The American West - Group 13 by Irune

Relevant Dates & Events

HCg13 — 2020-10-21 09:57:16 UTC

1803 ➭ The Louisiana Purchase
1804-1806 ➭ Lewis and Clark's Expedition.
1830 ➭ The Indian Removal Act
1845 ➭ Manifest Destiny

1846-1848 ➭ Mexican-American war

1849-1855 ➭ Gold Rush
1890 ➭ Closing of the Frontier

The Closing of the Frontier

HCg13 — 2020-10-22 09:04:05 UTC

-Previously, two different parts: East (whites) and West (natives)

-Eastern settlers progressively invaded the West for land, gold, buffalo, Americanising Indians... (Advantages: Transcontinental Railroad and guns)
-Mercilessly massacred natives (e.g.: Sand Creek Massacre).
-1890: Census Bureau announced the Closing of the Frontier (1890), no frontier, no land without settlers.

Western Folkways

HCg13 — 2020-10-22 09:04:23 UTC

The Mining Boom:
- Ores needed for industrialization.

- Towns built around deposits

- Pollution, excessive work, ethnic diversity.

- Hope among the poor, but the white got the most money.

The Cowboy:

-Groups of cowboys took their cattle through Chisholm Trail (Texas➭Abilene) to sell it.
-Rail lines, overproduction and cold winters: Downfall of this era.
Lifestyle in Farms:
-Homestead Act, 1862➭ incentive
-Economic problems: needed machinery, overproduction.
-Isolation, harsh weather and no political backup.

Farmers organized to get political support and defend their interests ➭ Populism
Populists lost the Election of 1896 against William McKinley (Republican). BUT their ideas endured ➭ Progressives.

Lewis and Clark's Expedition

elsalizaso — 2020-10-22 17:13:50 UTC

- 1804 - 1806.
- Goals and objectives:
·Main
·Secondary
- Originally named Corps of Discovery & planned almost 10 years before by Sir Alexander Mackenzie.
- President Jefferson and King Louis XVI
- Lewis' diary
- October 1805 - Mandan villages
- Americans brought new diseases → by the late 1830s, population reduced to <150
- both tragedy and triumph

Mexican-American War

xabierloma0310 — 2020-10-24 12:45:25 UTC

- The war broke out in 1846 and the Americans dominated it in every moment.
- While a part of the army was sent to attack the heart of Mexico, California was being controlled.
- Antiwar sentiment spread among people
- War ended with the Guapalupe Hidalgo Treaty

The Louisiana purchase

2020-10-25 09:52:51 UTC

-France controled Louisiana in the early 19th century.
- Napoleon threatened Jefferson to block the trading port in New Orleans. After this, the US President sent diplomats to France.
- In Paris, James Monroe, empowered to purchase New Orleans and West Florida for between 2 and 10 Million Dollars.
- They ended up purchasing all Louisiana for 15 Million Dollars as Napoleon needed the money to continue the war against Britain.
- In 1812, Louisiana was the first state to join the union from land bought in the purchase.

The Indian removal act

2020-10-25 09:53:17 UTC

- Andrew Jackson pursued a policy of removing the Indian tribes from their Ancestral lands.
- Indians could do little to defend themselves. Despite this, the removals were brutal.
- Some tribes attempted to either go back to the places they had been taken out from or to resist the removal. However, neither of them worked.
- In Georgia, the Cherokees made Jackson furious after they took their case to the court as they were a developed society. Nevertheless, officials ignored the decision and federal troops came to Georgia to remove the tribes forcibly.

In 1831, Choctaws to Oklahoma.
In 1835, some Cherokee leaders accepted western land and payment in exchange for relocation.

- After this agreement, the treaty of new echota gave green light to order the Cherokee removal, which ended up being dramatic.
- About 20,000 Cherokees were marched westward at gunpoint on the infamous Trail of tears. Nearly a quarter died on the way, and the remainers were left to seek survival in a completely foreign land.

Manifest Destiny

ionmrquez — 2020-10-25 11:29:10 UTC

- It was coined in 1845.

- The doctrine or belief to expand dominion and spread democracy and capitalism.

- It intensified the slavery problem or dilemma.
| → outbreak of the Civil War.

- Triumph over Mexico
| → United States acquired:
( present-day Arizona, California, western Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah).

- American trade expanded, new relationships with Japan.

Frederick Jackson Turner

elsalizaso — 2020-10-25 12:33:36 UTC

·- 1861-1932
- American historian during the early 20th century
- Received his PhD at Johns Hopkins University in 1890
- The Significance of the Frontier in American History → revolutionary
- The "frontier thesis"'s proposal
- Subsequent works:

·Rise of the New West, 1819–1829 (1906)
·The Frontier in American History (1920)
· The United States: 1830–1850 (1935).

Style and Fashion

ionmrquez — 2020-10-25 12:51:50 UTC

·- WOMEN
- variety of styles, materials, construction... depending on the weather, the location...
- easy to move around and tough and durable
- fewer garments

·- INDIGENOUS PEOPLES of the AMERICAS
- depended on location, resources, tribal affliction, ...
- · daily wear ➭ simpler outfits
· special occasions ➭ fancier clother with decorative elements

·- MEN
- cowboy fashion ➭ golden age for cowboys, ranchers, and outlaws
| → The Hat, the shirt, the troussers, the neckwear and the coat

·- COWGIRLS & CHARACTERS
- women rode horses with both legs over the same side
| → early 1990s, women wore divided skirts (performers and snapshooters)

Gold Rush

xabierloma0310 — 2020-10-25 13:28:48 UTC

- January 1849 some shiny flecks found.
- More than 80,000 Americans travelled in search of gold. Mining Towns were founded. If a mine was unseccessful the town was abandoned.
- Miners wanted women companionship so there were lots of prostitutes.
- African Americans, European (Levi Strauss), Chinese... people also travelled there. Which led to lots of racism.

Movies, comics and books

xabierloma0310 — 2020-10-25 13:40:16 UTC

Movies: Unforgiven (1992) by Clint Eastwood, Django Unchained (2012) by Quentin Tarantino.

Comics: The Lone Ranger (1933), The Ghost Rider (1949)

Books: The Brave Cowboy (1956) by Edward Abbey, The Shootist (1975) by Glendon Swarthout

Video Games: Red Dead Redemption (2010 and 2018)

References

HCg13 — 2020-10-25 16:01:16 UTC

Anderberg, Jeremy. “21 Western Novels Every Man Should Read.” The Art of Manliness, 6 Oct. 2020, www.artofmanliness.com/articles/21-western-novels-every-man-should-read/.

“Closing Of The Frontier & Its Impact: Facts, Information & Outcome.” School History, 25 Mar. 2020, www.schoolhistory.co.uk/notes/closing-of-the-frontier-impact/

“Closing the Frontier.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/40.asp.

“Exploration: Lewis and Clark.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/21b.asp.

Fictioneers, Western. THE TOP TEN WESTERN COMICS- and a Whole Slew of Runners-Up, 1 Jan. 1970, www.westernfictioneers.blogspot.com/2011/04/top-ten-western-comics-and-whole-slew.html.

“Frederick Jackson Turner.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Jackson-Turner.

“Gold in California.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/29e.asp.

Manifest Destiny. (2010, April 05). History. https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/manifest-destiny

Manifest Destiny. (2020, September 10). Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Manifest-Destiny

Monet, D. (2020, January 21). Women's Clothing in the Historic American West. Bellatory - Fashion and Beauty. https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/Clothing-of-Women-in-the-Historic-American-West

“The Mexican-American War.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/29d.asp

“THE WEST - Frederick Jackson Turner.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/turner.htm.

“Western Folkways.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/41.asp.

Wulff, A. (2016, September 26). A Brief History Of American Western Wear. The Culture Trip. https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/a-brief-history-of-american-western-wear/