Buffalo Soldiers & Native Americans

            Westward Expansion was enacted by the government in order for them to have more control over America. It started with the United States creating more colored troops. They soon realized that they needed more army presence in the West, so they created even more colored troops. The soldiers in these troops earned respected, food, and a steady job. This caused even more African Americans to move out to the Great Plains. The Native Americans that previously lived on the land called the new, colored troops Buffalo Soldiers. The Native Americans and Buffalo Soldiers fought on several occasions. After a while people started developing an interest in the Great Plains and many wanted to control it. For example, Total War was a common practice, used by government, to wipe out the tribes that lived on the Great Plains. The way the government handled Westward Expansion brought up the question, did the government have good intentions when enacting policies for Westward Expansion? In what ways did these policies impact the natives and buffalo soldiers?

            To answer this essential question we went through similar steps of the prior week. First, we assigned each group a topic to focus and take notes on as we analysed the information given. The same groups were assigned the same topics they were given last week. For example, my group had key people last week, so we had key people this week as well. After everyone had their topic we watched a series of video clips on ABC Clio. These videos were almost identical to the videos last week, except the main focuses were different. Then, in our small groups, we examined a flow chart from ABC Clio. The chart depicted important events during Westward Expansion in chronological order. Finally, we looked at two primary source documents. The documents were Helen Hunt Jackson's Century of Dishonor 1881 and Excerpts from Dawes Act 1887.
            Answering the essential question, yes, the government had good intentions while enacting the policies; however, they didn't execute their ideas strongly. An example of someone having good intentions but a poor execution is Henry Pratt. Pratt created a system of schooling called the Carlisle School System. The system focused on the annihilation of all Indians. He said, "Kill the Indian in him and save the man". It sounds harsh to say, but this was what people thought wholeheartedly during this time period. The belief was that they were doing helping the Native Americans by putting them through this system or by placing them in reservations. Also, the Dawes Acts supported the idea of stripping away Indian culture to replace in with Americanized ideas. The purpose of the acts forced Indians to submit to American ideas and adapt to the life of a farmer. If they chose to do so they were rewarded with land and U.S. citizenship. Sadly, the acts had a negative impact and resulted in the Wounded Knee Massacre. More than 150 Sioux were killed when this battle ended and Native Americans continued to resist white culture. In conclusion, there were better ways to get the desired results that the government yearned for. Instead of a gradual change they chose a sudden, harsh, and violent change that was forced upon those impacted by Westward Expansion.

"Burial of the dead after the massacre of Wounded Knee. U.S. soldiers putting Indians in a common grave; some corpses are frozen in different positions. South Dakota.

            The policies forced upon the Native Americans and the Buffalo Soldiers by the government had a negative impact on their way of life. For the Native Americans, a negative impact, was the drastic loss of land that they had to face. The loss of land is due to the Allotment Program, a response to government policies. The program said that the Native Americans' land would be divided up. Meaning individuals would get their own land, but 90% of the land went to the general public. This made it so the Natives had less land than what they started with. Also, it isn't fair to take away land that the Natives believed belonged to no one. The Buffalo soldiers, during expansion, were in charge of mapping territory, repairing forts, laying out miles of telegraph, and going into battle against unruly Native tribes. This made the soldiers undesirable to the Natives being forced off their land and caused a deep resentment between the two. However, the life of a Buffalo soldiers wasn't easy. Because of the government's dreams of expansion they placed the Buffalo Soldiers as "less important", in comparison towards the regular, white regiments. Buffalo Soldiers got the old, ratty uniforms, the weak horses, they fought in places no one else wanted to fight in, and they did whatever no one else wanted to do. The government's unjustified policies enacted during Westward Expansion caused negative impacts on the lives of Native Americans as well as the Buffalo Soldiers.

Rockefeller & Carnegie

            Many years after the Civil War ended, there was immense industrial growth in America. Due to the growth in industry there was a growth in the need for immigrant workers. Trusts and monopolies became common in the country and people known as captains of industry rose in power as well as in influence. During this time period there were two main captains of industry, John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. While Rockefeller dominated in oil, Carnegie made his fortune in steel production. Although both men were huge business icons, not everyone agreed with how they ran their companies. Some referred to the two men as robber barons. These different opinions resulted in the question, should John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie be classified as robber barons or captains of industry?
            To answer this essential question the class divided into four groups. From those groups we were assigned a topic. The topics were Main Ideas, Key People, Essential Terms, and Important Events. We then proceeded to watch a series of short videos and take notes on our assigned topic. Next we read Rockefeller's biography as well as Carnegie's and again, took notes on our assigned topic. Once we were done with the biographies, we read through a document called Primary/Secondary Sources Lesson and took notes. After all the reading and note taking were done, as a class we made one,big Google Document and compiled all of our found information onto it.
            John D. Rockefeller, a man "mad for oil", deserves the title of a robber baron. An example of him being a robber baron can be found in his overall business strategy. His strategy was to keep his production costs low and waited until a business started to struggle. Once he saw them begin to struggle, he would come in and buy out that company. This strategy is how he created his monopoly across the country. Although this way of business was smart on Rockefeller's behalf, it was unjust and unfair for him to prey on other's misfortune. He believed that God had given them "great gifts" so that they could drill and refine oil. Rockefeller was also known for bribing politicians to ensure that most things went in his favor. This action shows his corrupt views on the economic system. He claimed that , "someday I'll be the richest man in the world." This statement came true when he ended his career with $900 million, making him the richest man in American history. Even though he retired with great wealth it was believed that everything he did, whether it was buying out businesses or even donating to charity, was motivated by his personal greed for more money. I agree with this statement because every one of his moves seemed calculated to benefit him in just the right and why I call him a robber baron as opposed to calling him a captain of industry.

"This political cartoon by Udo J. Keppler appeared in the September 7, 1904, issue of "Puck." It shows J.D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil tank as an octopus with many tentacles wrapped around the steel, copper, and shipping industries, as well as a state house, the U.S. Capitol, and one tentacle reaching for the White House, as it crushes the competition."

            Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish steel producer, can be proudly mentioned as a captain of industry. Carnegie spent millions of dollars to advance the education system as well as donate excess money on public needs, libraries, etc. He had a main belief when it came to what he was going to do with his fortune, the Gospel of Wealth. Briefly, the Gospel of Wealth was the idea that every man was made rich by God and has the duty to use his fortune for the good of the people. Also, he believed in rewarding his workers by recognizing their talent and hard work by promoting them in the ranks of management. As Carnegie traveled extensively though Europe he picked up the title of the best read and traveled American businessman of his time. Sadly, his well earned reputation was ruined by the Homestead Strike that happened at one of his steel plants in Homestead, PA. In my opinion the strike was a tragedy, but it doesn't cancel out all of the good Carnegie had previously done for the country and that is why I believe he deserves to be called a captain of industry rather than a robber baron.