USA in the 19th Century: Native Americans

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    Tecumseh's Confederacy

    A confederation of Native Americans in the Great Lakes region of North America. It came to include several thousand Native American warriors. The aim of the confederation was to unite various tribes against colonizers from the US. However, Tecumseh's death in the war of 1812 brought an end to the confederation
  • The Shawnees attacked William Henry Harrison's camp

    This was on the Tippe Canoe River. The Shawnees were defeated and Harrison burned their main town. Tecumseh fled to British protection in Canada
  • The War of 1812

    General Harrison defeated a force of British and Native American troops. Tecumseh died in battle and his dream of American Unity died with him (role of wars)
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    Chief Black Hawk's attempts to oppose Western Expansion

    Black Hawk allied with the Winnebagos, Pottawotamies and the Kickapoos. However, some member of the Winnebagos betrayed him and resulted in his capture in 1832. He died in 1838 and the governor of Iowa had his skeleton on display in his office
  • Defeat of the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend

    Jackson defeated the Creeks, and they ceded two thirds of their lands including most of Alabama, to the US (role of wars)
  • Tribes secured some support from Britain and Spain

    This was pre-1815, but Native American resistance was limited (role of other factors)
  • Calhoun creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs

  • Indian Removal Act was passed

    President Andrew Jackson and congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which had detrimental effects on Native Americans. 100,000 tribesmen were forced to march westward and 25% of them died. 4000 Cherokee died.
  • Whooping cough spreads across the US

    This killed Native American babies and children (role of other factors)
  • Flooding destroys Choctaw farms and endangers tribe

    role of other factors
  • One Cherokee faction agreed to the Treaty of New Echota

    This ceded 8 million acres in return for $5 million and a new western highland (role of fed. gov.)
  • The amount of treaties negotiated with the Native Americans reached 70

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    The Seminole War

    This war raged in the Everglade Swamps until the government declared it was over. The Seminoles lost up to 5,500 people and 3,824 of them were shipped to what became known as the Indian Territory. They were originally settled on Creek territory, which created tension. It cost the US $50 million and 1500km of land
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    Small pox and whooping cough spread across the great plains

    role of other factors
  • The Trail of Tears

    This was the forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the Five Civilised Tribes. The relocated people suffered from exposure, disease and starvation while on route to their newly designated Indian reserve. 16,700 people, 4000 Cherokees, died and this is seen as an example of genocide against Native Americans (role of fed. gov.)
  • The Clear Lake massacre

    150 Pomos and Wappos were killed
  • The Pre-emption Act

    This granted permission to squatters to buy the land that they had improved
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    Epidemics cause the death of thousands of Native Americans in Hawaii

  • The end of war with Mexico

    The US took possession of a vast expanse of territory reaching from Texas to California. All of it was west of the permanent Indian frontier
  • Californian Gold Rush

    This brought miners and diseases
  • California became the 31st State in the Union

    Even though none of the 100 Tribes, such as the Shastas and Yumas, along the Pacific coast were consulted
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    The amount of buffalo decreased from 60 million to 300

    William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody was a buffalo hunter but on his own failed to make much of a dent in the buffalo population. In the middle of the century trappers who had depleted the beaver population previously turned to buffalo to hunt instead. From then on 200,000 were killed annually. Massive hunting parties occurred by train with thousands of men packing .50 calibre rifles would shoot buffalo for fun. One hunter, Orlando Brown killed 6000 buffalo by himself.
  • Congress creates reservations the manage Native American people

    role of fed. gov.
  • Roads and railroads move into the west

    role of fed. gov.
  • The fed. gov. tried to reach accommodation with the Plains Tribes at Fort Laramie

  • The Fort Laramie Treaty

    Plain Indians would stop inter-tribal fighting and let white migrants and railroad surveyors travel safely through their lands
  • Chinese workers come to Hawaii

  • The Kansas Nebraska Bill

    Allowed settlers of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether slavery would be allowed within their states borders. This worsened relations with Native Americans
  • US treaty count with Native Americans reaches 367

  • Minnesota became a state

    Its boundaries were extended 100 miles beyond the 'Permanent Indian Border'
  • Comstock Lode

    A huge silver rush occurred
  • The amount of Native Americans decreased to 300,000

    This had been reduced by between 1/2 and 1/3 since the first settlers arrived
  • The Fort Wise Treaty

    A treaty between the US and 6 chiefs of the Southern Cheyenne and 4 of the Southern Arapaho tribes. The majority of the Cheyennes opposed the treaty as only a few chiefs had signed it and without the consultation of the rest of the tribe. It reduced the size of the land help by the tribes to 1/13 of initial Fort Laramie Treaty 10 years before. This resulted in conflict and caused events such as the Sand Creek Massacre.
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    The American Civil War

  • The Sioux War occurred in Minnesota

    38 Native Americans were hanged on December 26th in the town of Mankato in America's largest mass-execution
  • The 'Policy of Conquest by kindness' rather than extermination began

  • The Homestead Act

    Granted Americans 160-acre plots of public land for a small fee
  • The Pacific Railroad Act passed

    This resulted in the lives of countless Native Americans being destroyed and 10s of millions of buffalo were nearly driven to extinction in a massive slaughter made possible by the railroad
  • The Sand Creek Massacre

    A 675-man force of the Third Colorado Cavalry attacked and destroyed a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in south eastern Colorado Territory, killing and mutilating an estimated over 600 Native American people. Modern sources suggest this was more around 150 people, about two-thirds being women and children (role of massacres)
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    The Red Cloud's War

    The Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho people fought against the US army. They won and the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 meant they gained legal control of the western Powder River country and permanently closed the Bozeman trail. This victory remained until the Greta Sioux War of 1876
  • The Medicine Lodge Treaty

    Intended to bring peace to the area by relocating the Native Americans to reservations in Indian Territory
  • President Grant advances 'peace policy' with tribes

  • The Battle of Washita River

    Also known as the Washita Massacre, this event was a brutal attack on members of the Cheyenne tribe, especially women and children. Chief Black Kettle and his wife Medicine Woman Later were killed by being shot in the back.
  • The Fort Laramie Treaty

    Following up the failure of the initial treaty in 1851, and established the Great Sioux Reservation including ownership of the Black Hills. It established that the US government would hold authority to punish not only white settlers who committed crimes against the tribes but also tribe members who committed crimes and were to be delivered to the government, rather than to face charges in tribal courts.
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    Winter campaign against the Cheyenne

    Sheridan destroyed the Native American's food, shelter and livestock with overwhelming force, leaving women and children at the mercy of the army. They had no choice but to surrender
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    Sheridan's campaign against the Southern Plain Indians

    This was successful for Sheridan but very brutal for Native Americans
  • The Civilian Board of Indian Commissioners was established

    This supervised conditions on the reservations, moulding reservation life along the lines of the reformers
  • Grant becomes President

  • The US ceases making treaties with tribes

    role of fed. gov.
  • The General Mining Act gives rise to the taking of tribal lands

    role of fed. gov.
  • The Red River War

    This saw the slaughter Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors near the Sappa River in Kansas
  • The first ghost dance movement

  • The Battle of Little Bighorn

    Resulted in the defeat of the US armies. Up to 100 Native Americans were killed with 160 wounded and 268 US army members killed
  • The Great Sioux War

  • The Dawes Act passed

    Provided the distribution of Native American land among Native Americans with the aim of creating responsible farmers in the white man's image. US citizenship was promised after 25 years if Native Americans 'adopted the habits of civilised life' (role of fed. gov.)
  • The Battle of Wounded Knee

    Also known as the Wounded Knee Massacre, involved the murder of nearly 300 Lakota people by the US army