Conflict on the Plains (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Note

Summary

The increase in homesteaders and ranchers arriving on the plains led to more conflict between the US and the Indigenous tribes. Both colonising Euro-Americans and the Indigenous tribes competed for the same land and resources. Widespread gun ownership amongst all people on the plains meant disagreements often led to deadly violence.

When the homesteaders, ranchers and gold prospectors asked the government for help against the indigenous tribes, it often led to war. These wars did not end well for the Indigenous tribes on the plains.

Little Crow's War, 1862

• In 1851, the Dakota Sioux signed a treaty with the US government

  • They gave up 24 million acres of land in Minnesota in return for a $1.4 million annuity

  • The number of Euro-Americans occupying land in Minnesota increased rapidly

    • They even took the fertile farming land within the Dakota Sioux's reservation

  • The remaining area of the reservation could not produce enough food for the Dakota Sioux to survive over the winter

• This was made worse because corrupt agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs ran the Dakota Sioux's reservation

  • The agents stole the annuity that was meant to be given to the Dakota Sioux

  • They also held on to supplies until the Dakota Sioux were desperate and starving

    • This meant they would pay higher prices for the supplies

  • The supplies they gave the Dakota Sioux were often spoiled and rotten

• To prevent starvation, the Dakota Sioux ran up large debts with traders

  • In 1858, the government forced the Dakota Sioux to give away half of their reservation land in exchange for money to pay off their debts

• A band chief of the Dakota Sioux named Little Crow wanted to take action

  • He felt the government had broken their promise not to take away land

  • The reservation was already too small to sustain the tribe

Red Cloud's War, 1865-1868

• In 1862, gold was discovered in Montana

  • To reach the gold fields, many prospectors travelled down a path known as the Bozeman Trail

  • The Bozeman Trail crossed through land that had been promised to the Lakota Sioux as part of the Fort Laramie Treaty

• By 1865, 2,000 prospectors had travelled down the Bozeman Trail

  • This angered a respected war chief of the Lakota Sioux named Red Cloud

• Red Cloud entered talks with the US government, but discovered that the US Army had started building forts along the Bozeman Trail

  • Red Cloud decided the only response was war

The Great Sioux War, 1876-1877

• Gold prospectors used the Sioux hunting grounds called the Black Hills in Dakota

  • This went against the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty

• George Custer and his 7th Cavalry were meant to protect railroad builders

  • However, Custer was also searching for gold

• The Sioux rejected a new treaty

  • They continued to attack prospectors

• Thousands of Sioux warriors left their reservation to join leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse

  • The warriors were given 60 days to return to their reservation by President Grant, or else they would be attacked

  • Deep snow made it impossible for the warriors to return. 7,000 Sioux were outside their reservation

  • This led to the Battle of the Little Bighorn

Consequences of the Sioux victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn

• The Sioux had hoped for a truce after their victory at the Little Bighorn

  • Instead, the US Army relentlessly pursued and hunted them down

  • The government stopped all rations being given to the Sioux, which forced them to sell land from their reservation

  • Sitting Bull escaped to Canada, but Crazy Horse was arrested and murdered

• In 1877, the Sioux surrendered and the US Government took illegal ownership of the Black Hills

  • They also seized another 40 million acres of land that had been designated an "Indian" reservation