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California Gold Rush
In January of 1848, James Wilson Marshall, a carpenter from New Jersey, was constructing a saw mill when he found flakes of gold near Coloma, California. Even though he tried to keep it a secret, word got out about the gold, and it was all over the newspapers. The gold rush was really ignited when Sam Brannan, a storekeeper, found a bottle of gold in Sutter's Creek. By August, there were 4,000 miners mining for gold. -
Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851
In this the Treaty, the US government agreed to give certain large areas of land throughout the US should belong to Natives "for all time". (e.g. Sioux were given the Black Hills). Pressures soon engulfed the Natives. Gold was disovered in 1859 in Colorado, regular stagecoach trips to California through Natives' territory and cattle drives were common. These pressures caused the Natives to go to war numerous times. (e.g. Little Crow's War, Massacre of Sand Creek, and the Fetterman Massacre). -
Fort Atkinson Treaty of 1853
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Comstock Lode
One of the most important mining dicoveries in American History in output and in significance. The Comstock Lode was the first major silver discovery in the United States and virtually ended the California Gold Rush. Discovered under what would become one of the most important gold camps in the west, Virginia City. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was one of the three United States federal laws that gave an applicant ownership at no cost of farmland called "Homestead." This was culmination of decades of work to organize and distribute government lands.
every 160-acres parcel largely went to new settlers, but fraudulent schemes placed much of the lands into corporated hands. Overall, the Homestead Act was instrumental in settling the frontier , providing land for family farms and creating the legacy of the American West. -
Sand Creek Massacre
At Sand Creek Colorando in 1864, Colonel John M Chivington's massacured in cold blood, 400-500 Indians who apparently thought they had been promised immunity. The Indians were in fact the ones who had been harrassing the colonists, though the story what thought to be the other way around. Women were shot praying for Mercy, Children had their brains gashed out, braves were tortured, sclaped and unspeakably mutilated.November 29, 1864- Sand Creek Massacre. -
Crazy Horse
December 21, 1866 Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors staged an ambush a few miles from Fort Phil Kearny. Young Lakato warrior, Crazy Horse led the group of warriors in the fight. Crazy Horse was recognized as a visionary leader committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life. He fought to prevent American encroachment on Lakota lands. Although called the Bozeman Trail, the route followed by John Bozeman was used long ago by Crazy Horse. -
William J. Fetterman
William Fetterman, born in 1833, lead 80 of his soldiers to their deaths at the hands of the Sioux. Led by Crazy Horse, a group of about 2,000 warriors went into an ambush killing all of Fetterman's soldiers within about 40 minutes. The "Fetterman Massacre" is known as one of the worst disasters suffered by the U.S. army. -
Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868
Despite the many treaties signed, fighting still raged throughout the 1860s and the 1870s. The US decided to give the Black Hills away in the treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868. Soon, gold was found in the Black Hills. The U.S. Army declared it theiris even after agreeing that the land belonged to Indians. General Custer's army left to fight the Sioux, only to be annihlated. The region was confiscated by the government, and still remains a topic ofdispute between the US government, and the Sioux.
