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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
One Indian belief was that they had to be strong and
brave warriors to get to the Happy Hunting Ground.
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