Cassanndre Sager
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Native American tribes after the Civil War
At the beginning of the Civil War the Native American Indians were still in possession of one half of the current United States territory. 10 years later the Native Americans were placed on reservations and it was government policy to get rid of the Native American culture in favor of having the Native Americans integrated into the American society.
The Native American tribes of the high plains were some of the most important tribes. They included the Blackfoot, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Comanche tribes. The culture of these tribes was overall the same- it had a strong basis in buffalo. These Native Americans lived by hunting the many buffalo that roamed the high plains. Buffalo provided the High Plains Native Americans with food, clothing, shelter, and fuel (for those tribes that didn’t have many trees around). The buffalo was also a religious symbol for these Native Americans.
The integration of “white” technology into the Native American culture had devastating effects. From the white men, Native Americans received horses, swords, and rifles. The horses and weapons enabled easier hunting of the buffalo for the Native Americans, which caused the amount of buffalo on the High Plains to decrease, thus endangering the Native American culture, independence, and even existence. (It should also be noted that with the white people came illnesses that the Native Americans had no immunity for, causing many deaths among the Native American tribes that interacted with white people.)
The United States army also contributed to the decrease of buffalo in the high plains. The army had no qualms about shooting buffalo for fun, and thusly killed many buffalo and leaving the carcasses behind, unused, and wasted. Without knowing it, the United States soldiers had engaged in the most expeditious manner of removing the Native Americans of the High Plains. Getting rid of the buffalo in the high plains would later show an obvious correlation to the decline of the Native American population and way of life.
The Nez Perce Indian tribe became well-known for its leader Chief Joseph and his outmaneuvering the US Army. Chief Joseph managed to lead his tribe over 1,000 miles of land without being captured by the United States army. This struggle, however, ended in 1877 when Chief Joseph surrendered in October. The Nez Perce Indian tribe was then moved to Oklahoma, where they became afflicted with malaria.
In the 1880s “whites” began to move in mass numbers to the plains. Many were greedy and wanted to solve what they called the “Indian problem”. The necessary solution which they saw was to get the Native Americans to be “civilized”. Native Americans were pushed to work on family farms to support themselves in the plains.
In 1887, the Dawes-Severalty Act was passed. It split up the Native American land into smaller “allotments”. This Act was considered to be a humanitarian-centered one, though its effects were opposite of those hoped for. The government tried to make certain that the Native Americans wouldn’t be tricked into selling their lands for low prices by enforcing a limit as to when they could sell their lands- after receiving an allotment, and Indian had to wait at least 25 years to sell it. The Severalty Act also allowed for government funding of Native American schooling and training. If the Native Americans lived “separate from any tribe” and “adopted the habits of civilized life”, the Dawes-Severalty Act gave them citizenship in the United States.
In the end, all of these factors successfully removed a large portion of Native American culture, thereby leaving them without a culture for support while trying to be assimilated into the American way of life. The Indians were ticked into giving up land for little money (despite the Dawes-Severalty Act). If they did keep their lands, they were taxed at unfair rates for them.
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
15 November 2006
spanish-american war history mid-term essay
Cassanndre Sager
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Spanish American War essay
In the 1890s the United States public had developed a "soft spot" for the Spanish ruled Cuba. The media in the United States played on that emotion of the public with exaggerated tales of horrible treatment of Cuba from the Spanish. The American public bought into these stories and felt an urge to go into Cuba and free the Cubans from Spanish rule. President Cleveland, however, thought it unwise to go into Cuba and assist the Cubans in attaining independence from Spain. He did, though, recognize the benefits of Cuba being an independent nation, and thusly pressured Spain to release its hold on Cuba. Cleveland offered for the United States to act as a mediator between Cuba and Spain, but Spain was too prideful to let Cuba go.
In 1896 President McKinley came into the office. He had a more lax view of what the United States government should do to aid the Cubans. He warned Spain that Cuba would become even more adamant for independence and cause its governing country trouble, and that it would be best for Spain to act on the Cuban sentiments immediately. Spain ignored McKinley’s advice, and that was that. It should be noted, however, that McKinley did not lack sentiments for the Cubans situation- he donated money to the Red Cross Cuban relief fun anonymously. Despite that, he maintained the opinion that it would be best for all if the United States stayed out of the Spanish-Cuban conflict and hoped that Spain would come to its senses and realize what great things could happen if it would just negotiate with the Cuban nationalists.
Too bad for McKinley- in 1898 there began to riots in Havana. To help the situation, McKinley sent the USS Maine to Havana so that the American citizens there would be safe during this time of rioting. The cause of what happened next has remained a mystery- the Maine exploded. No one really knows the cause of its explosion, but Americans were ready to jump in and blame Spain, and no one checked that finger-pointing. This was where the Spanish American War started. The war was a result of the American public’s pity for the Cubans and growing disdain for the Spanish and their treatment over Cuba. There was very little chance of Spain and Cuba sitting down to talk things out now, and very little chance of the American public approving of such waiting. And so McKinley sent troops to “secure a full and final termination of hostilities in Cuba”. Quickly thereafter, Congress recognized Cuba as an independent country and had troops begin to drive the Spanish out of Cuba. Of course this angered Spain, and war was declared on the United States.
The consequences of the Spanish-American War were these: Cuba gained independence, Spain was still able to maintain some dignity from not just giving up Cuba, and the United States inherited a big problem- The Philippines.
When war had been declared on the United States by the Spanish, Commodore George Dewey of the navy’s Asiatic Squadron destroyed Spain’s fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines. This caused the United States to have to consider seriously what it was going to do with the Philippines, now that it was under US control. Allow the Filipino people to be independent? Or annex the little nation? Eventually the Philippines were annexed into the United States, which caused no little uproar from Filipino nationalists. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo (who had assisted the United States in defeating the Spanish at Manila Bay), the Filipino people opened out in a guerrilla war against the United States that would result in more tragedies than the Spanish-American War. The rules of war were not followed- sneak attacks and abuse of prisoners and other such atrocities were common in this war. Many American soldiers died. A commission sent in 1899 by McKinley to the Philippines expressed its opinion that the reason for the Filipino outrage was the nationalist Filipino leaders wanting independence. This commission told McKinley that it would be in the United States’ and the Philippines’ best interested if the US allowed the Philippines independence. This did not happen, however, because a second commission led by William H. Taft resulted in Taft becoming a governor over the Philippines, and pacifying the Filipino nationalists.
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Spanish American War essay
In the 1890s the United States public had developed a "soft spot" for the Spanish ruled Cuba. The media in the United States played on that emotion of the public with exaggerated tales of horrible treatment of Cuba from the Spanish. The American public bought into these stories and felt an urge to go into Cuba and free the Cubans from Spanish rule. President Cleveland, however, thought it unwise to go into Cuba and assist the Cubans in attaining independence from Spain. He did, though, recognize the benefits of Cuba being an independent nation, and thusly pressured Spain to release its hold on Cuba. Cleveland offered for the United States to act as a mediator between Cuba and Spain, but Spain was too prideful to let Cuba go.
In 1896 President McKinley came into the office. He had a more lax view of what the United States government should do to aid the Cubans. He warned Spain that Cuba would become even more adamant for independence and cause its governing country trouble, and that it would be best for Spain to act on the Cuban sentiments immediately. Spain ignored McKinley’s advice, and that was that. It should be noted, however, that McKinley did not lack sentiments for the Cubans situation- he donated money to the Red Cross Cuban relief fun anonymously. Despite that, he maintained the opinion that it would be best for all if the United States stayed out of the Spanish-Cuban conflict and hoped that Spain would come to its senses and realize what great things could happen if it would just negotiate with the Cuban nationalists.
Too bad for McKinley- in 1898 there began to riots in Havana. To help the situation, McKinley sent the USS Maine to Havana so that the American citizens there would be safe during this time of rioting. The cause of what happened next has remained a mystery- the Maine exploded. No one really knows the cause of its explosion, but Americans were ready to jump in and blame Spain, and no one checked that finger-pointing. This was where the Spanish American War started. The war was a result of the American public’s pity for the Cubans and growing disdain for the Spanish and their treatment over Cuba. There was very little chance of Spain and Cuba sitting down to talk things out now, and very little chance of the American public approving of such waiting. And so McKinley sent troops to “secure a full and final termination of hostilities in Cuba”. Quickly thereafter, Congress recognized Cuba as an independent country and had troops begin to drive the Spanish out of Cuba. Of course this angered Spain, and war was declared on the United States.
The consequences of the Spanish-American War were these: Cuba gained independence, Spain was still able to maintain some dignity from not just giving up Cuba, and the United States inherited a big problem- The Philippines.
When war had been declared on the United States by the Spanish, Commodore George Dewey of the navy’s Asiatic Squadron destroyed Spain’s fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines. This caused the United States to have to consider seriously what it was going to do with the Philippines, now that it was under US control. Allow the Filipino people to be independent? Or annex the little nation? Eventually the Philippines were annexed into the United States, which caused no little uproar from Filipino nationalists. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo (who had assisted the United States in defeating the Spanish at Manila Bay), the Filipino people opened out in a guerrilla war against the United States that would result in more tragedies than the Spanish-American War. The rules of war were not followed- sneak attacks and abuse of prisoners and other such atrocities were common in this war. Many American soldiers died. A commission sent in 1899 by McKinley to the Philippines expressed its opinion that the reason for the Filipino outrage was the nationalist Filipino leaders wanting independence. This commission told McKinley that it would be in the United States’ and the Philippines’ best interested if the US allowed the Philippines independence. This did not happen, however, because a second commission led by William H. Taft resulted in Taft becoming a governor over the Philippines, and pacifying the Filipino nationalists.
populist history mid-term essay
Cassanndre Sager
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Populist Essay
First came the Agricultural Depression, then the Alliance Movement, and from that the Populist, or Peoples', Movement was born. The Populist movement was a direct descendant of the farmers' despair from the agricultural depression. The farmers formed alliances in the hopes of extending their cause to the attention of the public and especially the government, with the goal to have their situations bettered. As these farmers' alliances picked up speed, they joined into a larger group, which- in the search of more support- extended its opinions to other matters in America's society.
The Alliance Movement was born of farmers' alliances- which were basically clubs of farmers that got together to support each other and make their problems known. The Knights of Reliance were a well-known farmer's alliance. It originated in Lampasas County, Texas in the late 1870s. It began to extend its reach to northeastern Texas as the Farmer's Alliance. Bu 1885, the Farmer's Alliance had gained popularity and swept over the cotton states.
The Alliances woul buy farm supplies in mass numbers and then sell the supplies to farmers at reasonable prices. This was a great manuever for saving farmers money in a time when money was tight and prices high.
These Alliance members who were considered socioeconomic radicals by others, had differing ideas of policies that the Alliance should support. However, they all agreed on a few key points. Firstly, agricultural goods did not sell for high enough prices. Secondly, transportation prices were too low. And Thirdly, the United States' financial system was messed up. Also, most every Alliance member recognized the need to have "political action" on their behalf if their cause was to succeed.
In 1890 the Alliances started doing a lot of campaining and got really good results in the elections. People were elected for government positions who were for improving the famers' plight.
In 1892 the Peoples', or Populist, Party was formed at a meeting in St. Louis. A few months laer there was a national convention in Omaha which consisted of farm leaders, representatives from the Knights of Labor, and other proffesional reformers. At this meeting Gerneral James B. Weaver (of Iowa) was nominated the president of the Peoples' Party. General Weaver wrote a platform which stated what the people of the Populist Party desired, and what the goal of the Party was. This platform included:
-having a "graduated income tax"
-national ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones and
-a "subtreasury plan"
The subtreasury plan outlined a plan in which the government would pay greenback loans to farmers, which would be "secured by crops held in storage in federal warehouses" (The American Nation V2 (P). Carnes & Garraty. 2006. Pearson Education Inc.). When prices of crops rose, the farmers would sell their crops and so could pay their loans. The subtreasury plan also desired an unlimited number of silver coins to be released and for the supply of money to be increased to the point where there was at least 50 cents per capita.
The Populist Party needed to get more support in order to have their cause realized. It needed both government and industrial workers' support and black farmers' support. In order to achieve more government response, the Populist Party supported initiative and referandum procedures and also supported the idea of electing senators by popular vote. To get the workers' support, the Party was against Pinkerton detectives being used in labor disputes, and supported the 8-hour day and restricting "undesirable" immigration. The plan to get help from Black Farmers was to support civil rights, which would allow the black farmers to vote, thus giving them a political voice which could be added to the Populist cause. These black farmers were pretty ready to support the Populists. They had had a Colored Alliance for awhile, and had even sent representatives to the Populist meeting in St. Louis.
The Populist Party's overall views was that they were a "victimized majority"- the majority of people agreed with them and suffered as they did, however, they just weren't heard as well as the minorities. They were ambivalent about the free enterprise system, and also believed that socio-economic problems weren't caused by a messed-up system, but rather by people being selfish and messing things up.
Two famous Populist Leaders were Tom Watson and Ignatius Donnelly. Watson was a congressman from Georgia and was known for his temper. Donnelly was known as the "Minnesota Sage" and claimed to be well educated about science, economics, and Shakespeare. Watson ended up loosing his congress seat, and had a basically uneventful Populist political life afterward. Donelly wanted to be elected the governor of Minnesota. He had gained some recognition having written a book called The Golden Bottle, but desired to have an extremely lively campaign to assist his being voted for as governor. In this campaign, he made 150 speeches! (Can you say "overzealous"?) Unfortunately for him, Donnelly ended up loosing the election.
History 222 Sennet
13 November 2006
Mid Term- Populist Essay
First came the Agricultural Depression, then the Alliance Movement, and from that the Populist, or Peoples', Movement was born. The Populist movement was a direct descendant of the farmers' despair from the agricultural depression. The farmers formed alliances in the hopes of extending their cause to the attention of the public and especially the government, with the goal to have their situations bettered. As these farmers' alliances picked up speed, they joined into a larger group, which- in the search of more support- extended its opinions to other matters in America's society.
The Alliance Movement was born of farmers' alliances- which were basically clubs of farmers that got together to support each other and make their problems known. The Knights of Reliance were a well-known farmer's alliance. It originated in Lampasas County, Texas in the late 1870s. It began to extend its reach to northeastern Texas as the Farmer's Alliance. Bu 1885, the Farmer's Alliance had gained popularity and swept over the cotton states.
The Alliances woul buy farm supplies in mass numbers and then sell the supplies to farmers at reasonable prices. This was a great manuever for saving farmers money in a time when money was tight and prices high.
These Alliance members who were considered socioeconomic radicals by others, had differing ideas of policies that the Alliance should support. However, they all agreed on a few key points. Firstly, agricultural goods did not sell for high enough prices. Secondly, transportation prices were too low. And Thirdly, the United States' financial system was messed up. Also, most every Alliance member recognized the need to have "political action" on their behalf if their cause was to succeed.
In 1890 the Alliances started doing a lot of campaining and got really good results in the elections. People were elected for government positions who were for improving the famers' plight.
In 1892 the Peoples', or Populist, Party was formed at a meeting in St. Louis. A few months laer there was a national convention in Omaha which consisted of farm leaders, representatives from the Knights of Labor, and other proffesional reformers. At this meeting Gerneral James B. Weaver (of Iowa) was nominated the president of the Peoples' Party. General Weaver wrote a platform which stated what the people of the Populist Party desired, and what the goal of the Party was. This platform included:
-having a "graduated income tax"
-national ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones and
-a "subtreasury plan"
The subtreasury plan outlined a plan in which the government would pay greenback loans to farmers, which would be "secured by crops held in storage in federal warehouses" (The American Nation V2 (P). Carnes & Garraty. 2006. Pearson Education Inc.). When prices of crops rose, the farmers would sell their crops and so could pay their loans. The subtreasury plan also desired an unlimited number of silver coins to be released and for the supply of money to be increased to the point where there was at least 50 cents per capita.
The Populist Party needed to get more support in order to have their cause realized. It needed both government and industrial workers' support and black farmers' support. In order to achieve more government response, the Populist Party supported initiative and referandum procedures and also supported the idea of electing senators by popular vote. To get the workers' support, the Party was against Pinkerton detectives being used in labor disputes, and supported the 8-hour day and restricting "undesirable" immigration. The plan to get help from Black Farmers was to support civil rights, which would allow the black farmers to vote, thus giving them a political voice which could be added to the Populist cause. These black farmers were pretty ready to support the Populists. They had had a Colored Alliance for awhile, and had even sent representatives to the Populist meeting in St. Louis.
The Populist Party's overall views was that they were a "victimized majority"- the majority of people agreed with them and suffered as they did, however, they just weren't heard as well as the minorities. They were ambivalent about the free enterprise system, and also believed that socio-economic problems weren't caused by a messed-up system, but rather by people being selfish and messing things up.
Two famous Populist Leaders were Tom Watson and Ignatius Donnelly. Watson was a congressman from Georgia and was known for his temper. Donnelly was known as the "Minnesota Sage" and claimed to be well educated about science, economics, and Shakespeare. Watson ended up loosing his congress seat, and had a basically uneventful Populist political life afterward. Donelly wanted to be elected the governor of Minnesota. He had gained some recognition having written a book called The Golden Bottle, but desired to have an extremely lively campaign to assist his being voted for as governor. In this campaign, he made 150 speeches! (Can you say "overzealous"?) Unfortunately for him, Donnelly ended up loosing the election.
13 November 2006
progressive history mid-term essay
The progressive movement was a period of development in American history. It had some great causes which it wished to achieve, such as the well-known cause of getting women to vote; and the humane causes of discouraging child labor and encouraging worker rights. Progressivists also disliked large companies, or merging businesses in order to form huge business or large corporations- because these could easily monopolize the industry and the economy of the United States.
One of the many roots of Progressivism was fighting government corruption and inefficiency. Progressivists had an overall positive view of peoples' basic nature. They believed that social problems stemmed not from the peoples' faults, but from politicians who made selfish choices and did not consider the good of the people.
Another root of Progressivism was the birth of the industrial era between 1897 and 1904. In 1899 different industrial companies began to merge. Progressivists were afraid of "bigness"- if one company got too powerful, then it could achieve a monopoly over other businesses and also treat their workers how they would like because of no competition to persuade them to treat workers better. These fears pushed Progressiveists to demand "trusts" to be dissolved or at the very least to have such big corporations on a tight leash by the government.
Tying in with the workers' rights, was another root of Progressivism- the rights of the poor. It is in this area of progressivism that women are most noted. Urban people in poverty had awful working and living conditions. These conditions were so bad the these people were often referred to "slum dwellers". Another problem the Progressivists wished to tackle was that of child labor, and hours and working conditions (especially for women). Progressivists pushed strongly for eight hour days, arguing that poor people could advance their lots by educating themselves in those extra hours in the day, and also that people would live longer because they wouldn't be wearing themselves out working long, hard jobs. Another problem in working conditions in safety- with the industrial era came, obviously, machinery, which had to be operated by people. Machinery came invariably with accidents- injured workers. Progressivists wanted safety rules enforced to prevent injuries on the job. Correspondingly, compensation or insurance for injured workers was pushed for.
Progressivism broke the Republican party in twain, with Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt leading the Progressive Republicans and William Howard Taft leading the more laid-back Republicans, which were referred to as the "Old Guard". This split-up resulted in favorable conditions for the Democrats in the election of 1912 (Woodrow Wilson was elected because the Republican Party had split their votes).
In 1910 Theodore Roosevelt wanted to set-up a new social legislative program which would be called New Nationalism. This program would be against special privileges, against wealthy people getting money by breaking laws, and the program would encourage the government having more control. Around that period of time, George W. Perkins and Frank Munsley egged Roosevelt on to start a new party. Soon thereafter, Roosevelt ended up taking their advice and was nominated the President of the Progressivist Party and the Progressive party's first convention in Chicago. It was at this time that Roosevelt said he felt "as strong as a bull moose." This statement followed him throughout the rest of his political career. At this conference, Roosevelt called for a "confession of faith". He represented his party in wanting strict regulation of corporations, national presidential primaries, minimum wage for workers, workers' compensation laws, no child labor, and other reformative motions.
Among Progressivisms many effects on the nation, the one which stands out most clearly is Women's Suffrage. Women's Suffrage was born from Progressivism and was fueled by the same spirit- equal rights for all. An argument for women being able to vote was posted in a 1911 women's suffrage parade. The poster read, "New York Sate denies the vote to criminals, lunatics, idiots, and women." This demonstrates the gender inequality of that time period. Why were women not allowed to vote? It occurred to many that the reason may just be that women were thought to be less competent than men. There were two very large women's suffrage associations- the AWSA(American Woman's Suffrage Association) and the NWSA (National Woman's Suffrage Association). The AWSA was mostly concerned with women being able to vote. The NWSA was concerned with many other issues as well as women voting. Two famous people from the NWSA were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who led this association and are well-known for their work in progressing women's rights.
One of the many roots of Progressivism was fighting government corruption and inefficiency. Progressivists had an overall positive view of peoples' basic nature. They believed that social problems stemmed not from the peoples' faults, but from politicians who made selfish choices and did not consider the good of the people.
Another root of Progressivism was the birth of the industrial era between 1897 and 1904. In 1899 different industrial companies began to merge. Progressivists were afraid of "bigness"- if one company got too powerful, then it could achieve a monopoly over other businesses and also treat their workers how they would like because of no competition to persuade them to treat workers better. These fears pushed Progressiveists to demand "trusts" to be dissolved or at the very least to have such big corporations on a tight leash by the government.
Tying in with the workers' rights, was another root of Progressivism- the rights of the poor. It is in this area of progressivism that women are most noted. Urban people in poverty had awful working and living conditions. These conditions were so bad the these people were often referred to "slum dwellers". Another problem the Progressivists wished to tackle was that of child labor, and hours and working conditions (especially for women). Progressivists pushed strongly for eight hour days, arguing that poor people could advance their lots by educating themselves in those extra hours in the day, and also that people would live longer because they wouldn't be wearing themselves out working long, hard jobs. Another problem in working conditions in safety- with the industrial era came, obviously, machinery, which had to be operated by people. Machinery came invariably with accidents- injured workers. Progressivists wanted safety rules enforced to prevent injuries on the job. Correspondingly, compensation or insurance for injured workers was pushed for.
Progressivism broke the Republican party in twain, with Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt leading the Progressive Republicans and William Howard Taft leading the more laid-back Republicans, which were referred to as the "Old Guard". This split-up resulted in favorable conditions for the Democrats in the election of 1912 (Woodrow Wilson was elected because the Republican Party had split their votes).
In 1910 Theodore Roosevelt wanted to set-up a new social legislative program which would be called New Nationalism. This program would be against special privileges, against wealthy people getting money by breaking laws, and the program would encourage the government having more control. Around that period of time, George W. Perkins and Frank Munsley egged Roosevelt on to start a new party. Soon thereafter, Roosevelt ended up taking their advice and was nominated the President of the Progressivist Party and the Progressive party's first convention in Chicago. It was at this time that Roosevelt said he felt "as strong as a bull moose." This statement followed him throughout the rest of his political career. At this conference, Roosevelt called for a "confession of faith". He represented his party in wanting strict regulation of corporations, national presidential primaries, minimum wage for workers, workers' compensation laws, no child labor, and other reformative motions.
Among Progressivisms many effects on the nation, the one which stands out most clearly is Women's Suffrage. Women's Suffrage was born from Progressivism and was fueled by the same spirit- equal rights for all. An argument for women being able to vote was posted in a 1911 women's suffrage parade. The poster read, "New York Sate denies the vote to criminals, lunatics, idiots, and women." This demonstrates the gender inequality of that time period. Why were women not allowed to vote? It occurred to many that the reason may just be that women were thought to be less competent than men. There were two very large women's suffrage associations- the AWSA(American Woman's Suffrage Association) and the NWSA (National Woman's Suffrage Association). The AWSA was mostly concerned with women being able to vote. The NWSA was concerned with many other issues as well as women voting. Two famous people from the NWSA were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who led this association and are well-known for their work in progressing women's rights.
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