Identifying and Explaining Turning Points in the American West
A turning point is a specific event or decision that changed the direction or pace of developments in the American West, rather than merely being one event among many. Across c1835-c1895, several moments meet this test: the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, which together made large-scale settlement of the Plains realistic and rapid; the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, which transformed transport, trade and the buffalo's fate at a stroke; the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, which hardened US government policy from negotiation towards sustained military and legal pressure; and the events at Wounded Knee in December 1890, which marked the end of large-scale armed conflict between Plains Indians and the US government. Identifying a turning point for exam purposes means being able to state what was different immediately before and after it, not simply describing the event itself.
Before you start
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Method
- Define what makes an event a genuine turning point: it changed the direction, pace or nature of developments afterwards, not simply that it happened during an important period.
- For each candidate turning point, prepare a 'before' and 'after' sentence, e.g. before 1862 settlement of the Plains was slow and limited; after the Homestead Act and Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, settlement accelerated rapidly.
- Learn a shortlist of strong turning-point candidates with the reason each qualifies: 1862 (Homestead Act and Pacific Railroad Act, enabling rapid settlement), 1869 (transcontinental railroad completed, transforming transport and the buffalo's fate), 1876 (Battle of the Little Bighorn, hardening US government policy), 1887 (Dawes Act, shifting policy to forced assimilation), 1890 (Wounded Knee, ending large-scale armed conflict).
- When comparing two possible turning points, use a consistent measure, e.g. 'which changed developments for the largest number of people' or 'which change proved permanent rather than temporary'.
- For an essay question naming a specific event and asking 'how significant', argue directly for or against the label 'turning point' using the before/after test, rather than only describing what the event involved.
- Avoid claiming an event was THE single turning point without qualification; strong answers acknowledge that several moments across the period each changed the direction of events in different ways.
Worked example
'The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876, was the most significant turning point in relations between the Plains Indians and the US government.' Assess the extent to which you agree with this statement.
- Apply the before/after test to Little Bighorn: before 1876, US policy alternated between treaty negotiation (e.g. the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868) and periods of conflict; after the destruction of Custer's force, US policy shifted decisively towards sustained military campaigns to break remaining resistance.
- Weigh this against a rival candidate: the Dawes Act of 1887 could also be argued as more significant, since rather than ending fighting it changed the long-term legal and economic position of Plains Indians by breaking up reservations into individual plots and selling 'surplus' land.
- Compare the two using a clear measure: Little Bighorn changed the SHORT-TERM military relationship, hardening US resolve within months, while the Dawes Act changed the LONG-TERM economic and legal relationship, affecting Plains Indian landholding for generations.
- Write a supported conclusion: Little Bighorn can be judged the more significant turning point for the immediate course of the wars, since it ended the era of negotiated coexistence, but the Dawes Act arguably had the deeper and more lasting significance, since its effects on Plains Indian land ownership outlasted the fighting itself.
Practice questions
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Q1What two features must an event have to be treated as a genuine turning point, rather than just an important event?Show answer
Answer: It must change the direction, pace or nature of developments afterwards, and this change should be clearly different from what came before.
Q2In what year were the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railroad Act both passed?Show answer
Answer: 1862.
Q3Why can 1869 be argued as a turning point for the American West?Show answer
Answer: Because the completion of the transcontinental railroad that year rapidly transformed transport, trade and settlement, and increased pressure on the buffalo herds.
Q4Why can the Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876, be argued as a turning point?Show answer
Answer: Because it hardened US government policy from a mixture of negotiation and conflict towards sustained military and legal pressure to break remaining Plains Indian resistance.
Q5Why can Wounded Knee, December 1890, be argued as a turning point?Show answer
Answer: Because it marked the end of large-scale armed conflict between Plains Indians and the US government.
Q6When comparing two possible turning points, what should be used to judge which was more significant?Show answer
Answer: A consistent measure, such as which change affected the largest number of people, or which change proved permanent rather than temporary.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
'1869 was the most significant turning point in the settlement of the American West.' Assess the extent to which you agree with this statement.
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Explain two consequences of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876, for US government policy towards the Plains Indians.
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