Focus
MAIN IDEA
READING
Beginning in the
1870s thousands of
African Americans
moved west to
escape discrimination and to find
new opportunities.
• Why did many black southerners
move west in the 1870s and
1880s?
IRuILDING
I ~~e
• What were some achievements of
black cowhands in the Old West?
• Who were the Buffalo soldiers, and
for what were they known?
KEY TERMS AND
PEOPLE
Benjamin "Pap"
Singleton
Exodus of 1879
Exodusters
buffalo soldiers
Spanish-American War
BACKGROUND
mid-1800s Congress passed two bills that created new opportunities for African
Americans. Called the Homestead Act and the Morrill Act, these bills opened up the
American West for settlement. As a result ofthese two bills, people from all over the
country began to move westward in search of new lives. Among those who moved were
thousands of African Americans, mostly from the South, who saw the West as a land of
new possibilities ...
The Move Wes.t
"The whole South-every single state in the South-had got into the hands of the very
men that held us as slaves ... We said there was no hope for us and we better go:' So
reported one black southerner to a committee of Congress investigating why so many
African Americans were leaving the South in the late 1870s. To escape the widespread
discrimination they faced in the South, many headed north. Others went west.
The Exodusters
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In 1879 more than 15,000 black southerners packed up their belongings and headed
west to Kansas, the home of Iohn Brown and thus a symbol of black freedom. Led by
a former slave named Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, this mass migration was known
as the Exoau5' of'187:9. Those who took part in the exodus were called fxoousters.
Singleton's plan was to create independent black communities in the West. While
he believed that blacks in the South would eventually gain freedom and equality, he
didn't think it would occur during his lifetime. As a result, he was determined to fmd
a place where he could enjoy his life.
HISTORY'S
1. Why does Singleton say he
wanted to try to improve the
lives of black Americans?
VOICES
"Well, my people, for the want of land-we needed land for our children-and their disadvantages-that
caused my heart to grieve
and sorrow; pity for my race, sir, that was coming down, instead
, of going up-that caused me to go to work for them."
=Benjarnin "Pap" Singleton, Testimony before Congress,April 17, 1880
THE SEPARATIONOFTHE RACES
185
Black Communities in the West
After escaping from
slavery before the
Civil War, Benjamin
Singleton, affectionately known as "Old
Pap," settled in Detroit,
Michigan. After the war, he returned to his native Tennessee as a free
man. There he worked to obtain affordable housing for poor black
citizens, but local white residents refused to sell Singleton productiqe
land. Unable to get rand in Tennessee, he set out for Kansas, where he
bought land that he later used to establish his first colony.
Although his second colony was a success,Singleton eventually
became discouraged by the prejudice he faced from white settlers in
Kansas.Finally concluding that African Americans would never be
allowed to succeed in the United States, he.joined a movement to
help blacks relocate to Africa. HiS plan never got off the ground, and
Singleton retired from his life of political activism.
2. Make Generalizations Whatwas Pap Singleton'S major goal
in life?
i7 Reading Check
3. Explain Why did many African Americans move west in the
late 1800s?
Once they arrived in Kansas, African
Americans created their own communities.
Singleton hirnselfhad founded two settlements even before the exodus, both called
Singleton. Many of the people who moved
to the Singleton colonies had little money
•
and few possessions when they arrived.
The first colony soon failed, after rich
•
deposits oflead were discovered in the area
and real estate prices skyrocketed. In the
second colony, however, most people were
able to find work and, within a few years,
the community was thriving.
With the arrival of the Exodusters,
several more African American communities were established. All in all, about 20
black towns were founded in the 1870s and
1880s. The largest of these towns-and the
most successful-was Nicodemus, Kansas.
Founded in 1877 by six black settlers and
two white settlers, the town was home to
about 500 people by 1880. However, crop failures and hostility from nearby towns
took their toll on Nicodemus, and the town was down to only 200 people by 1910.
By that time, it was the only all-black town in all of Kansas. V'
Blacks in the Old West
When most people today think of the Old West, they picture cowhands on horseback
driving huge herds of cattle over long distances. This image has its basis in truth. But
did you know that large numbers of the cowhands orr those cattle drives were black?
Historians estimate that black cowboys represented one out of every four of this country's cowhands around the turn of the century. Because they lived solitary lives that,
for the most part, went undocumented, most of the Old West's black cowboys remain
nameless, but information about a few has survived.
Nat Love was one of the best -known black cowboys of the 1880s. Born a slave
in Tennessee in 1854, he ventured west in 1869. Through sheer perseverance, Love
taught himself to ride wild horses and shoot a Colt .45 pistol with deadly accuracy. In
Deadwood, Dakota Territory, Love entered a horse roping competition which earned
him a reputation as the champion rider in the West.
The inventor of the modern rodeo sport of steer wrestling was another African
American cowboy, Bill Pickett. Born in southern Texas around 1870, Pickett was
skilled in roping and in handling cattle for wagon trains. He was most famous, however, for subduing bulls using a trick he learned by watching herd dogs. To stop an
angry bull, Pickett would actually sink his teeth into the animal's tender upper lip!
In later years, he travelled internationally to demonstrate this amazing trick.
186 CHAPTER 7
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Black women also made names for themselves in the Old West. For example, Mary
Fields single-handedly ran a stagecoach line through the often treacherous Montana
Territory. Six feet tall and strong as many a man, for more than eight years Fields was
responsible for getting the mail through the Montana wilderness, sometimes having
to tote the mail herself when her wagon broke down in winter weather. Artist Leonora
Russell was another noted black westerner.
Vf Reading
Check
Why do
you think the life of a cowboy
appealed to many young black
men?
4. Draw Conclusions
Buffalo Soldiers
Not all of the African Americans who moved to the West had done so looking for
economic opportunities. Some were there as part of the u.s. Army. The region was
home to four regiments of African American troops known as the~uf:taro~S"o.ldie~.
The buffalo soldiers had their origin in the years after the Civil War. An 1866 law
allowed the army for the first time to form regiments of black soldiers in peacetime,
though these regiments had to be led by white men. Under the new law, the army
formed two cavalry and four infantry regiments, later consolidated into two.
INFO TO KNOW
Fighting in the West
Based in Kansas, Montana, and Utah, the buffalo soldiers served mostly in the West.
They spent their days escorting stagecoaches and trains and hunting down cattle
rustlers, but their main job was protecting settlers in the area from hostile Native
Americans and bandits. In fact, the name buffalo soldiers was given to the troops by }
the Native Americans they fought, though no one is quite sure what the name meant.
The buffalo soldiers were widely respected for their courage in battle and their
strict discipline. Between 1870 and 1890, no fewer than 19 members of the group
were honored with the Medal of Honor, the highest
award the army gives for bravery. The soldiers were
well behaved; drunken behavior, which was a major
problem for most army units, was seldom seen in their
ranks. In addition, few members of the buffalo soldiers
ever deserted or committed crimes. ti1
Some people think the name
buffalo soldiers was given
in response to buffalo-hide
cloaks worn by the soldiers.
Others think it referred to the
soldiers' dark hair. Still others
think itwas because of their
fierceness as opponents.
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S. For what qualities were the
buffalo soldiers known?
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THE SEPARATION OFTHE RACES
187
The Spanish-American War
In the Spanisli-Americaru War of 1898, the buffalo soldiers further distinguished
~ Reading Check
6. Summarize What were the
major achievements
falo soldiers?
of the buf-
themselves. The war between the United States and Spain started in Cuba, a Spanish
colony in which American businesses had invested. For years, Spain's rulers had put
down Cuban revolutionaries who had sought independence for the island. In 1898, the
sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana Harbor, in which 22 black sailors were
among the 260 men who lost their lives, brought a harsh response from the United
States. Assuming that Spain was responsible for the explosion aboard the Maine, Congress quickly passed a declaration of war. Among the first army regiments sent to
Cuba to fight in the war were the buffalo soldiers. In addition, thousands more African Americans volunteered to fight for the liberation of the Cuban people.
The Spanish-American War lasted just over twelve weeks. Nevertheless, the 10th
Cavalry, one regiment of the buffalo soldiers, was honored for its efforts at the Battle
of Las Guasimas. In addition, the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments provided crucial
backup for Teddy Roosevelt and his troops called the Rough Riders at the decisive
Battle of San Juan Hill.
All in all, five brave black soldiers, ranking from private to sergeant major,
received Medals of Honor during the Spanish-American War. One of them was Private George H. Wanton. On June 30, 1898, along with several other fighting units,
the 10th Cavalry attacked rebel strongholds in Tayabacoa, Cuba. Private Wanton
watched many of his fellow fighting men fall. Finally, after several attempts failed to
save the wounded men, Private Wanton volunteered for the job. Under heavy enemy
fire, he brought many wounded soldiers to safety.
Despite continuing prejudice and discrimination, black soldiers of the late 1800s
worked hard and fought well, so much so that they won the admiration of many of
their white counterparts. Said one white southerner, "I've changed my opinion of
the colored folks, for of all the men I saw fighting, there were none to beat the Tenth
Cavalry, and the colored infantry at Santiago, and I don't mind saying so" if'
Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People
7. Describe What roles did black settlers and soldiers play in the West?
8. Explain Why did many Exodusters want to establish black communities in Kansas?
9. Develop How do you think the buffalo soldiers helped change some people's views of
African Americans?
188 CHAPTER 7