HIST 1312 1st Edition Lecture 2 Outline of Last Lecture I. Associations to the Civil Wara. Medicineb. Spiesc. Soldier Lifed. New Technologye. Death and Devastation II. Reconstruction Outline of Current Lecture I. West Affect on AmericaII. Why the West was Attractivea. LandIII. Images from the Westa. Fictional charactersb. Rise of big businessc. CowboysIV. The Native PopulationV. Closing of the FrontierCurrent LectureI. West Affect on America- The American West played an increasingly significant role in United States' history between 1865 and1890o Keep in mind this is a time period of only 25 years. These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o Anglo-Americans settled 430 million acres of land and overwhelmed Native Americans in “Indian Wars”.o Ten new states entered the Union, bringing the total number of states to forty-eight by 1912 o Three commercial "empires" rose and fell:  mining, especially gold and silver farming cattle- Frederick Jackson Turner is considered the fore-father of American Exceptionalism. o American Exceptionalism- the belief that America is great and unique and better than all the other countries of the worldo Major points conceived by Turner: 1. The West was not a geographic place but a frontier process A receding frontier line – the point where savagery meets civilization The line moved westward in time; very theoretical2. American history was largely a tale of people leaving settled areas for the frontier and their struggle to survive in new lands.  According to Turner, this epic struggle explained American development – to understand Americans you have to understand the frontier3. The frontier reproduced American democracy and individualism Required Americans to develop new institutions and "free land makes free men." Land was easy to get because it was extremely cheap at the time and there was a lot of it.4. Claimed that in 1890 the frontier had closed, ending the first stage of American development. Turner believed that the closing of the frontier created uncertainty, and he questioned how Americans could maintain their democratic traditions and institutions without access to free land.  Owning land, at that time, was a part of the American dream so the lack of land forced the idea to change- Land gave individuals mobility – Free land was the American Dream - Societyo In the west Democracy would prevail – prior to the settling of the west the closest Democratic states were Kentucky and Tennessee  They were egalitarian states- everybody is equal. Thus in the west we would have egalitarian communities.o Turner argued that civilization is a process in which society becomes ever more complex. As complexity increases, opportunities become more limited, and civilization inevitably subordinates individuals to societyII. Why the west was so attractive- Lando There are three distinct environmental regions:1. Trans-Mississippi West ( Middle West to 98 parallel ) 2. Far West (Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains to Pacific Ocean) 3. Great Basin (Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains)o A myth is created in the West of a Garden of Eden - Wilber described the trans-Mississippi West as a “lush paradise.” - Based this claim on "scientific" evidence that purportedly proved that "rain follows the plow." - Myth of the Garden undermined the idea that the West was the "Great American Desert" and convinced many American farmers that they could prosper on the Plains.- The credibility of the Garden myth was strengthened by the unusually high levels of rainfall recorded throughout the 1870s and early 1880s, which further encouraged settlement. - But, by the mid 1880s, the Plains entered a period of low rainfall and massive out-migration. Families began to leave with signs on their wagons, "In God we trusted, inKansas we busted."III. Images From the West- Fictional characterso Americans continuing to associate with the "Old West" made a breeding ground for a number of fictional characters- Seemed to embody rugged individualism and self-reliance – the yeoman farmer, the wealthy cattle baron, the lawless gunslinger, the hardy cowboy.o Wild Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid- Rise of Businesseso The emergence of the Trans-Continental railroad represented the progress of the rise of big business in the Westo Federal governments deal with the Indians, so in essence the government, the railroads, andbig corporations settle the west.o Some settlers do fight Indians but soon after Little Big Horn the government gets on it and eradicates them- Stagecoach scene is a mytho At the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 many folks were shocked to know Indians still existed in the West.- Cowboyso The Civil War introduced more people to beef so after the war there was a great demand for beef in the East Coasto Historians say approximately 35,000 men worked as cowboys between 1864 and 1884. - This is out of 40 million people (less than 1%) but cowboys have a major impact; movies also reinforce the ideao Of those 35,000 men, approximately 25% were black, 12% Mexican, and 63% White. o Cowboys work on cattle drives for only a 20 year period – in this time they bring more than 5,000,000 head of cattle from breeding grounds in Texas to railheads in Kansas.- The railroads then allowed western ranchers to ship cattle to markets in the East andto Europe.o The cowboy was the everyday labor on the drives. - The cowboy worked in close cooperation with others during the drive and under the supervision of the trail boss.o Many cowboys died young on the job even though they are portrayed as tough- Snake bites, disease, gunshot wounds, falling off their horse=most common death o Hired by the owner and was under contract for the drive north.o Trail drives:- Goodnight Loving- began near Weatherford - Western Trail- Chisholm Trail- Sedalia Baxter Trail.o The West was not independence and self-reliance, but rather cooperation and interdependence.IV. The Native Population - The end of the Civil War and the settling of the West ushered in a massive reduction in the indigenous population of North America o Defining factor in American Indian history.- Historians estimate that the Indian population stood at 10 million during the 1600s and prior to that about 100 milliono By 1865,