The Unfinished Nation A Concise History of the American People Volume 2 Chapter 16 THE CONQUEST OF THE FAR WEST By the Mid 1840 s White American migrants began settling in the West at a substantial rate The Great American Desert became the Frontier Land awaiting settlement and civilization A place of wealth adventure opportunity and individualism Diverse land with many regions and climates Abundance of Natural resources Diverse Melting Pot of people Blacks Canadians and Asians THE SOCIETIES OF THE FAR WEST THE WESTERN TRIBES Indigenous Indian Tribes populated the West before the Great White Migration 300 000 Indians lived on the Pacific Coast List of Tribes Serrano Chumash Pomo Maidu Yurok Chinook The Pueblos Supported themselves by fishing foraging and simple agriculture The Plains Indians some were farmers most hunted Buffalo Maintained cattle herds Built tepees for temporary living Buffalo aka Bison was used as a basis of economics Principal source of food Skin used for clothes shoes tepees blankets robes and utensils Buffalo Chips aka Dried Manure was used for fuel Buffalo Bones was used for knives and arrow tips Buffalo Tendons was used to make strings for the bows Mid 19th Century the Sioux Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians formed an Alliance to fight of White migrants Indians were vulnerable to infectious diseases like small pox 1 P a g e The Unfinished Nation A Concise History of the American People Volume 2 HISPANIC NEW MEXICO Far West was a part of the Spanish Empire the Mexican Republic Spanish settlers aka Mexican immigrants engaged in Cattle Sheep ranching 1840 After the Mexican War the U S acquired this land and Mexican residents Gen Stephen Kearny tried to create a territory of 1 000 Anglo Americans ignoring over 50 000 Hispanics 1847 Hispanics the Tao Indians killed the new governor and Anglo American officials U S Army Forces ruled Mexico for 3 years until organizing a territorial government in 1850 U S Army broke the power of the Navajo Apache Tribes leading to Hispanic migration Southwest and North as far as Colorado 1880 90 s Railroads were established Brought Ranching Farming and Mining jobs to the area Mexicans had the lowest paying and unstable jobs HISPANIC CALIFORNIA AND TEXAS 18th Century Spanish settlement began as a result of Catholics Missions along the Pacific 1830 s Catholic Mission Society collapsed Mexican Aristocracy was formed controlled large estates in the Sierra Mountains U S acquired California excluded Mexicans from the Gold Rush 1849 The California Gold Rush was the 1st and Most Famous 1858 Gold was discovered in Pike s Peak in Colorado 1858 Gold was discovered in Nevada s Washoe s District 1858 Silver was discovered in Comstock Lode in Nevada by Henry Comstock Many Mexicans aka Californios lost their land in California and Texas Lower middle class Mexicans lived in the Barrios of Los Angeles working as migrant farmworkers 1859 Mexicans raided the jail in Brownsville TX and freed all the Mexican prisoners Mexicans in southern Texas were among the lower middle class just like in California THE CHINESE MIGRATION Europeans were crossing the Atlantic Chinese aka Coolies indentured servants similar to slaves were crossing the Pacific 2 P a g e The Unfinished Nation A Concise History of the American People Volume 2 Moved to Hawaii Australia Latin America South America Caribbean By 1880 more than 200 000 Chinese settled in the U S White Americans quickly became intimidated by the Chinese because they were very industrious and successful 1850 s Chinese immigrants joined the Gold Rush 1852 CA legislature tried to exclude the Chines by implementing a Foreign Miners tax hostility from White Miners drove the Chinese out of the Gold Rush 1865 Chinese railroad employment grew 12 000 Chinese were working for the Transcontinental Railroad forming 90 of the labor force in the Central Pacific 1866 5 000 Chinese railroad workers rebelled against the dangerous working conditions and low wages They were surrounded by strike breakers and starved into submission 1869 Transcontinental Railroad was completed and the majority of the Chinese lost their jobs Most Chinese flocked to San Francisco CA aka Chinatowns across California Found work as Servants Common laborers Unskilled Factory workers Established their own Laundries 1890 s the Chinese controlled 2 3 of all Laundry workers in the CA Chinatowns served as benevolent societies and political machines for immigrant communities Six Companies led by prominent Chinese Merchants which became Employment brokers Unions Arbitrators of disputes Defenders against outside persecution Dispensers of social services Organized elaborate festivals and celebrations Tongs Violent Chinese Organizations Secret Society involved in the Opium Trade Prostitution Late 1880 s Chinese women only migrated due to being sold into Prostitution the Chinese women in CA were prostitutes 3 P a g e The Unfinished Nation A Concise History of the American People Volume 2 ANTI CHINESE SENTIMENTS Resentment among White workers increased towards Chinese workers because they accepted lower wages undercutting union members 1878 Workingmen s Party of California was created by Denis Kearny an Irish Immigrant Chinese agitation and violence spread over the State of CA 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which banned Chinese Immigration for 10 years barred the Chinese in the U S already from becoming naturalized citizens 1892 Congress renewed the Chinese Exclusion Act for another 10 years 1902 Congress made the Chinese Exclusion Act permanent U S Chinese population decreased 40 over the next 40 years MIGRATION FROM THE EAST 1870 90 over 2 million foreign born Europeans settled in the U S Scandinavians Germans Irish Russians Czechs Foreigners were attracted to settle in the U S by Short grass pasture for cattle and sheep Sod of the plains Gold Silver deposits Meadowlands of the mountains The completion of the transcontinental railroad and subsidiary lines in 1869 Land policies Homestead Act of 1862 which permitted settlers to buy plots of 160 acres for a small fee if they occupied and improved the land for 5 years Homestead Act of 1862 created new markets and new commercial agriculture 160 acres was not enough land for grazing and grain farming in the Great Plains 1873 The Timber Culture Act was created to permit homesteaders to receive grants of 160 additional acres if they planted 40 acres of trees on them 1877 The Desert Land Act was passed and