Living in Washington TerritoryPacific Northwest History

Mr. Rice

April 28 , 2011

Things to Keep in Mind…

• Manifest Destiny• John L O’Sullivan

• Reasons for going west:• Social Mobility• Abolitionism• Financial Gain

• The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850:• Gave 320 Acres to white males and

doubled that if you had a wife.• Congress creates the Washington Territory

in 1853

Living in the Territories

• There was nothing easy about living in territorial Washington

• Along with the danger of animals and diseases there was also the persistent threat of natives.

• This was made possible by advancements in technologies such as – • The John Deer Plow• Covered Wagons• Advancements in hunting and rifling• Continental Railroad• The mechanical reaper

Map of Washington Territory

Plotting the West

• Property lines and Boundaries were split by doing the following –

• First, the land was surveyed and broken into townships, sections consisting of 640 acres, and each section was divided into quarters.

• Corners would be marked by settlers (Homesteaders) or by marking a “Witness Tree”

• A witness tree was the nearest tree to a corner.

Newspapers in the westThe majority of newspapers in the west got their start and found their success in publishing rights of homesteaders to property that they had claimed. You had to do this to advertise to all others that you were claiming the land so that if someone else had claimed the same plot then they could challenge your claim.

What was it like?

• Disease• Doctors did not know how diseases spread so

they would send many to the west to take in the fresh air and open spaces.

• Food• It was all scarce and meat and basic baking

goods were at a premium.• Fun and Games• Mail Service

• The services were far and in between at best.

Settler-Indian Conflict

• Following the Murders of the Whitmans (early Christian settlers) in 1847, conflict between settlers and Indians occurred for three decades.

• This was the Cayuse War.• After the Cayuse War the native

groups of WA were put on early reservations.

• Because of this, by the 1880s the majority of natives lost their lands and their traditional way of life.

Map of Early Indian Reservations

Free Response #6 April 29, 2011

• Must be a minimum of 3-5 sentences.

• Explain the idea of Manifest Destiny and why it was important to people in the mid 19th century. What did people hope to accomplish? What did the U.S. Government hope to accomplish?

Governor Stevens’ Plan

• Under the Stevens Plan, the Governor and Secretary of Indian Affairs wanted to – • Make treaties with the tribes of WA• Pay them for their lands and• Teach the natives to farm.

• Stevens held council treaty meetings with the natives throughout WA Territory to negotiate terms.• These treaties establishedmost Indians

would have to sell their land and then the US government would set aside land for the natives.

Indian Reservations circa 1885

Indian Reservations today

The Yakama War I

• A few years after the treaties were signed, gold was found on the upper Columbia.

• This brought gold seekers that trespassed through Yakama lands that had been given by Gov. Stevens.

• Stevens prohibited whites from entering Yakama Land, but they came anyway.

• Chief Kamiakin and the Yakamas sought revenge and started killing white intruders.

• At the same time, the young village of Seattle was attacked by neighboring tribes.

The Yakama War II

• Soldiers were sent out from Fort Walla Walla to take care of the situation, but they were quickly turned back.

• Eventually, the army sent out 600 soldiers to punish the native.

• They captured and slaughtered 700 native horses and hung 24 of the Indian leaders.

• Soon after, the army forced the native tribes to sign embarrassing peace treaties which ended the Yakama War.

Reasons for Indian-White Conflict• Food – Differences between hunting and

gathering v. cultivation and farming.

• Land Ownership – Natives had no individual land rights amongst themselves. However, white settler wanted to own and change the land.

• Language – A heavy language barrier between the two groups.

• Leadership – Settlers spoke to national leaders, while native always had to have the approval of the tribal council.

• Concept of Superiority – “The Civilized way” was prevalent among settlers.

Conflict with Natives in Summation

• Because of the fact that the natives had lived on the land for thousands of years in a semi-nomadic style, when permanent settlers came west, it inherently created conflict between the two races, both socially and culturally. Eventually, because of superior firepower and technology, the white Americans would wage a war of attrition and fear that would place all native peoples on ever dwindling reservations, usually in the worst land with the fewest natural resources.

MODERNITY HITS THE WEST

New Towns arise

• Several things contributed to the growth of cities around Puget Sound and in eastern Washington:

• Natural Resources – natural harbors, rivers, trees, fish, farmland, gold and coal, and a mild climate

• Human Elements – Hard working people, buildings, roads, railroads, ships and advertisements.

• Cities that are coming of age at this time include Walla Walla, Seattle and Olympia.

Early Industry in WA Territory

• Lumber, Timber, Logging…whatever you want to call it, it was big!

• Fishing – Salmon runs in the 1880’s contained millions and millions of fish and because of this canning fish was big business.

• Whaling – A traditional way of life for some Coastal native groups, it was big business because of an east coast demand for whale oil to light homes. Also, the whales baleen was used for an assortment of products.

New People in a New Land

• Hawaiians – Originally came to work for the Hudson’s Bay Company and end up staying and blending in with the native cultures.

• The Irish – Come out west to work in the mines, primarily in Eastern Washington, northern Idaho and Western Montana.

• Chinese – By 1870 there were twice as many Chinese miners in WA as white miners. They did menial labor such as washing clothes and cooking and had seriously restricted rights. Life was generally miserable.

Divergence of Immigrant life in WA

The 1880s - Fishing’s heyday!

TIMBER!!!!!

The Whaling Industry