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First Transcontinental Railroad
10 routes were surveyed and the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico provided the easiest way across the Western Plateau. The federal government gave money at rates of $16,000, $32,000, or $48,000 per mile depending on the terrain. Companies also recieved land grants along the right of way that were about 640 acres per mile. Union Pacific Company hired 10,000 workers that were Irish. The Central Pacific Company hired immigrants that could lay 10 miles of track per day. -
Taking Native American Land
The first fight broke in Colorado after the Civil War between Indians and Americans. The government officials tried to force the Arapaho and the Cheyenne from an area they were granted 10 years earlier. The Santee Sioux of Minnesota attacked a group of settlers that had moved into their hunting ground. After the Minnesotans defeated the Sioux they forced them to a reservation in the Dakota Territory. -
Sand Creek Massacre
800 cheyenne indians and their cheif black kettle approached a us army looking for protection. He and his people were promised sand creek in the treaty of 1851. The next morning a group called the Colorado volunteers sorounded the cheyenne, black kettle tried for peace but it failed, The colorado volunteers opened war against them and 400 people died. -
Efforts Toward Peace
in 1867 the fedral government wanted to make an agrement to get the indians to move out on to two major reservations on the plains. the department of the interior was the first to give the native americans gifts and establish reservations. the war department only wanted to make war on the indians who resisted. -
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Buffalo Hunting
Although the plain nations fought hundreds of battles between 1860 and 1890, they could not keep up the resistance against the white men because the buffalo was their source of food, clothing, shelter, and weapons. The buffalo were wiped out because people on trains would shoot them from the window's. These buffalo were not used for anything, they were just left to rot. In 1886 there were only a few hundred buffalo left in the Canadian woods -
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hostilities resume
with the discovery of gold in the dakota terititory miners flocked to the dakota indian land. 2 years later the souix attacked miners and settlers. in in june 1876 general Gorge Custer and his troops attacked the indians at little big horn river, general custer and his troops were all killed. -
Other Railroads
The first transcontinental railroad was soon followed by many more railroads connecting large cities. James J. Hill built the great northern railroad connecting the Minnesota Territory to the Washington Territory. His careful construction of the railroad kept the maintenance cost down.This helped him charge lower rates and encouarge people to move. -
the Dawes Act
The Dawes act which broke up native american nations on reserves. were given 160 acers to farm, cultivate, eco farm, live via the land, prosper, live, socialize, frolick in their indian ways. It was the result of humanitarian organizations opposing to the us armies extermination polocies. so in responce to this the us gave the peaceful indians the land. -
Sooners Take Oklahoma
United States gave Oklahoma to the indians, but in 1889 the government decided to take unspoken for land. When Oklahoma was open settelers took more land than given, so they ended up taking some of the indian land. By nightfall there were ten thousand tents in Oklahoma city.
