Unit 7 The Wild, Wild West

By michaeljennings

  • Andrew Jackson Removes Indians

    Andrew Jackson was a known hater of the Native Americans that lived in the United States so it is no surprise that when he was president, he sent all of them west of the Mississippi River. The Native Americans were able to live in peace for years before they were disturbed again. They followed the buffalo and used them for nearly every part of their life. This was important because it foreshadowed later conflicts.

  • Colt Revolver Invented

    The colt revolver completely revolutionized guns of the time period. It allowed you to shoot 6 bullets without having to reload the gun. Cowboys of the time carried the guns and it gave them power. This invention was important because it moved the nation away from the musket era.

  • Steel Plow invented

    The steel plow was invented in 1837 and it made farming much easier. This was important because after the Civil War slavery was banished so southern farmers would take any help they could get. Also it allowed farmers to produce more goods that could be shipped around the country by the transcontinental railroad that was invented years later.

  • California Gold Rush

    The California Gold Rush occured in 1848 and caused a huge inflation in population out west. People moved to the west coast from places within the country and places outside the company. Many chinese immigrants came over during this time. People came to get rich quick but most actually ended up poorer than when they got there.

  • Americans Move West

    Americans began to move west for a number of reasons. The most influential reason was the rumor of gold found in the hills of California. For whatever reason, American settlers moved west in bunches and caused conflict with the Native Americans. This was important because it tarnished the heritage of the Native Americans but it also began civilzation of some western cities.

  • Concentration Policy put into effect

    Following the Gold Rush of 1848, more and more white settlers began moving out west. The Native Americans were living on these lands so land disputes arose. The National Government helped the settlers by putting in the Concentration policy. This forced the Native Americans to live amongst different tribes in smaller pieces of land. This was important because it went against the promises we made to the Native Americans when we first moved them west.

  • Homestead Act Passed

    The Homestead Act was passed by the United States Government in 1862 to try to encourage westward expansion. They offered 160 acres of public land if they would live and farm on the land for at least five years. They could also buy more land for $1.25 per acre. The homestead act lead to the distribution of 80 million acres.

  • Railroad Land Grants

    Starting in 1862, the government began issuing grants to railroad companies to create railroads to connect the major cities in the country. It also features a railroad that would go coast to coast. The railroad would provide many jobs for citizens of the United States and it allowed large cities to spring up at railroad junctions throughout the country.

  • Sand Creek Massacre

    The Sand Creek Massacre was one of the first conflicts between Native Americans and the United States forces. The government had opened reservations under protection of the government. Surprising the Native Americans, the government killed about 200 of them. Over half of them were women and children.

  • Cattle is Moved out of Texas

    Thousands of cattle were moved out of Texas in 1866 and taken to the western territories. One of the major lifestyles on the plains in the west was to raise livestock such as cattle. The cattle gave rise to the famous cowboy lifestyle of the "wild west".

  • Completion of the 1st Railroad

    The 1st railroad was completed in 1869 at Promontory Point in Utah. This railroad stretched the length of the country and forever changed transportation in a positive way. This was a huge improvement to the horse and wagon way of transpirtation that was previously used.

  • Refrigerated Railroad Cart Utilized

    In 1869, the first refrigerated railroad cart was utilized to transport meats from the west to other regions of the country. This was incredibly important because now the railroads could carry nearly anything and they could go across the country. The transcontinental railroad fed into most significant events during this time period.

  • The South Gets Poorer

    Before the Civil War, the South was far behind the North idustrially and economically. After the Civil War the gap widened and the south and the country as a whole got poorer. This is important because the poor people from different regions were able to leave everything and move west to start a new life. This created an even larger population of white settlers on Native American lands.

  • Barbed Wire Invented

    Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire in 1873. This was a very significant invention especially in the west because it allowed cowboys to fence in their cows. Before barbed wire, the only fences were made of wood. The cows could easily run through these fences and escape. The barbed wire allowed people to keep things in or out.

  • Battle of Little Big Horn

    The Battle of Litte Big Horn was the most famouse conflict of between Native Americans and the United States. General Custer led US troops against Native American warrios led by general Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. At the battles end, General Custer was killed and over 200 American soldiers were also killed.

  • Buffalo Population Decreases

    The white settlers that moved west were new to the terrain and were new to what it entailed. For this reason, the buffalo was completely foreign to them. The white settlers began killing the buffalo for their fur. The Native Americans were using these buffalo in nearly every portion of their lives. They relied heavily on the buffalo so when their population decreased tremendously their way of life was forced to change.

  • A Century of Dishonor

    A Century of Dishonor was a book written by Helen Hunt Jackson. It described all of the injustices the United States government imposed on the Native Americans. This shows that some Americans knew what the government was doing was wrong. Some were even embarrassed about how bad we were treating the Native Americans.

  • 1887 Dawes Severalty Act Passed

    The Dawes Severalty Act was passed by the head of Indian Affairs William Dawes. The act tried to break up the little lands owned by communities of Native Americans and make them farm and own lands more like American people. Most of this was initially unsuccessful causing a stricter assimulation later.

  • Assimulation of the Native Americans

    If concentrating the Native Americans wasn't bad enough, the white settlers in the west wanted more. They complained living alongside the Native Americans was a pain because they had different traditions and spoke a different language. The national government responded to this by trying to Americanize the Native Americans. This crushed most of their remaining heritage.

  • Gold Standard Introduced

    This act made gold the only way to back up paper money. This was important because it followed the gold rush of 1848. It also caused silver to no longer be able to back up paper money. It was signed by President McKinley but later was repealed.