Plain Indians in the 2nd Half of 19th Century

1142 Words5 Pages
Prior to the second half of the nineteenth century, the Plains Indians remained unaffected by outsiders, following their traditional customs and lifestyles. Regardless of having few outside influences, their society had achieved a level of outstanding intricacy, advancement, and organization. However, with land available in the west for agricultural growth, gold mining, and the extension of the transcontinental railroad, white expansionism skyrocketed in the 1850’s. This prospect to expand westward caused the government to become thoroughly involved with the lives of the Plains Indians, who were viewed by the whites as an obstacle. These unwanted intrusions into the lives of the Plains Indians spoiled their buffalo hunting lifestyles, damaged their social and cultural lives, and hurt their overall living conditions. The government intervention and technological developments in the 1850’s were detrimental to the entire Plains Indians society from which they could never recover. The development of the transcontinental railroad was the most harmful technological advancement to the Plains Indians, as it destroyed their buffalo hunting lifestyle. Although the railroad was extremely powerful and helpful to the white expansionists, it was powerful in a negative way for the Plains Indians. The transcontinental railroad was the means of transportation that motivated white expansionism. Included in this motivation was the desire for wealth during the gold rush, the need for increased agricultural production, and the expansionist mindset to spread beyond their homeland. The main destruction that the white expansion caused was that it killed off the buffalo, which as a hunting society, was the essential source of living for the Plains Indians. They not only relied on the buffalo as a main source of food, but they also provided warm furs and means for a

More about Plain Indians in the 2nd Half of 19th Century

Open Document