Progressivism Day 1 warm Up

1. The white community struggled to understand the cultural ways of the natives and how they functioned as a tribe. Natives were forced into the culture of the white man. This clash occurred because the white men were attempting to expand into the frontier when the land initially belonged to the natives. As the white settlers are crossing the Mississippi River to the West there's the clashing idea between the white men and natives which is "this is my land". Some significant battles include the Battle of Little Bighorn where Colonel William Armstrong Custer leads more than 200 soldiers against 10,000 Indians which results in a victory for the natives. Another battle is the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain which included the Nez Perce tribe fleeing for Canada to escape being forced onto a reservation/ They were caught 40 miles from Canada. There are less battles than there are massacres. The natives had an advantage since they could shoot more arrows in the time that the white man could shoot them. Troops circled around 400 natives in the sand Creek Massacre who thought they had immunity and killed them all.

2. With the Dawes Severalty Act we see the overall goal being, erase the tribes and set Indians on the road to becoming like the white community. The law states that Indians could become U.S. citizens after 25 years if they behaves as the government preferred. Helen Hunt Jacksons book "A Century of Dishonor" outlines all the injustices done to Native Americans. Bringing the Natives into the land helps out the Natives with private land and equal rights. The Carlisle Indian School sought to immerse the Indian children in white culture. The Treaty of Dort Laramie was made between the Sioux tribe and the federal government. With this treaty the government fives up on the Bozeman Trail and the huge Sioux reservation was established. It was a short-lived treaty.

3. The cattle ranches boomed because it relies on the open range of the West and southern Texas. The cowboys go on this long drive all the way to a cow town. The cow towns sprout up next to railroads. It takes the cattle from Texas to the great plains to take meat to the East. The introduction of barbed wire and sheep farming ends this open range which ends the cattle drive. We also see drought affecting the decline of cows. With mining towns gold and silver would be found and boomtowns would be created from the influx of people. The boomtowns were known for their lawlessness and would form right where the mining towns are. Once all the resources had been used up most of the towns would be abandoned and become ghost towns. Women also gained more independence in the West where some states would allow them to vote and have jobs.