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Mr H · Site Admin Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 459

Why did the Plains Indians lose their struggle after 1876?
by Ankit Kumar, 2003 (Ankit got an A* after joining the course in Y11!)
The red corrections and comments are Mr H's.

When outsiders started settling on Indians land, the trouble began. The Indians considered the land to be theirs (or rather that they belonged to the land) while the whites wanted the land for their own as it was their 'Manifest Destiny'. The Americans saw the Indians as pests and problems (obstacles) in the way of their wealth and prosperity. The Indians on the other hand wanted the land for themselves and fought the whites if they intruded upon their lands. This led to a conflict between them when the miners and homesteaders started to arrive. The settlers were ambushed and attacked, and the U.S. Army intervened on behalf of the newcomers. The Indians lost their struggle against the government after 1876 because of the role of the army, the destruction of the buffalo herds and the reservation policy.

The army was called in every time the miners or settlers were attacked by the Indians. In 1874 when gold was discovered in the Black Hills, the gold miners flooded in. This angered the Indians as it was to them sacred land, and their arrival had broken the Fort Laramie Treaty which was made when the Sioux defeated the army in 1868. The breaking of this treaty made the Indians doubt the other promises made by Washington.

The miners were attacked by the Sioux and the army was rushed into the area. This led to the Battle of Little Bighorn, where the army was massacred by the Indians, leading to a massive outburst of anger against the Indians (from the American population in the eastern cities). The army was told to put all of their efforts into destroying the (military power of the) Sioux and put the survivors in reservations.

After the battle, the Indians had split (again) into seperate groups. This made the army's task easier as they could ambush the smaller bands of Indians with minimal casualties of their own. The Crow Indians, (bitter enemies of the Sioux), fought alongside the army and taught them all about the Sioux and their tactics. As the Civil War had ended the U.S. Army was able to put their whole resources, experience and manpower into the war with the Indians. They were far better equipped with modern guns and ammunition, in endless supply. Mass immigration to the U.S. from Europe, and hundreds of thousands of freed black slaves meant that, unlike the dwindling population of the Indians, the army had a bottomless pool of men from which to recruit. The army's 'Military Solution' worked well as it put pressure upon the Indians to be confined to reservations.

Another reason was the extermination of the buffalo. In 1840 there were 13 million buffalo on the Plains. In 1885 only 200 remained. A deliberate policy of destruction targetted first the southern herd by 1875, then the northern one by 1883. The railroads brought in hunters for pleasure and money, and the hides were collected and sent east, leaving the carcasses, abundant with meat, to rot on the plains.. Railroad workers ate the buffalo meat but the fact was most of it was left for the buzzards. After 1883, the main food supply of the Indians was stopped. This forced them onto reservations where they could get food and shelter (and be totally dependent on their new masters.)

Reservations were set up back in 1825 to keep the peoples apart. On these tracts of land the Indians were expected to farm, but they were allowed to hunt as well. After the conflicts of the 1860s and 1870s, this hunting right was taken away. The land was of poor agricultural quality and farming was difficult. They depended upon government hand-outs. Some Indian scouts, working for the government, cheated the people and took valuable goods like medicines for themselves. Diseases such as influenza, whooping cough and measles were widespread and not treated effectively. As the Indians were not allowed to follow their traditional customs, they became demoralised. Alcohol and drugs were however in plentiful supply, deliberately perhaps, and many Indians became addicts.

Chiefs lost their powers as the government took over the policing and judicial system in the Indian lands. Children were taken away to be 'educated' in the American system, and this brought confusion when they returned to the reservations. The tactic of the U.S. Government which involved breaking down the Indians' morale, values and traditions was successful in destroying their fighting spirit and communities.

HERE SHOULD GO A FEW SENTENCES ABOUT THE GHOST DANCE MOVEMENT AND THE BATTLE OF WOUNDED KNEE.

The Plains Indians lost the war after 1876 as the U.S. Army pursued them with better weapons and troop numbers, but it was a combination of that alongside the destruction of the buffalo and the forced reservation system which finally defeated the Indians.

Why is this essay so good?

In this type of response the main argument takes over and controls the whole answer.

Each paragraph will select just the right amount of information to prove the point you want to make. The answer as a whole will build up over several paragraphs.

There will be an introduction, in which you lay out what you think of the question, and a conclusion in which you tie it all up.