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Essay On Changing American West

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The American West changed greatly during 1860-1900. Some changes were great while others were not. The changes had a great impact on the way people lived and traveled. Their lives changed greatly during that time. Between 1860-1900 the history of the American West was heavily influenced by the actions of the national government. The railroads was one impact that influenced the changing American West. In 1862 the Pacific Railway Act came into effect. Due to this the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific could oversee the construction of the transcontinental railroad. Each of the companies received ten sections of land for every mile of track they built. Eventually they received twenty instead of ten. One of the sections they got equaled one …show more content…

The Dawes Act of 1887 was the government’s goal towards assimilation. The key points of the Dawes Act were that each Native American heads of the household was to receive 160 acres of land to farm or 320 acres for grazing. Any additional family members received 40 acres. The land was held by the government in a trust for twenty-five years. Participation in this was mandatory. The Dawes Act had negative impact. ⅔ of their tribal land was lost between 1890-1930. Any of the land that was left over opened for white people to settle on. The Native Americans reaction to the Dawes Act was the Ghost Dance. It was popular in the Great Basin and was associated with a prophet named Wovoka. They believed that all white people would die and the dead Native Americans would return to earth if they lived together in peace with the whites, abandoned white influences, and danced a particular dance. The Ghost Dance was popular amongst the Sioux that lived in the Dakota territory. The military authorities eventually outlawed performing the dance. Problems worsened when Sitting Bull was killed during arrest in December 1890. At Wounded Knee Creek cavalry rounded up many members of the Sioux tribe. On December 29, 1890 there was a massacre. Around 300 Native Americans were killed, as well as seven of their infants. Twenty-nine US soldiers were also

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