Westward Expansion Questions

Westward Expansion following the Civil War

1. What are some of the main reasons that the federal government's policy of assimilation failed?

The federal government's policy of assimilation was doomed to fail from the very beginning. First and foremost, the white and Native American cultures were so fundamentally different that there was little to no way any sort of compromise could have been reached. The Native Americans did not believe that land could be owned or acquired; the concept of white settlers taking over their land could not be comprehended by them. The theory of assimilation may have seemed good in concept, but in practice, it floundered and eventually failed. Part of this had to do with the fact that as the government broke more and more of the promises it had made to the Native Americans, the Native Americans became less and less willing to cooperate with the white man. The government set aside specific lands for the Native Americans, but these lands often violated traditional hunting grounds, and of course the government did little to stop racist army officials from massacring many, many Native Americans in the name of Westward Expansion. Many whites resented any Native Americans who would not assimilate (and even after some Native Americans tried to assimilate, they faced prejudice and hatred). What the whites simply could not make sense of was that asking the Native Americans to adapt to their way of life was just as ridiculous as asking the whites to completely change their culture to comply with the Native American societies. The majority of the whites were a settled, farming society, who focused deeply on Christian or Catholic religion. The Native Americans were a more rural, free-roaming society, who focused on their traditional spiritual and cultural religions and used hunting as their primary source of food. Neither side could mesh easily with the other, and the federal government simply refused to believe this until it was too late.

2. How successful were government efforts to promote settlement of the Great Plains? Give examples to support your answer.

The government efforts to promote settlement of the Great Plains were extremely successful; perhaps even too successful. As it became easier to access the West, the population in said area boomed. People had heard tales of poor farmers who had made their fortunes almost overnight finding gold, or of all the free land available to create enormous farms. Many Americans viewed the West as a chance to start a new, financially sound life. The government encouraged this view, and in a push to get the land settled, began handing out passels of land with abandon. The Homestead Act is the most well known government effort; Americans jumped at the chance for free land. Soon, people were moving out West even before they had officially received land. The railroads played a major part in this rush to the West, as well - not only did they make it easier for people to get out West, they created millions of job opportunities towards the Great Plains. The government did not have to give very much encouragement to get people to move out West, seeing as there was already a craze to head West, but their efforts exponentially increased the number of people who could settle successfully. All in all, the government's efforts worked very well.