The American West- whole subject/topic
- Created by: is_abelle
- Created on: 02-06-19 15:16
American West – plains Indians
USA today
o They fill the entire country
o 50 states
o Acquired by war, money and circumstance
History of North America
o 27 united states
o California- during 1800s America had travelled to and traded peacefully with each other and by 1840s Americans began to see the good farming land in California
o Texas- from 1820s people had settled in the Mexican state of Texas usually encouraged by Mexican government the tension eventually led to a rebellion and Texas declared itself a republic in 1836 and the US took over Texas in 1845.
o Mexican-American war 1846-48—Mexico lost. By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo the Us gained the Rio Grande as a southern boundary for Texas- all of California and a large area of land was to become future states- Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming
The Great Plains
o In America, Between the Rocky mountains and The Mississippi River
What were they?
o The plains Indians lived on them
o Early travellers in 1840 to the GP saw them as the Great American Desert. They didn’t see any farming potential until years later – outsiders = non-Indians.
o The outsiders only saw the problems of the plains- harsh weather, lac of trees, wind and absence of water.
o Indians had a different view, they were hunters not farmers so the plains were perfect for a hunters way of life.
What were the Great Plains like?
o Landscape- 1840-gently rolling grassland and slow-flowing rivers.
o Black hills in north- wooded hills surrounded by areas where sort rock had eroded into shapes.
o Climate- extreme climate, strong winds all year. In the winter the winds brought blizzards and it was freezing cold- in summer, hot winds that dried up lands and rivers
o Wildlife- variety of animals and birds- adapted to living on the plains
o Deer, rabbits, buffalo, hawks and eagles
o Vegetation- in west, near Rockys= short grass. In east the grass grew taller- prairie grass
o In river valleys and near Mississippi there was woodland
o Drier land in the south- grass was replaced by semi-desert plants
Plains Indians
o Term used to cover different nations of native Americans e.g. Sioux and Cheyenne
o Name given to native Americans by foreign explorers- people would not use this to describe themselves today
o When Columbus reached America in 1492 he thought it was India but then realised it was America- he called the people Indians anyways
o Well adapted to live on region
o Hunted buffalo- followed buffalo as they moved across the plains, the region wasn’t a desert to them
o Move north in summer away from the heat, camped in foothills of the Rockys where they were sheltered from winds
o Outsiders thought they were nomads because they didn’t settle in one…
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