The West and the New South

The West and the New South1865-1900

“Up to our own day American History has been in a large degree a history of the colonization of the Great West. The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward, explain American development

Frederick Jackson Turner: the Significance of the Frontier in American History

The “Great West”

• Has always been America’s “safety valve” – and this is our last big burst of westward (and eastward from CA) movement• 1860 Divided into “territories” and inhabited

primarily by Native Americans (primarily nomadic plains Indians)- by 1890 it will be states with only 2 territories left• 3 waves of “frontier”• Mining• Cattle• Farming

Western Settlement before 1860• Early settlers had been trappers or

missionaries. Before RR travel was long and dangerous, if your family went, you were going for good. People began moving beyond Mississippi 1830-1850, with the biggest bump being the California gold rush 1849.

Mining

• Gold/Silver discovered in Colorado and Nevada in late 1850s- leading to mining booms (Virginia City, Carson City), which drew people with opportunity to “get rich quick”, and provided the first western economy• Copper (telegraph and telephone wires), Lead,

and Zinc eventually became more profitable than gold or silver• “Ghost towns” become common as people move on to the next strike

Comstock Lode

• 1857 Largest Silver deposit discovered in Nevada- Henry Comstock and 3 others • Corporations eventually came to dominate

mining (the 4 original claimants died broke)• Significance of Mining• Attracted population west• Helped finance the Civil War• Facilitated building of RR• Intensified conflict with Native Americans• Introduced Silver issue into politics

Geography, Native Cultures and Ethnic Groups

• Large variations: Great Plains WI, IL, MN, IO, and parts of NB, KA, and DK are great for farming, but the further west you go (high plains: western KA, NB, MT, WY, CO, NM) the drier things get.• Then you get the mountains, and the true

deserts of AZ, NV, UT etc…

Native Americans

• 360,000 Native Americans in the West- wide variety of cultures. Before Civil war the focus had been on moving Indians west to get them out of the way of Whites, now whites are heading west. Gov’t tried to “concentrate” tribes in specific areas they don’t think whites will want. Conflict most common with Plains b/c they are nomadic, and white settlers are not…..

Bureau of Indian Affairs

• Gov’t policy was contradictory, sometimes Native Americans were “independent nations” sometime “wards of the state”. They would be moved with a guarantee of territory, that lasted exactly as long as no white people wanted the territory. • Bureau of Indian Affairs (Dept of Interior) created

1870 to “manage” the Issue by Ulysses S Grant (So you know that’s going to end well….)

Mexican Landowners

• Large portions of SW had belonged to Mexico, and there were still inhabitants of Mexican ancestry. California and Texas were the largest, both had issues with large influxes of white populations pushing Mexicans off land (legally and illegally) Become generally impoverished, with strong class struggles between groups

Chinese

• Chinese Empire was falling apart (Boxer/Taiping Rebellions etc…) 1840-1900 300,000 arrive in US. Came for econ opportunity, provided cheap unskilled labor on pacific coast – European immigrants tend to stay in east. Esp important in building RR. Most are single men, face intense discrimination- tend to isolate themselves culturally in “Chinatowns” rather than integrate into larger society

“Yellow Peril”

• Economic downturn in 1870s - war boom econ over - made Chinese immigrants even more unpopular, and seen as “dangerous”(primarily b/c they won’t integrate culturally) • 1882 California passes Chinese Exclusion Act-

which banned immigration from China for 10 years, and prevented Chinese in US from becoming citizens

Advances in Transportation and Communication

• Growth of RR helped spark 2nd Industrial Revolution (boom for steel and coal)• By 1900 there were nearly 200,000 miles of RR

track in US- more than all of Euro combined• Will allow millions more to move west- without

perils of wagon trail, and influence where they settle (proximity to RR vital to get crops etc…back east)

Transcontinental RR• 1862 Pacific Railway Act authorized the building of a

transcontinental RR (seen as important to national security)• Union Pacific RR built west from Omaha Nebraska, and Central

Pacific RR built west from Sacramento (they had the tough job over Sierra Nevadas and through desert) meet at promontory point May 10th 1869 – golden spike

• RR got huge land grants, 20 square miles of land for each mile of track constructed (they can sell what they don’t use) and loans ranging from $16,000-$48,000 a mile. One of the big scandals of the Grant admin was Credit Moblier construction co, which pocketed $73 mil for $50 mil of work

• Links the country (telegraphs built along track too)

Pony Express• April 1860- October 1861:

Brief, but legendary. To speed communications, riders on horseback carried mail relay style with 157 stations 10 miles apart (how far a horse can go at flat gallop) Rider changes horses at each station- and mail can cross country (one way) in 10 days

• Put out of business by telegraph (transcontinental line completed Oct 1861)

The Cattle Kingdom• 2nd frontier economy-

began before civil war, especially in western Texas (Longhorns)• At first cattle is primarily

free range, the trick is to get it to market, the stockyards of Kansas City and Chicago- where it will be slaughtered and processed

Long Drives• Cattle country was not

near RR – could be as far as 1000 mi. So after war “trails” developed to get cattle from Southwest (esp TX, NM) to RR (without crossing land newly claimed and barbed wired by farmers)• Goodnight-loving trail,

Chisholm trail, Abiline Trail.• Millions of cattle move

this way each year

Cowboys• Another legendary feature of

the west- cattle drives made them vital. Young (generally unmarried), from diverse backgrounds (Confederates, Blacks, Native Americans, Mexicans). Cowboys were part of the “safety valve” of the West, head off in the sunset and see what happens

• Earliest were Mexican, and it was “Vaqueros” who developed things like 10 gallon hats and chaps, and lasso etc

Ranches• Cattle owner needs a

base of operations- the Ranch: House, quarters for cowboys/ranch hands, grazing land for cattle.• Grazing began as open,

but as more people came (and barbed wire invented) specific areas marked and claimed.

Range Wars

• Competition for grazing land between ranchers and farmers, involves cutting barbed wire, blocking trails, spooking herds etc….• Ethnic tensions play a part (esp between Hispanic and

White) Also large ranchers v. small ranchers- bigger is always better in the west. Could get intense• Most violent “Fence Cutter’s

War” of 1883-4

Homesteaders on the Great Plains• Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres for

nominal fee ($10-30) to anyone who would live on land and “improve” for 5 years. Hugely popular after war, as diverse groups move west: easterners, “exodusters”, immigrants, southerners – about 500,000 will go.• Many (as much as 2/3 in some

areas) lost their “bet” with gov’t and left land.• Available until after wwi

New Farming Techniques

• One reason so many people lost land is that climate too dry for traditional farming (where rainfall will be main watersource)• Dig wells, use windmills to pump water for

irrigation. Steel plows cut deeper into sod to get down to fertile soil. Barbed wire allowed cheap fencing of large scale territory• Morrill Act of 1862 gave federal land for est. of

colleges to specialize in agricultural research and technology

Hard Wheat• Growing season too short for

spring wheat- so they bring in winter wheat from Russia (plant in fall, lies dormant, then flowers in spring) Harder to grind: John Pillsbury of Minnesota invents a new milling process

• Use RR to transport crop back east, and to get manufactured goods (harder to be self sufficient on the plains)

• Creating an integrated economy

Desert Farming• Extensive irrigation

made new farmland available- even in desert areas. Mormons early success story in Utah. • Turns out the Ogallala

Aquifer is below a large area, it’s deep, but once farmers get down there it provides need irrigation

Problems with the Homestead Act• Believe it or not, 160 acres wasn’t really a

profitable amount of land out west, you need more. • 1873 Timber Culture Act allows settlers an

additional 160 acres if they plant trees on at least 40 acres• Desert Land Act of 1877 you could buy up to 640

acres for $1.25 and acre if you created irrigation

Crop Liens

• Commercialization of Agriculture. In order to farm successfully on a large scale (without free labor) you need machinery. • Had to borrow $$ for equipment (plows,

threshers, reapers etc…) and less than stellar harvests could make it impossible to get out of debt. • Banks (loans) and RR (trans costs) the “bad guys”

farmers blamed when times got hard

Western Women

• During mine/cattle ages women were scarce (in 1890 Texas men outnumbered women 110-1) but

Farmers brought their families. Women could claim land under homestead act (gave married people option for 360 acres)• West always offered greater equality- no room

for “cult of domesticity”, but also seen as bringing morality to lawlessness of frontier. Wyoming 1st state to give women the vote in 1869 (almost kept them from becoming a state in 1890)

Economic Problems for Farmers• Gold standard limited the amount of currency in

circulation, which keeps prices artificially low, they want US to use silver. • Land speculators often made deals for the best land,

people claiming farms sometimes got bad areas• No protective gov’t subsidies for farmers (like tariffs for

manufacturers) Farmers underrepresented politically, and poorly organized until late 1800s (populism)• Great plains can be a tough climate; broiling in summer,

freezing in winter, lots of insect issues

Indian Wars• Many Americans in the late 1800s didn’t think blacks/whites

could live together in an equal society- well they were CERTAIN whites/Indians shouldn’t be together

• I really like the phrase your book uses to describe this period: “The history of relations between the United States and the Indian tribes was … one of nearly endless broken promises”

White Tribal Policies• Gov’t decided that the best way to

“deal” with Indians was to “concentrate” them (on reservations)- that way they would be segregated and easier to control

• Bureau of Indian Affairs: divided tribes and allocated them either to Indian Territory (OK) or the Dakotas (guaranteed to the Sioux in the Treaty of ft Laramie 1868) Hot mess of corruption, deception and general ineptitude

Decimation of the Buffalo• Spanish horses and Firearms drastically altered plains culture

from 1600s- allowing them to move farther, faster, and base their survival on hunting buffalo

• As whites move into area “buffalo hunting” – for sport- became a fad. This leads to the decimation of the herds (whites kill 1000s at a time, and leave most behind, they are looking for “trophies”)

• Indians decide if they are going to survive, they need to fight to protect their way of life.

Subjugation of the Plains Indians• Began in 1850s, and from 1868-1890 a state of near constant

warfare existed between Native Americans and Whites. • Primarily Guerrilla style: Indians would raid settlements,

vandalize RR. Army would raid native villages, or deliberately kill buffalo

• General Philip Sheridan in charge. Major Native disadvantage is that tribes didn’t work together, and Army was in to win, at any cost

Little Big Horn• Sioux war became most intense after gold discovered in

Dakotas in 1875. Warriors led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse attacked after their guarantees of land had been violated.

• Army sends General George Custer (known for recklessness and vanity) to “handle” June 1876, Custer and 250 troops find Sioux camp, where they are circled by 2500 Native Americans and killed (164 Indians die)

• Newspapers carry accounts of “Custer’s Last Stand” (making it sound heroic instead of stupid), which increased gov’t need to handle situation. Start chasing Sitting Bull- who heads north to Canada and claims asylum, but eventually forced to return and surrender. Ends up in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show

Nez Pierce

• Led by Chief Joseph, had attempted to avoid conflict, remained on their reservation in Idaho- maintained positive trade etc…• 1877- reaction to Little Big Horn- Gov’t demands they

give up their land, and they decide to fight, winning several skirmishes before main army sent in, at which point they decide to flee. • 75 day, 1700 mi chase through west and Canada- finally

caught. Broken apart as a tribe, sent to Kansas and Oklahoma• Chief Joseph’s surrender speech famous

• I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.

Apache

• Carried on a 9 year guerrilla war from Rocky Mountains, led by Cochise and Geronimo• Eventually chased through Arizona to Mexico, where

Geronimo was captured by Mexican Army and sold to US• Sent to Oklahoma, where they became successful cattle

ranchers

Oklahoma Land Boom

• Had been given to Native Americans because it seemed such poor farmland, but new techniques meant that it could be profitable, so gov’t (pressured by public and land speculators) decides whites should have it.• President Benjamin Harrison announces the land will be

“opened” for claims on April 22nd 1889. (Soldiers posted to prevent “sooners” from claiming early) at Noon on 22nd, whistle blows, and 100,000 people rush in and claim 2,000,000 acres within 6 hours

Reformers and Indians

• By 1880s (progressive era) many people had become aware, and sympathetic to Indian Issues. • Helen Hunt Jackson: A Century of Dishonor (1881)

chronicled gov’t ruthlessness and deceit. Similar impact to Uncle Tom’s Cabin in exposing issues, but led to little agreement on how to handle problem• Basic decision was to “Assimilate” tribes, “for their own

good”

Dawes Act 1887• Forced assimilation of tribes to eradicate their culture• Provisions• Dissolved tribes as legal entities• Divided reservations into 160 acre plots, each “family”

(determined by gov’t) was required to “improve” land like white settlers, if they did, it was theirs (along with citizenship) in 25 years, if not improved, went back to gov’t.

• Required Native American children to attend schools run by US gov’t to teach “citizenship”

• Results• Accelerated destruction of native cultures• 2/3 of Native’s land lost (primarily in OK land rush)• Amerindians get citizenship 1924, but Dawes Act remains official

policy until 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (Indian New Deal)

Wounded Knee• One problem reformers had with Natives

was that they weren’t Christian. So Gov’t pressured to outlaw native religious practices, like the Lakota “Ghost Dance” (which was supposed to get rid of evil, Lakota thought it might get rid of white people)

• Army came to a civilian encampment, and slaughtered 200-300 old men women and children (29 soldiers killed, most from friendly fire) Positive reaction from whites, who saw it as stamping out a cult

• Last major clash between whites and Amerindians.

Frontier: Reality and Myth (this is at the end of section, find it)

• By 1890s the “Frontier” was gone, but legends and myths lived on in things like Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Dime Novels, and eventually “Westerns”. It became a lost adventure, a nostalgic world- romanticized until the reality of the backbreaking work of settlement no longer mattered.

• Frederick Jackson Turner wondered what would happen to American ingenuity with no new lands to conquer, Huck Finn deplored a world where no one lived except “civilized folks” The Frontier represented the wild and free, the American Spirit

The New South• Also experiencing tremendous change (esp with RR

construction)• The idea of “New” comes from shift in focus from plantation

agriculture to smaller farms, increasing industry, and growing cities.

• Henry Grady editor of Atlanta Constitution said south had everything needed (factors of production: land, labor, capital) to out shine the north.

Economic Growth• Cotton and tobacco continued to be the base of the economy,

only now instead of slave labor, the majority is done through sharecropping (cotton) and tenant farming (tobacco) Coal Mining also expanding in Appalachians.

• Tobacco farming revitalized in 1870s with machines for pre-rolled cigarettes (trad. Tobacco sold loose and people rolled themselves) Duke (yes, like the university) family brought modern business to tobacco with advertising and trading cards. Bought out competitors, American Tobacco Company became a huge corporation

Textiles• Textile mills had originally been in North, but the cotton is in

the south- so after war mills moved there. • Mill country settled in Piedmont (hilly, good streams) which

had been back country b/c plantations centered on coast. This is an area where new RR being built- spurs econ growth, and an alternate life to sharecropping

Company Towns• Life of a mill worker tough (as bad as sharecropping) Mill itself

earned 30-70% profit, workers paid 50% of Northern wages – often paid in “scrip” (company $$) not cash

• Mills ran a “company store” where employees could buy food/goods with scrip or on credit, creating the same cycle of debt/poverty seen with sharecroppers, with Mill owner replacing planation owner in the scenario.

Industrial Lag• Still way behind the North, which is booming, South isn’t even

close to catching up.• With exception of a few companies (like American Tobacco)

most $$ came from the North- ex. US Steel owned the largest Steel Foundry in the South (Birmingham) Northern companies also controlled ¾ of the RR

• In 1890 south had 10% of industry in US, same amount it had in 1860. Per Capita income 60% of national average. 70% of workforce agricultural labor

Bourbon Redeemers• Republicans pulled out or lost power as Reconstruction ended.

As Democrats took power back, many planter elites wanted to eliminate industry and return to plantation agriculture. Saw themselves as “Redeeming” the Southern way of life

• Opponents called them “Bourbons” after Fr. Royal family, who (Napoleon said) had learned nothing from the revolution.

Contributions/Problems• Established commissions to study and support agriculture and

healthcare, funded agricultural and teacher training colleges. Even some women’s and African American colleges

• Did not eliminate all African American office holders. There are blacks in legislatures in VA until 1890, SC until 1900, and GA until 1908

• Cut public spending (which they felt unnecessary) for things like schools and health care.

• Used prisons as yet another cheap source of labor “chain gangs” could be hired by businesses, or used for public works.

Disenfranchisement• It is interesting that the south was not geographically

segregated- blacks and whites had always lived and worked in same areas (as opposed to North)

• Slaughterhouse cases 1883: Court ruled 14th amendments protected against Federal infringements, not state (essentially overturned Civil Rights Acts) and Congress doesn’t respond- so states know they can do what they want.

• Planned Disenfranchisement begins in 1880s-90s, during economic downturn. Can’t simply eliminate (15th amendment) so use poll tax, literacy, grandfather clause etc… as well as Gerrymandering to break up voting groups

Lynching• Common form of intimidation. During 1890s around 200

blacks were lynched every year, 4/5 in the south (all time high was 1892- 230)

Jim Crow Laws/Sep but Equal• Next step is segregation. Again, violation of 14th, until

Slaughterhouse, and opens the loophole of creating “Separate but Equal”Facilities without violating “Equal Protection”

• Southern (and Northern) states created sep hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals etc…

Plessy v Ferguson 1896• Caps the failure of Civil Rights for African Americans Post-

Reconstruction• Homer Plessy arrested for refusing to leave a RR car for whites

(he was 7/8 white) Court upheld the law, saying that there were black cars available

• Validated Segregation, which won’t be challenged again until 1950s.

But not all African Americans just sat there and smiled….Many fought- even at the risk of their own lives

Booker T Washington• Advocated education for African Americans to EARN equality.

(44% illiterate in 1900) 1881 Founded Tuskegee Institute in Alabama teaching “useful trades as a means towards self respect and economic equality”.

• Did not publically fight segregation (which earned him criticism, in reality he worked hard under an assumed name) urged instead that blacks should improve themselves, and adopt white habits so they would be “more acceptable”

W.E.B. DuBois• Opposed Booker T Washington’s views, wanted immediate

social and economic equality, and enforcement of political equality.

• Niagara Movement: demanded end to segregation and discrimination.

• Said the “Talented Tenth” (top 10%)of the Black community should have full equality and access, to show progress and encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

NAACP• Founded 1910 by a group of white progressives, adopted

many ideas of Niagara movement, Dubois joins, and becomes editor of their magazine “The Crisis”

• Goal: Equal rights for Blacks through use of lawsuits in Federal Court