resulted in wars. Fort
Wise Treaty (1861) moved the Indians to
smaller reservations (which many Indians
refused to accept)

1862, starving Santee Indians led by
Little Crow, attacked their reservation
agency and stole food—attacks extended
to wagon trails (stole only food). 38 were
hanged and rest sent to smaller reservations. Similar problems faced in other
reservations (Sand Creek Massacre)
 Johnson County War—group of cattle ranchers went 
Discovery of gold in Montana led to development of Bozeman Trail through the
hunting ground of Sioux, which broke Fort
Laramie Treaty —resulted in war. 1868
Fort
Laramie
Treaty,
government
abandoned the Bozeman Trail
LAW AND ORDER
 The West was a violent and lawless place—poor
 Shootings were common, usually occurred to solve
problems between settlers. Crime was high; theft,
assault, murder, claim jumping and fence cutting
were common crimes
 Gangs and gangsters operated in and around cow
town gaining reputations for drunkenness, violence,
prostitution and general lawlessness (Billy the Kid/
Jesse James)
 Hierarchy of US marshals, deputy marshals, town
marshals and sheriffs established (William Tilghman/
Wyatt Earp)
with hired guns into Johnson County to put an end
to what they thought was cattle rustling
Discovery of gold in Black Hills of Dakota
(Indian sacred place) - government
unwillingness to stop miners entering and
mining which also broke the terms of the
Fort Laramie Treaty—led to Battle of Little
Big Horn in 1876
DESTRUCTION OF WAY OF LIFE

Impact of Battle of Little Big Horn—
attitudes changes, public opinion shocked
at brutality. Indians forced back into
reservations after army was reinforced

US army=forts took them deep into
Indian territory– used as bases to protect
settlers, travellers and miners. Some
Indians used as scouts. Change of tactic
to total war and winter campaigns to
ensure defeat

Railroads=disturbed
their
traditional
hunting grounds and helped to develop
cattle industry. Brought in settlers and
tourists

Government=supported
Americans
wanting to cross the Plains, settle and
work on them-backing the army’s
strategies and tactics. Agreements
between then government and Indians
were constantly broken (pressure to
exploit Indian lands). Policy ‘encouraging’
Indians onto reservations was continued
and extended. Dawes Act (1887) divided
reservations in farming sections (alien
concept to Indians)
CONFLICT

communications made it difficult for law enforcement officers to get to distant communities and few
trained law officers

RESERVATIONS

Controlled the Indians—power of chiefs
diminished, children educated in white
ways, ceremonies banned, medicine men
lost all powers, Indians deskilled, buffalos
were wiped out and corrupt government
agents ran the reservations

Indians, fed up with white Americans, began to
do the Ghost Dance (signified the end of white
men on the Plains). Fighting broke out and
many were killed. Led to end of Indian resistance
on the Plains—Battle of Wounded Knee
12 MARKER
Which was the bigger factor in the final; defeat of the Indians - Slaughter
of the buffalo or the setting up of reservations? Explain your answer
QUESTION:
QUESTION:
In what ways did the white
Americans
destroy
the
buffalo?
What were the short term
and long term causes of the
collapse of the Indian resistance?
END OF THE PLAINS INDIANS
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS
QUESTION:
In what way did the Indian reservations
change the traditional Indian way of life?
16 MARKER
I. How true is it to say that the White Americans tried to exterminate all
Indians on the Great Plains?
II.The development of the railroads was a crucial factor in ending the
Plains Indians culture. How far do you agree with this statement?
Explain your answer
WHY DID THE WHITE AMERICANS WIN
THE WEST?
1) Battle of Little Big Horn - Massacre of Custer’s men caused
thousands to join the army and avenge their deaths
2) Lies - Government made may promises which were later
broken
3) Economy - US government had unlimited men and money.
After the Battle of Little Big Horn, the Sioux had to disband
army because the land could not support a large group of
people
4) Technology - Army had access to repeating rifles, machine
guns, cannons and the telegraph. Native Americans had to
buy rifles and used smoke signals to communicate
5) Railroads - White American and soldiers could travel to the
west within hours using the railroads
6) Slaughter of the buffalo - White hunters had destroyed the
buffalo by 1870’s (for hides, meat, bones and to destroy
the Native Americans - they’re life depended on these
animals)
7) US army - too big and too strong for the warriors. They
controlled the Plains with a system of forts
8) Reservations - destroyed the Indian way of life as they
were forced to become farmers and adopt ‘white’ way of
life. The influence of the Chief declined as the reservations
were run by Indian agents. Code of Religious Offence
destroyed Native American religion and belief. Dawes Act
ended community ownership
9) Education - Indian boarding schools introduced and forced
the children to become ‘white’. Beaten if they spoke in their
own language
1890’s
1880’s
1870’s
1860’s
1850’s
1840’s
1830 – Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon.
1830’s
1896 – Utah becomes a state.
1892 – The Johnson County War. Cattle ranchers against small farmers.
1890 – The Battle of Wounded Knee.
1887 – The Dawes Act – more land taken off the Indians. The destruction of the Buffalo was almost
completed.
1886-7 – severe winter kills many cows.
1880-5 – The peak period for demand of beef.
1877 – The Desert Land Act passed – free land given away in areas of low rain fall.
1876 – The Battle of the Little Bighorn – the Sioux wipe out Custer’s 7th Cavalry.
1874 – barbed wire invented.
1873 – The Timber and culture Act passed – free land given in return for growing trees on it.
1869 – The railway completed across America.
1868 – The Winter Campaign – the army attack Cheyenne at Wichita.
1868 – 2nd Fort Laramie Treaty re-defined the land belonging to the Sioux, making it smaller.
1867 – Medicine Creek Treaty – a new reservation set up for Cheyenne Indians.
1867 – Red Cloud’s War – Sioux attack travellers forcing the army to withdraw and destroy all their
forts.
1866 – The first long drive of Texas longhorn cows.
1863-4 – Cheyenne Uprising – starving Cheyenne attack wagons for food. The Army retaliate with the
Sand Creek Massacre.
1862 – Little Crow’s War – Sioux Indians rise up against poor conditions on the reservation.
1862 – The Homestead Act passed – free land given to settlers.
1862 – Work on the transcontinental railroad begins.
1861 – The Fort Wise Treaty – Sand Creek reservation set up for the Cheyenne on very poor quality
land.
1861 – The transcontinental telegraph introduced.
1861–65 – The American Civil War. North v South, the North won and abolished slavery.
1860 – The Pony Express started.
1851 – The Fort Laramie Treaty signed – promised Indians that settlers would not enter their land.
1851 – Wells Fargo stage coaches introduced.
The first homesteaders began to move onto the Plains.
1849 – Gold rush
1848 – Mexico give land to USA including Utah.
1848 – gold discovered in California
1846–7 The Mormons trek to Salt Lake.
1846 – The USA bought Oregon from Britain.
1844 – Joseph Smith murdered. Brigham Young becomes the new leader.
1843 – The first settlers arrived in Oregon spurred on by belief in Manifest Destiny.
1840 – The Mississippi River was the western frontier of the 13 east coast states. Beyond lived the
Plains Indians.
1838 – The Mormons move to Illinois and begin to build the city of Nauvoo.
1837-8 – The Mormons were driven out of Kirtland. Financial collapse.
1831-7 – The Mormons settled in Kirtland Ohio and began to prosper.
1832 – Permanent Indian frontier set up. |No settlers to cross this line.
Event
Decade
QUESTION
THE AMERICAN
WEST
Consider the three agents of change: the
army, the railroads and the government.
Which was the most important in bringing
about change? Weigh up the evidence to
reach a supported judgement.
CHECKLIST
CHECKLIST
1)
Inhabitants and Early Settlers 2)
Development of the Plains

The Plains Indians’ beliefs

The Indians’ way of life on the Great
Plains
The reasons why the US government
supported the railroad companies in
promoting
and
planning
railroad
construction

The ways in which, and the reasons

why, Plains Indians fought

The reasons why different groups of

migrants moved west

The importance of the concept of the
‘Manifest Destiny’

The reasons for the long-term success
of the Mormons in Salt Lake City





The impact of the gold rush and the

mining towns on the Great Plains

The role of the government in
encouraging settlement on the Great 
Plains

The contribution made by women to the 
settlement of the Great Plains

The problems faced by homesteaders
and the extent to which they found 
solutions?
Some soldiers
said of the
Battle of
Wounded
Knee ‘This is
where we got
even for the
Battle of Little
Big Horn’.
Do you agree
with their
statement?
Explain your
answer
The problems involved with railroad
construction
The impact of the railroads on the West
QUESTION
Were all Homesteaders successful on the Great
Plains? Homesteaders reacted in different ways to
the problems they faced. Read the Source below
and use your knowledge to explain what reasons
might there have been for homesteaders to give up.
Source: Part of a report in a Kansas newspaper, The Gazette, in 1895.
There came through yesterday two old-fashioned wagons heading
east, four horses, very poor and very tired, and one sad-eyed dog. A
few farm implements of the simpler sort were loaded in the wagon. For
ten years they had been fighting the elements. They have tossed
through hot nights, wild with worry, and have arisen only to find their
worse nightmares grazing in reality on the brown stubble in front of
their sun-warped doors. They had such high hopes when they went out.
CHECKLIST
3)
Reasons for the ‘boom and bust’ of the
cattle industry

Contributions made to cattle industry by
Charles Goodnight, Joseph McCoy and 
John Iliff

Role of the Cowboy
Lawlessness in early settlements
Conflict on the Plains
Events and misunderstandings that led to the Fort
Laramie Treaties and the Fort Wise Treaty
Reasons for Red Cloud’s War and the Great Sioux War
Parts played by Red Cloud and General Custer - Battle
of Little Big Horn. The significance of the battle and the
attitudes to and against the Plain Indians

Role of US government and local
communities in tackling lawlessness

Destruction of the Plains Indians’ way of life
Contribution
made
by
individual 
lawmakers and lawbreakers such as
Jesse James and Wyatt Earp

Conflict between homesteaders and
cattle ranchers—Johnson County War

Life on the Reservations - the ways in which the
government controlled Plains Indians
Importance of the Dawes Act
Destruction of the buffalo and the impact on the Plains
Indians
Significance of Ghost Dance and the Battle of Wounded
Knee
GLOSSARY
Cattle Drover - a cow boy w ho herded the cattle along the Indian Agent - Indian appointed by the government to help run
trails
the reservations
Chuck Wagon - a wagon where cowboys kept food and cooking Lynching - hanging without a trial
utensils while travelling the trails
Manifest Destiny - belief that white American should populate
Claim - an amount of land registered by a homesteader or min- the United States
er for his own use
Medicine Man - Indian holy man
Claim-jumping - stealing another person’s claim to prospects Mountain Men - man who was a hunter, trapper and tracker in
for gold in a specific place
the Rocky Mountains
Corral - an enclosure for cattle or horses
Nomadic - Moving around from place to place
Counting Coup - the act of touching an enemy
Polygamy - Having more than one w ife
Danites - Mormon secret police
Reservation - an area designated for Indian use
Dry Farming - a technique whereby farmers ploughed their Rustling - stealing animals that were part of a herd
land whenever it rained or snowed, thus creating a layer of dust
Sacred Land - holy land
that trapped the moisture
Federal - Relating to a government that makes laws for all the
Scalping - cutting away the hair and scalp of a defeated enemy
United States
Tannery– factory where buffalo skins were made into leather
Gatling Gun - an early machine gun that could fire rapidly
Vigilante - member of a community that took the law into their
Ghost Dance - an Indian dance that was believed to bring all
dead Indians to life in order to have a final battle with the white
man (signified the coming of the end of the white man)
Homesteader - a person who has settled on the Great Plains
own hands
ZONE IN ! !
Athletes and performers work hard to perform well
in competitions. They practice in order to do their
best. To do this they often get ‘in the zone’ preparation for performance. You can also do this
and by doing so, you will perform brilliantly in your
exam. Just follow some simple steps before the exam.
PLANNING ZONE
Key to success in exams is usually down to good planning as well as knowledge. Knowing what you
need to do and when you need to do it is the best path to a stress-free experience.

Know what your strengths and weaknesses are. Make a checklist of how well you think you know
the topic. Use Mock exam results and feedback to check your self assessment. This will help you
to plan your personal revision effectively - putting extra time into areas you are weaker at

Create your plan. Make time to consider how topics interrelate and factor that into your revision
plans and work on showing your ability to link topics and events. You need to now not just the
date, but why events happened, how important it was and how one event can relate to another.

Finally, follow the plan!

Understand it - Make sure you understand the exam
process and what revision you need to do - this will give you
the confidence and also help to get things into proportion
 Be realistic about how much time you can  Assess

Deal with Distractions - Think about what issues in your
life may interfere with revision, write them down. Think about
how you can deal with each issue so they don’t affect your
revision
 Chunk




Diet and Exercise - Eat sensible and exercise well. If your
body is not in a fit state, how can your mind be? Substantial
breakfast will set you up for the day and a light evening meal
will keep your energy levels high. Drink plenty of water whilst
revising and during exam (even when you are resting, your
brain uses up about 30% of your energy and fluid intake to be
able to work effectively!)
Build Confidence
- Use revision time not only to revise
content but also to build up your confidence in readiness for
tackling the exam. Do practise questions whilst timing yourself to help improve time keeping during the exam
Friends and Family - let them know when you are revising,
share your revision plans and reduce distractions. This means
you can have better quality time with them when your not
revising as you wont be worrying about revision
Compartmentalise - put any worries about other things to
one side and keep focused. Sort out other things after your
revision session or exam.
REVISION TIPS
your progress/improvements are
devote to your revision but make sure little victories will help to build your
you still put enough time in
confidence
revision in each subject down to  Regular rest breaks or different activities
smaller sections making it more to give your life some variance
manageable
DON’T PANIC ZONE
EXAM ZONE
As you get closer to completing your
revision, the Big Day will be getting nearer
and nearer. Many students find this the most
stressful time and can enter panic mode.
They start working longer hours without
giving their brains a chance to absorb
information.

Make sure you know which order you are sitting your exam
and prepare for each accordingly. Check with your teacher if
your not sure

Know how long each exam is and how long you should
spend on each question for be fully prepared to use your
time effectively and answer questions more successfully
However, panicking simple makes your brain
seize up and information ad thoughts simply
cannot flow naturally. Most students build the
exams up into more than they are.

Understand the language of the exam paper:
Remember — exams are not trying
to catch you out! If you have studied
the course, there will be no
surprises on the exam paper!
Take deep breaths and relax. Don’t
let it take the stress take over your
life.
Describe
Examiner is looking for concise and organised account
Explain how/ Examiner is trying to discover whether you understand
why
the key ideas about how and why developments
happened. The more details you can give, the more
marks you will receive
How
…?
How
…?
useful Source evaluation skills—look for clues that tell you about
origins, intention, nature, selection …
reliable
How far
Looking for you to consider different sides and come up
with a balanced judgement