5-2.3 Identify examples of conflict and cooperation between occupational and ethnic groups in the West, including miners, farmers, ranchers, cowboys, Mexican and African Americans, and European and Asian immigrants
Although the journey West often required groups of people to help one another, settlement also brought conflict among groups that competed for access to the natural resources of the region. The discovery of gold and silver brought men westward seeking their fortunes. Prospectors competed with one another to find the precious minerals and often created a lawless society. Mining companies that had the equipment to dig deeper into the terrain competed with solitary proprietors for claims to the richest sites. Boom towns grew quickly to serve the needs of the miners and just as quickly turned to ghost towns once the ore vein had been depleted.
Ranchers and cowboys cooperated to develop the cattle raising industry. Cowboys drove the herds, owned by the ranchers, across the open plains to the nearest railroad depot and shipped them to processing plants farther east. They competed with rustlers and often came in conflict with the townspeople they encountered along the way. After the Civil War, farmers settled and fenced large parts of the plains interfering with the long drive across open ranges upon which cowboys drove the herds after spring roundup. The cowboys, who did not want to be fenced in, and the farmers, who built the fences with the newly invented and highly effective barbed wire, fought over how the western lands should be used and who should use them. The era of the cattle drive did not survive the establishment of farms on the plains.
Many Mexican Americans were also driven from their land. The southwestern part of the United States and the California coast had both belonged to Spain and then Mexico until the Mexican War in the 1840s, so the Mexicans who lived in those regions owned property. After the war, Mexicans, who were living in land ceded by treaty to the United States, were discriminated against. As a result, many lost title to their lands.
Due to discrimination in the South, many African Americans were eager to move west. After the Civil War many African Americans moved west in hopes of owning their own land. One group of African Americans that were encouraged to move was the Exodusters. The Exodusters primarily settled in Nicodemus, Kansas.
Some European immigrants moved to the West to start new lives (Many European immigrants however, were too poor to move to the West and stayed in the industrial cities of the East and Midwest). Many settled in regions with others from their home countries. They were resented by those who had been born in the United States (nativism). However, European Americans formed communities that engaged in cooperative activities, such as barn raisings, and helped each other to be successful in this new land.
Asian immigrants came to the United States to search for gold and later, in large numbers, to build the transcontinental railroads. While European immigrants, such as the Irish, built from the east to west, Chinese workers laid rails from west to east. They were often paid less than white workers and suffered from discrimination at the work sites because of their unique culture. Their presence was tolerated so long as there was the railroad to build. Once the major projects were completed, the Chinese attempted to compete with white men in mining and also provided services, such as laundries, for the miners in the boom towns. This competition for scarce resources and jobs led to increasing prejudices against the Chinese. Soon, the United States government passed a law excluding the Chinese from entrance as immigrants to the United States.
Although the journey West often required groups of people to help one another, settlement also brought conflict among groups that competed for access to the natural resources of the region. The discovery of gold and silver brought men westward seeking their fortunes. Prospectors competed with one another to find the precious minerals and often created a lawless society. Mining companies that had the equipment to dig deeper into the terrain competed with solitary proprietors for claims to the richest sites. Boom towns grew quickly to serve the needs of the miners and just as quickly turned to ghost towns once the ore vein had been depleted.
Ranchers and cowboys cooperated to develop the cattle raising industry. Cowboys drove the herds, owned by the ranchers, across the open plains to the nearest railroad depot and shipped them to processing plants farther east. They competed with rustlers and often came in conflict with the townspeople they encountered along the way. After the Civil War, farmers settled and fenced large parts of the plains interfering with the long drive across open ranges upon which cowboys drove the herds after spring roundup. The cowboys, who did not want to be fenced in, and the farmers, who built the fences with the newly invented and highly effective barbed wire, fought over how the western lands should be used and who should use them. The era of the cattle drive did not survive the establishment of farms on the plains.
Many Mexican Americans were also driven from their land. The southwestern part of the United States and the California coast had both belonged to Spain and then Mexico until the Mexican War in the 1840s, so the Mexicans who lived in those regions owned property. After the war, Mexicans, who were living in land ceded by treaty to the United States, were discriminated against. As a result, many lost title to their lands.
Due to discrimination in the South, many African Americans were eager to move west. After the Civil War many African Americans moved west in hopes of owning their own land. One group of African Americans that were encouraged to move was the Exodusters. The Exodusters primarily settled in Nicodemus, Kansas.
Some European immigrants moved to the West to start new lives (Many European immigrants however, were too poor to move to the West and stayed in the industrial cities of the East and Midwest). Many settled in regions with others from their home countries. They were resented by those who had been born in the United States (nativism). However, European Americans formed communities that engaged in cooperative activities, such as barn raisings, and helped each other to be successful in this new land.
Asian immigrants came to the United States to search for gold and later, in large numbers, to build the transcontinental railroads. While European immigrants, such as the Irish, built from the east to west, Chinese workers laid rails from west to east. They were often paid less than white workers and suffered from discrimination at the work sites because of their unique culture. Their presence was tolerated so long as there was the railroad to build. Once the major projects were completed, the Chinese attempted to compete with white men in mining and also provided services, such as laundries, for the miners in the boom towns. This competition for scarce resources and jobs led to increasing prejudices against the Chinese. Soon, the United States government passed a law excluding the Chinese from entrance as immigrants to the United States.