Westward Expansion Questions

1. What are some of the main reasons that the federal government's policy of assimilation failed?

The government's policy of assimilation failed for several reasons. One was the tendency of settlers to ignore government treaties. This caused problems because the Native Americans attacked the settlers that did this forcing the U.S. government to retaliate. This trend was not helped by the American attitude that Native Americans were savages and thus dangerous. This caused settlers to attack Native Americans, and thus the Native Americans retaliated. All of the fighting prevented assimilation from effectively taking place. Also, the Native Americans did not believe in the American way of life. They were nomadic and hunted to get food. The Americans wanted them to live in houses and farm. This also was against the tribal nature of the Native Americans. Assimilation meant that the Native Americans had to do what the U.S. wanted, regardless of what they themselves wanted. In addition, the Native Americans were forced to live in ever-shrinking conservation lands. They had to leave their ancestral lands to go to the places the settlers didn't want. The government also broke many of its promises. However this is understandable considering the actions of settlers and what the U.S. had to do in order to protect its citizens.

Think About:

• Native Americans' way of life
• Cultural differences
• Attitude of whites toward Native Americans
• Government promises

2. How successful were government efforts to promote settlement of the Great Plains? Give examples to support your answer.

The government efforts to promote settlement on the Great Plains were very successful. Once the government began selling land to settlers, people flocked to the plains in order to acquire some of the land before it was all gone. In 1889 in Oklahoma, the government sold 2 million acres of land to settlers in two days. Furthermore,the government encouraged this movement with grants, land offers and legislation. One of these pieces of legislation was the homestead act, which offered 160 acres of free land to any head of household. Between 1862 and 1900, 6000,000 families took government offered land via the Homestead act. In addition, between 1850 and 1900, the percentage of people living on the Plains went from 1 percent to 30 percent. Railroads also were given land for each mile of track they made, some of which was sold to settlers. The railroads also provided a means for settlers to easily move to the land they bought from the government, as well as providing shipping for their crops.

Think about:

• The growth in population on the Great Plains
• The role of railroads in the economy
• The Homestead Act