Transcript The Growing West

Growing America
1860 - 1914
Reasons for Growth
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Transcontinental Railroad
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Connecting the East and West
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Immigration
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Workers for the railroads
Problems in other countries
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The Gold Rush
The Irish Potato Famine
Religious persecution
Industrialization
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Move from Rural to Urban
The rise of Industry
The Transcontinental Railroad
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The Transcontinental Railroad connected the
East and the West
Movement to the Frontier (The Great Plains)
The Gold Rush
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The Gold Rush occurred when large
amounts of gold was discovered in San
Francisco, California
Sped up building of
the railroads
Boomtowns
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Boomtowns popped up overnight with the
discovery of gold or silver
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“The sidewalks swarmed with people. So
great was the pack, that buggies frequently
had to wait half an hour for an opportunity to
cross the principal street. Money was as
plenty as dust”
As resources dwindled, Boomtowns
collapsed, only to be replaced by Ghost
Towns
Boomtown
Ghost Town
Population Growth in the West
1860
Denver, Colorado
4,749
Kansas City, Missouri 3,965
Omaha, Nebraska
1,883
1890
106,713
50,093
140,452
Problems Along the Way
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Run-ins with Native Americans
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Sand Creek Massacre: A village of 200 innocent
Cheyenne men, women, and children were killed
by the Colorado Militia
Battle of Little Bighorn: George A. Custer
attacked thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne in
Montana; Custer and all his men were killed
Wounded Knee Massacre: Thinking the Native
Americans were preparing for war, American
troops killed 300 Sioux men, women, and
children
Sand Creek Massacre
“Damn any man who sympathizes with
Indians! … I have come to kill Indians,
and believe it is right and honorable to
use any means under God’s heaven to
kill Indians. – Colonel John Milton
Chivington, U.S. Army
Sand Creek Massacre
As the attack began, the Cheyenne
raised the American flag and the white
flag of surrender, but Chivington and his
troops continued the attack.
Sand Creek Massacre
“I saw the bodies of those lying there cut
all to pieces, worse mutilated than any I
ever saw before; the women cut all to
pieces … With knives; scalped; their
brains knocked out; children two or three
months old; all ages lying there, from
sucking infants up to warriors … By
whom were they mutilated? By the
United States troops…”
Sand Creek Massacre
This battle left the Cheyenne in pieces.
Many of those who survived vowed
revenge, which further worsened ties
between Native Americans and white
settlers.
Sand Creek Massacre
The Battle of Little Bighorn
Custer underestimated the size and
determination of the village he planned to
attack. As a result, the battle led to
“Custer’s Last Stand” where his soldiers
were swarmed and likely overrun within
an hour of battle. Not a single one of his
troops survived.
Battle of Little Big Horn
Wounded Knee Massacre
Some Native Americans had formed a
religion called “Ghost Dance.” They
believed Jesus Christ had returned to
earth as a Native American and would
raise the Native Americans above the
earth and bring all of their ancestors back
to earth. They believed the “Ghost
Dance” would bring about this change.
Wounded Knee Massacre
Ghost Dance
Wounded Knee Massacre
Soldiers saw Native Americans
performing this across the plains and
worried they were preparing to attack the
U.S. military.
Wounded Knee Massacre
Troops rushed in to disarm Native
Americans, but one Native American
(Black Coyote) who didn’t speak English
refused to hand over his rifle. As soldiers
tried to pry the weapon from his hands,
his rifle went off. Soldiers opened fire.
With most Native Americans already
disarmed, they stood no chance.
Wounded Knee Massacre
“The women as they were fleeing with their
babies were killed together, shot right
through… and after most all of them had
been killed a cry was made that all those
who were not killed or wounded should
come forth and they would be safe. Little
boys came out of their places of refuge, and
as soon as they came in sight a number of
soldiers surrounded them and butchered
them there.” Captain Edward S. Godfrey
Wounded Knee Massacre
Wounded Knee Massacre
Wounded Knee Massacre
Wounded Knee Massacre
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The Ghost Dance movement fizzled
out with fears of more violence.
The U.S. government awarded twenty
men with the Medal of Honor, the
highest military honor.
Most Americans viewed the attack as
a success.
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“Our only safety depends upon the total extermination of the Indians.
Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our
civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and
untamable creatures from the face of the earth.” Frank Baum, author of
The Wizard of Oz
Problems Along the Way
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Displacing Native
Americans
Forced Assimilation
required Native
Americans to
become American
or disappear
The near extinction
of the Bison
Assimilation
Assimilation
Native Americans Today
Immigration
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Immigration is the movement of people from
one location to another
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A need for cheap labor
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Problems in other countries
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Railroad construction
Dangerous industrial jobs
Famine
War
Poverty
Religious persecution
Between 1860-1900 more than 6 million people
immigrated to the United States
Ellis Island
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Ellis Island opened in New York in
1894 to process immigrants
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During its 60 years in service, 12 million
immigrants were processed
Arrival
Angel Island
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Angel Island opened in 1910 in
California to process immigrants from
Asia
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During its 30 years in service,
approximately 1 million Asian immigrants
were processed
Arrival
Detainees
Problems
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Immigrants faced:
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Racism
Low paying, difficult jobs
Poor, crowded housing
Disgusting sanitation
Poverty
In some cases, they were forced to leave
Railroad Work
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“Swinging near the cliff, Ah Goong dug
holes, then inserted gunpowder and
fuses. He struck match after match
and dropped the burnt matches over
the sides. At last his fuse caught; he
waved, and the men above pulled
hand over hand hauling him up,
pulleys creaking.”
$286 per year
Factory Work
About $5960 per year by
today‘s standards
"I got a room in the house of some friends who lived
near the factory. I pay $1 a week for the room and am
allowed to do light housekeeping - that is, cook my
meals in it. I get my own breakfast in the morning, just
a cup of coffee and a roll, and at noon time I come
home to dinner and take a plate of soup and a slice of
bread with the lady of the house. My food for a week
costs a dollar, just as it did in Allen Street, and I have
the rest of my money to do as I like with. I am earning
$5.50 a week now [equivalent to approximately
$115.00 in today's money] , and will probably get
another increase soon.”
Factory Work
“The machines go like mad all day, because the faster
you work the more money you get. Sometimes in my
haste I get my finger caught and the needle goes right
through it. It goes so quick, though, that it does not hurt
much. I bind the finger up with a piece of cotton and go
on working. We all have accidents like that. Where the
needle goes through the nail it makes a sore finger, or
where it splinters a bone it does much harm.
Sometimes a finger has to come off. Generally, though,
one can be cured by a salve.”
To be continued….
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Next up: Industrialization