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The influences of the westward expansion
The influences of the westward expansion
The influences of the westward expansion
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There are three reasons violence took place in the West: personal, collective, and state-sanctioned warfare. These of course all had many factors to them like economic factors, racial and ethnic factors, American values, and labor unions. Personal violence is the most common type and it includes “assault, murder, suicide, rape, and violent robbery or vandalism” Collective violence also known as group violence in the West was mainly “banditry, lynching and vigilante actions” State sanctioned violence had to do with the Spanish conquest and Indian wars. Some examples of extreme violence were lots of Indian attacks from whites and the U.S. military forcing “marches, dispossession of their homelands, and incarceration in prisons and reservations” …show more content…
With a huge language barrier, and a lack of Indian interactions, the wagon driver pulled his pistol while taking off and began lighting off shots. The leaders of the Cheyenne witnessed this, and murdered them for their actions. The day after, Fort Kearny soldiers attacked a group of Cheyenne people, and this started another small war between the military and Indians. “The soldiers took the Cheyennes’ horses, destroyed all lodges and supplies at the Grand Island camp, and returned to the fort” These are extreme examples of violence that occurred in this part of the 1800’s, but are true stories that aren’t used for entertainment in Hollywood, or really thought of when imagining the …show more content…
Mostly all incidents in the range wars was personal violence, in other words, they were small acts of violence that usually ended up being between 2 people over the land they could run their cattle on. Using the railroad, Texas ranchers began moving their herds of cattle up to Kansas, where they could be shipped yet again in another direction to the rancher ideal place to graze. With and more of this happening, the newcomers were entering land where they we not wanted, and the West had a bit of an over grazing problem. Vigilante work made a huge appearance during another non-fictional incident of violence. The Johnson County War was the era of an extreme amount of cattle rustling. “In 1884, the association began prohibiting members from employing cowboys who owned cattle or brands because they feared that these men would claim the stray, unbranded calves of their owners” But “There were but fourteen members of the vigilance committee and they were all men who had stock on the range and who had suffered at the hands of the thieves” An incident in 1889 was an example of retaliation a couple was kidnapped and lynched for cattle rustling, the big stock growers over looked
Ellsworth was mean, and it was ugly. The stench of the its streets fell second to the odor of the unbathed saddle tramps who had just delivered 150,000 cattle from San Antonio to its freight yards. Adding to these smells were the blends of whisky, tanning leather, kerosene and carved carcasses, a revolting combination. Gunfights were spontaneous, either over a woman or a card game. When Wyatt crossed the Smoky Hill River into Ellsworth in 1873, he may have remembered the "rules of the gunman," but had no intention of employing them. The two main “rules of a gunman” were to take his time and always be armed. Although many people had warned him that it would be naive to go westward without being properly armed, Wyatt didn’t own a gun. All he hoped for was to find a peaceable job. But, only hours after hitching his horse in town he began to wonder if perhaps everyone was right. The most boisterous spot in town was Brennan’s Saloon, off Ellsworth Square; its faro and poker tables buzzed 24 hours, bartenders tapped beer and ...
McMurtry, Larry. 2005. Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West: 1846-1890. 10th Ed. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Why the Towns in the West Were Often Lawless and Violent In this essay I will be explaining why the towns in the West were frequently lawless and violent. The various factors why the West was lawless are: Geographical factors, social factors and values and attitudes. To begin with one of the reasons that the west was often violent and lawless was due to geographical factors. The size of the West was vast and this contributed to this problem.
The Battle at Little Bighorn River, the Massacre at Wounded Knee and the Buffalo Bill Show are historical events that even Europeans have in mind when they think about the Wild West and the difficult relationship between the first settlers and the Native American Indians. But what do these three events have in common? The easiest answer is that the Battle, the Massacre and the Buffalo Bill Show all involved Native Americans.
Two of the most notorious savages were jayhawkers’ Charles “Doc” Jennison and James Lane. They would invade houses and farms in their path and shoot the men and older boys and have their way with the women and girls, destroy or steal anything in their path. Lane shattered the town of Osceola, Missouri, shot the men, and burned down most of the town. It suffered over a million dollars worth of damage and Lane’s gang even destroyed belongings of citizens that were pro-union.
Geoffrey Canada shares his story about growing up in an inner city neighborhood of the South Bronx in the 1950s and 1960s. Geoffrey Canada is one of four boys who live with his mother after their father left them. Geoffrey Canada talks about the struggles of growing up in the inner city and facing many challenges. As Geoffrey Canada grew up he witnessed a lot of violence which included young children getting their hands on firearms. The prevalence of firearms among children has changed the nature of violence in the United States. Violent acts have transformed from fists, sticks, and knifes to guns. Guns have undermined the street code of honor, the OGs back in the day were ruthless but not killers, this new generation has no developed courage and fighting skills but relied on guns for protection.
One of the darkest times in American history was the conflict with the natives. A “war” fought with lies and brute force, the eviction and genocide of Native Americans still remains one of the most controversial topics when the subject of morality comes up. Perhaps one of the most egregious events to come of this atrocity was the Sand Creek Massacre. On the morning of November 29th, 1864, under the command of Colonel John Chivington, 700 members of the Colorado Volunteer Cavalry raped, looted, and killed the members of a Cheyenne tribe (Brown 86-94). Hearing the story of Sand Creek, one of the most horrific acts in American History, begs the question: Who were the savages?
In her book, Limerick describes the “idea of innocence” that permeated the American West (36). According to the author, the underlying motive for every action was pure (even when it really was not). According to Western American folklore, early settlers did intend to victimize Indians and trespass on their land, but instead came to America to pursue new opportunities and improve their lives (Limerick 36). The same ideological theory may be applied to the motivations of the sensationalized outlaws from the time. For example, in her book Limerick details the life of John Wesley Hardin, an outlaw, who began his violent life of crime at the age of fifteen (36). According to the story, Hardin shot and killed a black man (Limerick 36). However, idolized as the son of a preacher, Hardin hid his crimes behind the veils of “bravery” and “honor” (Limerick 36). He claimed that he actually shot the man --...
The development of the Western genre originally had its beginnings in biographies of frontiersmen and novels written about the western frontier in the late 1800’s based on myth and Manifest Destiny. When the film industry decided to turn its lenses onto the cowboy in 1903 with The Great Train Robbery there was a plethora of literature on the subject both in non-fiction and fiction. The Western also found roots in the ‘Wild West’ stage productions and rodeos of the time. Within the early areas of American literature and stage productions the legend and fear of the west being a savage untamed wilderness was set in the minds of the American people. The productions and rodeos added action and frivolity to the Western film genre.
All in all, the treatment of the American Indian during the expansion westward was cruel and harsh. Thus, A Century of Dishonor conveys the truth about the frontier more so than the frontier thesis. Additionally, the common beliefs about the old west are founded in lies and deception. The despair that comes with knowing that people will continue to believe in these false ideas is epitomized by Terrell’s statement, “Perhaps nothing will ever penetrate the haze of puerile romance with which writers unfaithful to their profession and to themselves have surrounded the westerner who made a living in the saddle” (Terrell 182).
All of us can agree that the only Western shootouts that we have ever seen were on the big screen in a Hollywood movie. The very first real Western shootout might just have been between Wild Bill Hickok and Dave Tutt. Hickok shot Tutt dead in Springfield, Missouri right in the market square. No matter what Hollywood movies tell us a real classic western showdown or walkdown occurred only rarely in the American West. Most of the time men were shooting each other in hot heated arguments or drunken brawls.
One of the main forms of violence in the Old West was murder; the rising tension between the American soldiers and the Native Americans was a main contributor to this violence. An example of this strain is the Sand Creek Massacre. American soldiers attacked unaware Native Americans of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe ethnic groups. All men, women, and children were killed and/or tortured. There were no survivors. “Two soldiers drew their pistols and shot her [a little girl]”, portraying that these sort of crimes came about regularly in the West (Document G). Another example of this is the Battle of Beecher Island. The Battle of Beecher Island, also known as the Battle of Arikaree Fork, was the armed disagreement between soldiers of the U.S. Army and a few Native American tribes. According to Document H, there were “at least 50 [men dead]; perhaps as many as 200 [men] were wounded” (Document H). Adding on to the uneasiness between the Native Americans and the white soldiers, many killings were encountered by foolishness, not battle. The Native Americans and the soldiers wanted to prove that their race is more macho and better than the other. Even though Document L states that “113 [people] recorded no trouble with the Indians”, Document M detects many problems with the Native Americans resulting in “919” troops killed (Document L, Document M). The white soldiers in the Old West would have loved to kill the Native American’s buffalo popu...
Few Hollywood film makers have captured America’s Wild West history as depicted in the movies, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Most Western movies had fairly simple but very similar plots, including personal conflicts, land rights, crimes and of course, failed romances that typically led to drinking more alcoholic beverages than could respectfully be consumed by any one person, as they attempted to drown their sorrows away. The 1958 Rio Bravo and 1967 El Dorado Western movies directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Wayne have a similar theme and plot. They tell the story of a sheriff and three of his deputies, as they stand alone against adversity in the name of the law. Western movies like these two have forever left a memorable and lasting impressions in the memory of every viewer, with its gunfighters, action filled saloons and sardonic showdowns all in the name of masculinity, revenge and unlawful aggressive behavior. Featuring some of the most famous backdrops in the world ranging from the rustic Red Rock Mountains of Monument Valley in Utah, to the jagged snow capped Mountain tops of the Teton Range in Wyoming, gun-slinging cowboys out in search of mischief and most often at their own misfortune traveled far and wide, seeking one dangerous encounter after another, and unfortunately, ending in their own demise.
While the western frontier was still new and untamed, the western hero often took on the role of a vigilante. The vigilante’s role in the frontier was that of extralegal verve which was used to restrain criminal threats to the civil peace and opulence of a local community. Vigilantism was typical to the settler-state societies of the western frontier where the structures and powers of government were at first very feeble and weak. The typical cowboy hero had a willingness to use this extralegal verve. The Virginian demonstrated this throughout with his interactions with Trampas, most notably in the interactions leading up to the shoot out and during the shoot-out itself. “Others struggled with Trampas, and his bullet smashed the ceiling before they could drag the pistol from him… Yet the Virginian stood quiet by the...
The game received heat from women’s advocate groups and the Native American communities. Custer’s Revenge was so bad that many retailers refused to car...