Summary
Highlights
Westward expansion in America was driven by the desire for self-sufficiency and independence, fulfilling Thomas Jefferson's vision of an agrarian nation. The movement was significantly aided by the expanding railroad network and government incentives like land giveaways.
Two key migrant groups were the Exodusters, 40,000 black farmers who left the oppressive South for Kansas during Reconstruction, and homesteaders, who migrated in response to the 1862 Homestead Acts offering 160 acres of free land for five years of improvement.
The westward migration led to tensions and conflicts, particularly with Mexican-Americans in the Southwest. Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, many Mexican-Americans lost their lands to white settlers due to biased court decisions, leading to resistance from groups like Las Gorras Blancas (the white hats).
Increased American migration pressured American Indian groups to vacate their lands. The US government frequently broke treaties, such as the Treaty of Fort Laramie, when valuable resources were discovered or settlers desired the land. This betrayal led to violent conflicts.
The Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 saw the Colorado militia slaughter over a hundred Cheyenne women and children, despite promises of safety. This act sparked the Sue Wars, a series of conflicts that lasted until 1890, ending with the suppression of American Indian resistance.
To prevent further conflict and uphold American Indians, policymakers pursued assimilation. The Dawes Act of 1887 ended federal recognition of American Indian sovereignty, divided reservation lands into individual plots, and offered citizenship to those who adopted white American culture for 25 years, abandoning their ancestral traditions.
Another assimilation effort was the establishment of boarding schools, like the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. These institutions aimed to strip American Indian children of their culture, forcing them to speak English, adopt American names and clothing, often through abusive methods, with devastating effects on their cultural preservation.
In response to assimilation pressures and violence, the Ghost Dance movement emerged, a spiritual revival led by prophet Wavoka envisioning the expulsion of white invaders. The US military viewed it as renewed resistance, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, where 250 Lakota Sue, including women and children, were killed. This marked the final major effort of American Indian resistance, and by 1890, the frontier was declared settled at an enormous cost.