Who Was Already There
Why people went
- In hopes of achieving ideals of self-sufficiency and independence, migrants moved to both rural and boomtown areas of the West for opportunities, such as building the railroads, mining, farming, and ranching.
- Four named opportunities, and the motive is stated as an ideal: self-sufficiency and independence.
- 6.2's falling prices and railroad dependence are the reason that ideal was often not achieved.
Select all four opportunities the CED names.
The motive is stated as an ideal: self-sufficiency and independence.
Competition became violent
- As migrant populations increased in number and the American bison population was decimated, competition for land and resources in the West among white settlers, American Indians, and Mexican Americans led to an increase in violent conflict.
- The CED names three competing groups, and it names an ecological fact — the bison population was decimated — as part of the cause.
- Destroying the bison removed the basis of an economy, which is a material cause of conflict, not only a symbolic loss.
Select all three groups competing for land and resources.
Plus an ecological fact: the bison population was decimated.
What the government did
- The U.S. government violated treaties with American Indians and responded to resistance with military force, eventually confining American Indians to reservations and denying tribal sovereignty.
- The CED states this plainly: violated treaties, military force, confining, denying tribal sovereignty.
- 3.10's ambiguous relationship between the federal government and tribes ends here, and it ends in denial rather than resolution.
A motive, a cause of conflict, or a response?
Sort each element of western settlement's human side.
Select all the government actions the CED states.
3.10's ambiguous relationship ends in denial, not resolution.
The CED puts agency first even in the sentence about assimilation policy. Many American Indians preserved their cultures and tribal identities despite government policies promoting assimilation, and they attempted to develop self-sustaining economic practices — the obstacle is named, and what people did is still the subject.
Select both things many American Indians did despite assimilation policies.
The CED puts the agency first in the sentence.
And what native nations did
- Many American Indians preserved their cultures and tribal identities despite government policies promoting assimilation, and they attempted to develop self-sustaining economic practices.
- Two actions: preserved cultures and identities, and attempted to develop self-sustaining economic practices.
- Despite names the obstacle — policies promoting assimilation — and the CED still puts the agency first in the sentence.
The decimation of the bison is a cause of conflict because it...
A material cause, not only a symbolic loss.
The human half of settlement
- 6.3 answers the same objective as 6.2, from the side of the people involved.
- Causes: an ideal of independence, four kinds of opportunity, and a bison population destroyed.
- Effects: violent competition among three groups, treaties violated, reservations, and cultures preserved anyway.
Destroy the animal an economy is built on and you have not merely taken a resource; you have removed the possibility of independence from the people who depended on it. The conflict that follows is about survival, not preference.
In hopes of achieving ideals of self-sufficiency and independence, migrants moved to both rural and boomtown areas of the West for opportunities, such as building the railroads, mining, farming, and ranching. As migrant populations increased... and the American bison population was decimated, competition for land and resources... among white settlers, American Indians, and Mexican Americans led to an increase in violent conflict. The U.S. government violated treaties..., confining American Indians to reservations and denying tribal sovereignty, yet many American Indians preserved their cultures and tribal identities despite government policies promoting assimilation.