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THE CIVILIZATION OF THE U. S. THE WEST. THE FRONTIER. A crucial component of American culture A dividing line between civilization and the wilderness, between settled and unsettled areas A continuously westward moving line. THE SHIFTING WESTERN BORDER. The West is a relative term
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THE CIVILIZATION OF THE U. S. THE WEST
THE FRONTIER • A crucial component of American culture • A dividing line between civilization and the wilderness, between settled and unsettled areas • A continuously westward moving line
THE SHIFTING WESTERN BORDER • The West is a relative term • 1763: Appalachian Mountains • 1783: Mississippi River • 1803: Louisiana Purchase, Rocky Mountains • 1848 Pacific Ocean
WESTWARD EXPANSION • A migratory movement from 1820 until 1850 • Leading ideology: Manifest Destiny • 1845 John L. Sullivan: • “Our manifest destiny is to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” • American exceptionalism
CONFLICTS IN THE WESTERN TERRITORY • Thomas Jefferson in Declaration of Independence: Merciless savages • Andrew Jackson: obstacles to civilization • 1830 Indian Removal Act • 1838 Trail of Tears 15,000 Cherokees depart, 9.000 arrive to west of the Mississippi • Causes of the defeat of Indians: • Lack of unity • Repeating rifle, colt, eliminating the buffalo
CONFLICTS WITH THE BRITISH • Contested area: Oregon Territory • Joint occupation by Spain, Russia, Great Britain, U.S. • Spain, Russia relinquish claim • 1840s Americans move into the territory
CONFLICTS WITH BRITISH • 1841: Oregon Fever 2,000 mile trek • Prairie Schooners, Conestoga wagons, ox drawn, canvas covered wagons, • By 1845 Americans outnumber British • Americans demand Oregon, “54.40 or fight!” • 1846 British give up claim
CONFLICTS WITH MEXICO • 1809 Mexico becomes independent from Spain • Controls the Texas Territory • Stephen Austin leads Americans settling in Texas • Cultural conflict with Mexicans • Cause: religion, Settlers are Protestants and have slaves • Mexicans: Catholics, reject slavery • Mexico prohibits further American settlement
CONFLICT WITH MEXICO • 1836: Texas becomes independent country The Lone Star Republic • President Sam Huston, slavery is allowed • Texas applies for annexation, but 1845 Texas is annexed • 1846-1848 • Mexican-American War • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848
MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WEST • 1804-06: Lewis and Clark expedition • 1849: California Gold Rush • 1862: Homestead Act • 1876: Battle of Little Big Horn • 1890: Massacre at Wounded Knee
TH GOLD RUSH • Gold is found in Sutter’s Mill in California, near Sacramento, by the American River • Attracts thousands of prospectors • Increases the population of the West, new cities: San Francisco, Denver • Levi Strauss, serge de NImes
HOMESTEAD ACT • Laws promoting the settlement in the West • Person older than 25, and being a head of a family and intending to stay at least five years can have land for an average price of 1,25 dollars per acre • Limited effect due to limited capital and agricultural skills
THE PIONEER • Sodbuster • Lack of water, insect attacks, locust, prairie fires • Hostile Indians • Isolation
SOLUTION FOR THE PIONEER’S PROBLEMS • Water pumps • Heavier ploughs • Rural Free Delivery • Catalogue shopping
THE COWBOY • An American original (vaquero, gaucho) • A loose group of adventurers, civil war veterans • A Puritan on Horseback • Loneliness, isolation, constant work • End of cowboy culture—invention of the barbed wire-lighter than air, cheaper than whiskey, stronger than dirt xxxxxxx 3-3
THE INDIAN • Indian Wars of the Plains: (1864-1890) • Official status: domestic, dependent nations • Causes of tension between settlers and Indians: • Encroachment on Indian land • Spreading Christianity • Elimination of the buffalo
IMPORTANT BATTLES • Battle of Little Big Horn 1876 • Custer’s Last Stand • Wounded Knee Massacre 1890 • We were all wounded at Wounded Knee • The Indian, the vanishing American
THE RAILROAD • 1869: Completion of theTranscontinentalRailroad • Union Pacificfrom West, CentralPacificfromEast • Impact: trainscarriedsettlers and theirproducts • Companionindustries: coalmining, ironsmelting, traincarproduction • Changingtheconcept of time—timezones
IMAGE MAKERS OF THE WEST • James Fenimore Cooper—The LeatherstockingTales • Mark Twain: Talltales—hyperbole, exaggeration, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of CalaverasCounty • Frederick Jackson Turner..The Significance of theFrontierin American History-1893 • Movingfrontier, crucible, teachessuchvaluesasdemocracy, individualism, and freedom
AFRICAN AMERICANS • 1619: Arrival in America, at Jamestown,servants, not slaves • End of the seventeenth century: slavery is institutionalized • 1776: Slaves are not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence • 1787: Constitutional Convention, 3/5 compromise, outlawing slave trade as of 1808
AFRICAN AMERICANS • 1820 Missouri Compromise • 1831: Nat Turner Rebellion • 1865: ThirteenthAmendment • 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson—establishment of theprincipleofseparatebutequal • 1920-1932: Harlem Renaissance • 1954: Brown v. Board of Education • 1955-1965: Civil RightsMovement
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT • 1955: Rosa Parks—myfeets is tired • Montgomery BusBoycott • Rise of Martin Luther King • Baptistminister, providesthemovementwith an ideology • Non-violentresistance—basedontheGospel, Thoreau, Ghandhi • INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO JUSTICE EVERYWHERE
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF NON-VIOLENCE • Segregation is an unjust law • One should fight against unjust laws • Fight with the power of love against the power of hate • Segregation converts the I-thou relationship to an I-it relationship (Martin Buber) • Segregation objectifies blacks
THE RESULTS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT • I HAVE A DREAM-theemotionalclimax of the Civil RightsMovement • InspiredbytheDeclaration of Independence • Dream of a colorblindsociety • The speech is made inthestyle of a sermon • Civil RightsAct of 1964 segregation is outlawedinallpublicfacilites • VotingRightsAct of 1965—the right tovotecannot be denied, orrestricted
ISSUES IMPACTING THE AFRICAN COMMUNITY • 1896-1954: Segregation—the legally justified separation of the races • Jim Crow laws—separate but equal, (picture) • Fight against segregation, two methods • Booker T. Washington: Up from Slavery—accomodationist • W.E.B. DuBois: Talented Tenth , Black professionals are needed
POST-1965 • Whatgood is ittohavethe right tositatthelunchcounter, whenyoucannotbuythe hamburger • Revolution of risingexpectations • Black PowerMovement, Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad The Nation of Islam • Affirmative Action—reversediscrimination:-compensatorypoliciesforpreviousdiscrimination, preferentialtreatmentineducation, employment, and housing
BLACK NATIONALISM • Louis Farrakhan-Nation of Islam • Khaled Muhammad-antisemitism, advocating violence • Malik Shabazz- Using black nationalism to fight against drug abuse, poverty, inner city crime