Farming the Great Plains

• 1862 – Congress pass a law – the Homestead Act which offered free land in the West for families of settlers (160 acres – 65 ha)

• railroad companies (Union Pacific) also provided settlers with cheap land beside the tracks Difficulties:

• to build houses – no wood, from bricks made of pieces of earth and grass – “sodbusters”

• to sow the land which was never ploughed before – use of steel blades

• lack of water – pumps, fire, droughts

• plagues of insects – grasshoppers eating the crops and everything they found

• quarrels with cattlemen – the crops were eaten or trampled upon by the cattle or the homesteaders build barbered fences and blocked streams of drinking water

• 1874 farmer Joseph Glidden patented the invention of barbed wire

• the railroads carried away the crops that were sold in U.S. and Europe as well

• “over-production” – more productive cultivating, ploughing, sowing and harvesting because of the agricultural machines

• farmers formed political action groups to force the railroad companies to reduce the prices for transporting crops – Patrons of Husbandry – “Grangers” (1870s), Populist Party (1890s)

• “Granger laws” – government controlled railroad charges and looked after farmer’s interests

• because of John Muir’s efforts, national parks were established to protect natural wonders, rare plants and animals (1890 Yosemite in California, 1872 Yellowstone in Rocky Mountains)

The Amerindians’ Last Stand

• settlers began to plough the Great Plains where the Sioux hunted buffalo

• Amerindians made treaties with government to give pieces of land – on return government promised to leave them in peace

• 1868 the Forth Laramie treaty – areas between the Missouri Rover and the Rocky Mountains was declared to the Sioux – treaty was broken when American soldiers found gold in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota

• buffalo was also beginning to disappear – less land to graze upon; hunting as a sport

• more settlers claimed homesteads, so government forced Amerindians to give up their way of life and sent them in “reservations”

• Amerindians fought back, Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse won at the Battle of Little Big Horn (1876) – killed also General Custer

• last stand for them – sent in reservations

• in spite of government’s promises they had no food, materials to build houses and tools to cultivate land – suffering, diseases

• 1890 – the Ghost Dance to get the old way of life

• 1890 – 350 Sioux led by Big Foot left reservation but the soldiers caught and killed them at Wounded Knee – end of all Amerindian’s hope

• 1924 – Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act – citizens, right to vote

• 1934 – Indian Reorganization Act – set up own councils

• Amerindians remained far behind other Americans (health, wealth, employment, education)

• 1970s – American Indian Movement was formed; protest march “Trail of Broken Treaties”, they demand to return the land unjustly taken away (the Black Hills)