HIST 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Sand Creek Massacre, United States Territorial Acquisitions, Great American Desert
9 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
When americans started crossing over to the west, it was sparsely explored by the. Before civil war, the west was mostly indian territory - sue, apache, navajo, cherokee. Post civil war- pioneers pouring into the western united states. Owned by u. s but not settled enough to consider them states. 1890, superintendent of the census claimed for the first time, the frontier was closed, no discernible line between settled and unsettled areas. Alarmed by the closing of the frontier. Argued that the frontier is what helped america turned into a democracy. Gave us coarseness and strength and inquisitiveness, inventive frame of mind, dominant individualism. Made us what we are, pioneers made us great. Federal government played a critical role in settling the west. The kindergarten of the states, the government nurtured it"s power and developed its bureaucracy to play a more active role. Hired cartographers to explore and map the west. Topigs (corps of topographical engineers): built wagon roads.
