American West

American West

The Great Plains
1. The Great Plains were in central America. In winter they were very, very cold with many blizzards. However, in summer, it was very, very hot and dry
2. There was a lack of wood, water food and shelter from the shade. There were some berries growing but very little. There were very many dangerous animals in the Plains so the White Americans did not want to go there. However, the Indians moved there as there were lots of buffalo which provided them with many resources. For example, buffalo fur was used for clothin and jewellrey and the horns were used for cutlery
Manifest Destiny
1. White Americans believed that it was their duty from God to spread civilisation and Christianity. Manifest Destiny was important as White Americans wanted everyone to be civilised ant be like them
The Mormons
1. Mormons were hated for their beliefs. The main five beliefs were: Polygamy- A man could have more than one wife... Proselytisation- Mormons should convert others to their religion... Politics- Church leaders should be given political power over Mormons and others... Property- The church should own all land... people of God- The Mormons were God's chosen people in Heaven and Earth
2. The Mormons moved West because they were unpopular in the cities. For example when they were in Missouri in 1838, they were tarred and feathered. They decided to move West as it was out of US Government control. This was successful as they were able to set up their own city peacefully without having problems from the government. However the journey West was not very successful as many Mormons died due to cholera, many wagons broke on the journey and supplies ran out
3. The Mormons faced many problems such as cholera outbreak and by spring, a plague and the bitter cold had killed 700 people. In April 1847, the Mormon leader- Brigham Young- led a 'Pioneer Band' of 143 men, 3 women and 2 children who were all carefully chosen to lead the way to the Great Salt Lake, to select the site for settlement and to begin work there. Another problem was the lack of water but Brigham Young built an irrigation system to irrigate the whole land and provide water for everyone
The California Gold Rush
1. In 1849, there was a Gold Rush in California. Many people moved West and started to mine for the gold. They spent the whole day doing back-breaking work yet found less than $5 a day
2. The 49ers were a group of people who moved to the West to mine for gold in 1849. They were important as they settled in the West as farmers and more people started to settle in afterwards
The Indians
1. The indians were a group of Native Americans who lived in the Plains. They were seen as savages by the White Americans. For example, one practice that was carried out by the Indians was scalping which they did in order to get to the Happy Hunting Ground- the Indians sacred ground. The Americans believed the only way to get to Heaven was by being a Christian- believing and praying to God- and being a good citizen. Another practice carried out by Indians was exposure. This was the idea that, if you were slowing down the tribe e.g. if you were old, they would leave you behind in the desert so the tribe could move on
2. One Indian belief was that they had to be strong and brave warriors to get to the Happy Hunting Ground.
3. The Indians had a social structure amongst their tribes. They had chiefs and councils that would make important decisions such as going to war. Ex

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