ONGOING CONFLICT WITH INDIANS

?
View mindmap
  • WESTWARD EXPANSION
    • REASONS FOR ONGOING CONFLICT BETWEEN US & NATIVE AMERICANS
      • ACTIONS OF US GOVERNMENT
        • Encouraging  Westward Expansion
          • Passing multiple acts to encourage movement - either for the sake of ridding the plains of Indians or it was a necessity for successful settlement in their minds
            • 1862 Homestead Act: 165 acres free if you lived there for 5yrs
            • 1873 Timber Culture Act:160 acres if they planted 40 acres with trees within 10yrs
            • 1877 Desert Land Act: 640 acres for $1.25 per acre if it was irrigated within 2yrs
            • 1862 Morrill Land Grant: gave states 30,000 acres of land per congressional seat - land could be sold, given to settlers or used to create Agriculture Colleges
          • Powder River Rd was government endorsed and had army protection + sponsorship
          • Funded Railroad companies : $16-48,000 per mile
            • 1862 Pacific Railroad Act: government would proved money for companies and offer land on either side of the track
            • 1864 : +$50million made available to companies
        • Corruption
          • 1816:Soldiers destroyed a garrison for refuge slaves killing 270
            • December 1817: Jackson in command of forces kills 43
          • Employment of corrupt Indian agents
            • Little Crow's War 1862: refused to open emergency supplies - "let them eat grass or their own dung"
            • Failure of Grant's Peace Policy: Incompetent and corrupt officials slipped through and Indian Ring formed in Department of interior systematically stealing funds and supplies
              • Didn't receive welfare they were entitled to and couldn't keep White settlers out or tribesmen in (1876 Great Sioux War)
        • INDIAN REMOVAL ACT 1830
          • Remove all Indians living east of the Mississippi
          • Supposedly voluntary but many were pressured into signing agreements and provoked conflict e.g 1835-42 Seminole war costing $50million 10x the estimated cost of removal
            • Never received the financial compensation they were promised and the land West of Mississippi was not theirs "forever"
          • Although Cherokees won their court case in Georgia they were still "dependent" on US
            • Although 15000 signed petition against Boudinot's treaty the US wouldn't accept it and
            • Trail of Tears 1838: 7,000 troops marched 15,000 into concentration camps in terrible condition then force marched them across the plains in winter for 3 months killing 4000-5000
        • Forced Assimilation
          • Forced to rely on agriculture which was unsuccessful due to environment and lack of knowledge
          • 1787: Society for Propagating the Gospel Among Indians -integration scheme created Eastern Tribes
          • Banning religious practices fuelled the Ghost Dance Movement 1890
      • ACTIONS OF NATIVE AMERICANS
        • Tecumseh's Confederation/Union of Eastern Tribes: 1811
          • This union showed the US government that the Indians were a viable force that was a significant threat to power
            • Revealed their weakness as well which was lack of unity especially after Tecumseh's detain Battle of Thames Oct 1813 fighting for the British - tribes lasted only 1 month
            • Divided before death - brother Prophet attacked Harrisons main camp alone - US realised it could be exploited
          • Successful to some extent although they were defeated by Harrison at Tippecanoe in Nov 1811
        • Attacks on Settlers
          • Painted themselves as more hostile + dangerous + although often provoked it was shown in such a way that it seemed to the public that they instigated conflict
          • Examples
            • 1816 Seminole War: retaliated to US attack by raiding settlements along border
            • Little Crow's War 1862: attacked farms, forts + settlements killing 500 + capturing 500 more
            • Sand Creek Massacre 13th Nov '64: tribesmen protesting a treaty had attacked trails and on this day a young warrior killed a white settler
            • Battle of Little Bighorn 25th June 1876: killed all of Custer's men
        • Lack of Unity
          • Indian Removal Act: some leaders signed treaties although not all supported it but US didnt account for divisions
          • Intense factionalism 1870s: some supported war others peace
      • GENERAL HATRED AND DISRESPECT FOR THE NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE - WHITE SETTLERS THOUGH OF THEM AS UNCIVILISED AND THERE WAS A MOVEMENT OWARDS THEIR 'EXTINCTION'
    • HOMESTEADSETTLERS
      • 1803 Louisiana Purchase: 828000 sq/mi of land from France
        • Growing settlements between Appalachians + Mississippi encroaching on Indian land promised to them and protected by 1787 treaty with Jefferson
          • Main aim of Tecumseh's confederation was to prevent white man's encroachment on land
      • Slavery: a significant factor encouraging expansion which itself required for the destruction of any Indian presence
        • 1793 Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin: allowed for the growth of cotton in Deep/ Antebellum South so slavery could spread
        • Expand King Cotton so the political power, influence and wealth of the South grew
          • Jackson himself was a slave owner and the Removal act served to move the Five civilised tribes off possible cotton plantations e.g Florida + Georgia
      • Homesteader presence on the Plains became an excuse to attack Indians for the sake of "protection"
      • Settlers received the more fertile land on the Plains - they prevented the Indian's from being able to sustainably farm for living
        • RAILWAYS
          • Impact on buffalo: split the herd in 2, cattle towns + homesteaders intruded on grazing land and dominated water sources
            • Cattle especially caused a scarcity in water and grass leading come tribes to starvation
        • Won all disputes over land and even irrigation/ grazing land
        • Central and Union Pacific Companies   the largest landowners on the plains by 1869 after completion of the railroads (6400 acres for every mile)
          • Enabling factor: made migration to plains easier and encouraged new business
            • Cattle especially caused a scarcity in water and grass leading come tribes to starvation
    • MINERS
      • Bozeman Trail 1863: path to Montana Gold Fields - cut through buffalo hunting land of Lakota, Arapaho, N Cheyenne
      • 1875: Sacred Black Hills of Dakota - gold discovered by Colonel Custer led to influx of miners breaking the 1868 Treaty
      • Indians joined California '49 gold rush but Cali' governor declared a 'war of extermination'
        • Driven into the mountains and shot dead - 1850's law: any Indian who couldn't prove their employment arrested/sold  slave labour
        • Mining methods devastated Indian land - high pressure water jets caused landslides and flooding and chemicals sued polluted water and killed wildlife
    • RAILWAYS
      • Impact on buffalo: split the herd in 2, cattle towns + homesteaders intruded on grazing land and dominated water sources
      • MANIFEST DESTINY: O"Sullivan 1845 - God given right and duty to inhabit and civilise the west - Whites believed Indians had to abandon their vision of the west + accept the White man's model

    Comments

    No comments have yet been made

    Similar History resources:

    See all History resources »See all America - 19th and 20th century resources »