APUSH CH 26

Post-Civil War USA, Indians surrendered their lands only when they

received solemn promises from US gov’t to be left alone & provided w/supplies on remaining (reservation) lands

Warfare b/t Indians & US military after (and during) the Civil War

– there was often great cruelty & massacre on both sides (but almost always initiated by whites)

Indians baffled whites

avenged savage massacres of Indians by whites, punished whites for breaking treaties, defend their lands against white invaders, & preserved "nomadic" way of life against forced "settlement"

As a result of complete defeat of Cpt. William Fetterman’s command (of 80 men) in 1866

gov’t abandoned the Bozeman Trail & guaranteed Sioux/Lakota their lands

Match the native American chief to tribe: Chief joseph, Sitting Bull and Geronimo

Nez Perce, Sioux/Lakota, Apache

Plains Indians finally forced to surrender bc of

RRs & virtual extinction of buffalo (often from trains)

Nez Percé of Idaho goaded (pushed) in to war when

gold was discovered on their reservation land

Buffalo nearly exterminated entirely – through

wholesale slaughter/butchery of whites (Train hunting) {Gov’t policy for defeating Plains Indians was to eliminate their primary resource – very successful}

A Century of Dishonor (1881) chronicled dismal Indian-white history in USA

Helen Hunt Jackson

19th century humanitarians who advocated "kind" treatment of Indians

– had no more respect for traditional Indian culture than those who sought to exterminate them

To assimilate Indians into US society, Dawes Act (1887)

did not outlaw the sacred Sun Dance, dissolved many tribes as legal entities, tried to make rugged individualists of Indians, promised Indians US citizenship in 25 years (but full citizenship for all Indians did not come until 1924), & wiped out tribal ownership of land (by allotting portions of that land to individual Indian farmers – more scandals took more Indian lands -like corruption of Indian agents from the B. of I. A.)

Dawes Severalty Act (1887) was designed to promote

Indian assimilation into white culture as farmers

The US gov’t’s outlawing of the Indian Sun (Ghost) Dance in 1890 resulted in

– the Battle of Wounded Knee -Disgraceful slaughter of ~200 Indians, mostly elderly people, women, and children

Chronological order

Dawes Act, Oklahoma Land Rush ("Far and Away"), Indians granted full citizenship, Congress restores tribes (Indian New Deal)

Factors eventually leading to defeat of Plains Indians included

: RRs, disease, near-extermination of buffalo ("Tatanka" – Sioux word for buffalo), & war w/ US Army

Bitter conflict b/t whites & Indians intensified

as mining frontier expanded *Hydraulic mining – Ex. CA strip mining

Mining frontier played a vital role in

first substantial white population to the West (plus capital $)

Enormous mineral wealth taken from mining frontier of west

– helped finance the Civil War (& cause it too)

Wild frontier towns where major cattle trails through Texas into Kansas or farther north were

{Homesteads and "Soddies"}

Homestead Act (1862)

a problem was 160 acres was inadequate for productive farming on rain-scarce Plains, assumed public land should be administered to promote frontier settlement – but many settlers did not buy homesteads – speculators did, drastic departure from previous gov’t land policies designed to raise $

Major problem faced by Great Plains settlers in 1870s was

– scarcity of water (and wood)

"Sooners"

settlers who "jumped the gun" to – claim land in the Oklahoma Land Rush

the least likely to migrate to the West to cattle country or to farm the frontier

Eastern city dwellers

1890 – superintendent of census announced the frontier line was gone

Americans were disturbed that free land (If it ever was "free" – think Davidson & Lytle Ch 5) West of MS River was gone

Turner’s "safety valve" idea:

"Safety valve" for overflow of discontented in the East b/c of social & economic conflict (Turner says yes – research says no) – Eastern city dwellers headed west to get free homesteads during depressions

Cities like Denver & San Francisco served as major "safety valves" by providing

homes for failed farmers & busted miners who were in the West – so real "safety valve" was the western city – Ex. Denver & SF

In long run, group probably did the most to shape the West were

hydraulic engineers (irrigated)

West – Federal gov’t gave the most aid to

economic & social developments – Ex. Divert water – hydraulics

1865-1900 – most US farmers – grew

grew a single "cash crop" (perhaps tobacco or wheat – therefore dependent)

Root cause of US farmers’ problems after 1880 was

OVERPRODUCTION of agricultural goods

Last decade of 19th century, volume of agricultural goods increased as prices for those goods

decreased

Late 19th century farmers believed their difficulties stemmed primarily from

deflated currency (Populism)

Agricultural production rose in post-Civil War years so

tenet farming (like sharecropping – whites & blacks) spread rapidly through the Midwest & South

Farmers were slow to organize & promote their interest b/c they

were by nature independent & individualistic

First major farmers’ organization was

– Patrons of Husbandry (The Grange/Grangers)

Original purpose of the Grange was to

– stimulate improvement through educational & social activities

In several states, farmers helped pass "Granger Laws" which

regulated RR rates (from abuses – varying freight rates, free passes, rebates, etc…)

Farmers’ Alliance formed – to

take action to break the strangling grip of RRs (Ex. Frank Norris The Octopus – RRs in CA)

Farmers’ Alliance especially weakened by

– exclusion of black farmers

Populist Party arose as direct successor of

Farmers’ Alliance

Farmers’ Alliance presidency canidate

– James B. Weaver (Cleveland won)

To win labor’s support, Populist Party

opposed use of court injunctions to force striking laborers back to work

Late 19th century Populists farmers held grievances against

RRs, state gov’ts, banks, grain-elevator operators, & both major political parties – Democrats & Republicans

Pro-farmer & Populist leaders of 1880s & 1890s

– Oliver Kelley, James B. Weaver, & Mary Elizabeth Lease

Populists’ political program called for

– graduated income tax (the more you have, the more you’re taxed), gov’t ownership of RRs & telephones, free, unlimited coinage of silver at ratio of 16 ounces of silver to 1 ounce of gold Which was half of the going rate at 32:1 ratio), loans for farmers based on crops stored in gov’t warehouse

Populists & Labor Unions charged a conspiracy b/t gov’t & big business b/c Federal courts

declared an income tax unconstitutional (why we see the 16th Amendment authorizing constitutional right to tax), & the Federal court injunction forcing workers back to work in the 1894 Pullman Strike

During 1892 presidential election – large numbers of Southern white farmers refused to desert the Democratic Party & support the Populist Party b/c (even though it was in their best interest to switch)

history of racial division in South made cooperation w/ Af-Am’s difficult

Jacob Coxey and his "army" marched on Washington DC

– to demand gov’t relieve unemployed w/public works program (build stuff w/gov’t jobs and pay laborers – FDR will do this during the Depression as part of the New Deal) – (Instead, Cleveland, who sympathized, had them arrested for trespassing,and he thought gov’t hand outs would make people dependent on the gov’t – apparently not businesses or the US gov’t when he borrowed gold from JP Morgan for the nation’s reserves – Did USA become dependent on JP Morgan for handouts? Think Zinn.)

Pres. Cleveland justified Federal intervention in 1894 Pullman Strike – b/c

it prevented transit of the US mail

Richard Olney

US Attny Gen used federal troops to crush strike of 1894

Eugene V. Debs

– Head or American Railway Union organized strike

George Pullman

owner of "Palace Railroad Car" company & the company town

John Altgeld

Governor of Illinois who sympathized w/striking workers (another violent episode where gov’t supported business against labor)

Labor unions, Populists, & debtors saw in brutal Pullman strike – proof

of alliance of Federal gov’t, big business, & the courts (b/c of use of federal injunction – court order – to stop strike & go back to work) to act against the interests of the working class to keep them oppressed & keep profits maximized

Pullman strike was first instance (not the last) of

gov’t use of Federal court injunction to break a strike

Depression of 1890s & episodes like the Pullman Strike made 1896 presidential election – a battle b/t

conservatives against workers & farmers

1896, McKinley is nominated for presidents by the Republicans (he’ll win too), not b/c he was an energetic &
charismatic campaigner, but b/c

he was an electoral favorite in Ohio, he was nationally known for the McKinley Tariff (high), was likeable and a Civil War vet, & was backed by the powerful Representative Mark Hanna who politically managed him and raised a huge sum of $ to get him elected

Mark Hanna (Ohio Representative – president maker) believed the prime function of gov’t was to

– aid business

Democratic Party in 1896 nominated for president

William Jennings Bryan

Republican Party in 1896 nominated for president

William McKinley – winner – but loser – 3rd president assassinated

Populist party in 1896 nominated (same as democrats)

William Jennings Bryan; Populism sold out to Democrats at this point really – no longer distinct – now tied to Democrats

William Jennings Bryan got presidential nomination in 1896 (ran for president 4 times & lost 4 times) b/c

– he supported farmers’ demands for unlimited coinage of silver (Think "Cross of Gold" speech)

1896 election’s major issue became

– free, unlimited coinage of silver (Silverites vs. Gold Bugs)

One key to Republican victory in 1896 was

huge amount of $ raised by Mark Hanna

Strongest ally of Mark Hanna & Republicans in 1896 election was

fear of alleged radical Bryan & free silver cause (& cheap shots forcing industrial workers to vote for McKinley or lose their job)

1896 election marked last time that

serious effort was made to win the White House w/mostly agrarian votes

1896 McKinley victory ushered in long period of Republican presidential dominance along w/

diminishing voter turnouts

Pres Election of 1896, McKinley carried

upper Midwest (Wizard of Oz), most urban workers (b/c of tactics used to intimidate workers to vote for him, not Bryan, and/or actual fear of Populism & Bryan and their silver policy, & New England – Bryan was too popular in the West & South

President, McKinley can best be described as

cautious & conservative (follower not a leader)

Monetary inflation needed to relieve social & economic hardships of late 19th century eventually came as a
result of

– increased international gold supply (lowered value of gold, making US money, backed on gold, cheaper, increasing circulation, which was lessened by hard money policies)

Frontier towns – cow towns – at end of "Long Drive" from Texas included

Dodge City, KS, Abilene, KS (Ike was from Abilene & then moved to Gettysburg after presidency), & Cheyenne, WY

Decline of long drive & cattle boom resulted from

– homesteading (fencing – brutal range wars too), severe winters, overgrazing & overproduction, & barbed-wire fencing

Consolidation of Republican power & the eclipse of the Populists after 1896 (but not all of their ideas – typical 3rd party influence to stimulate reforms) occurred b/c

eastern labor’s opposition to free silver – thought it would hurt their wages & cheap tactics of business to manipulate labor’s vote, a return of general economic prosperity (due to international gold market value dropping b/c of gold discoveries like South Africa and the Klondike), & a relative decline of rural population in USA relative to the cities