The American West, c1835-c1895: Conflict and Tension, c1835-1854
Conflict and tension in the American West grew from the 1830s as migration across the Great Plains brought white settlers, the US government and Plains Indian bands into increasing competition over land.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn what the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 tried to achieve: defined territorial boundaries for different Plains Indian nations, safe passage for migrants along overland trails, and annual payments to the tribes in return.
- Learn why the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 broke down: the US government struggled to control the growing numbers of migrants and could not enforce the boundaries, while some tribes could not or did not respect them either, so trust between the two sides weakened quickly.
- Learn the significance of the Indian Appropriations Act of 1851: it provided US government funding to begin relocating tribes onto reservations, marking a shift from treaties recognising shared territory towards a policy of confining Plains Indians to smaller, separate areas of land.
- Learn why rising migration increased tension even where no formal fighting occurred: wagon trains disturbed and killed buffalo, damaged grazing land and competed for water, directly threatening the resources Plains Indian bands depended on.
- For questions on this period, be precise about which side broke which agreement and why, rather than presenting the breakdown of trust as one-sided or inevitable.
- Keep a bank of specific supporting detail: the date and aims of the Fort Laramie Treaty (1851), the date and purpose of the Indian Appropriations Act (1851), and at least one concrete example of a resource (buffalo, grazing land, water) that migration put under pressure.
Worked example
Explain two reasons why relations between migrants and Plains Indians grew more tense in the years c1835-1854.
- Identify two distinct reasons: (1) the pressure that growing migration put on Plains Indian resources, and (2) the failure of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 to keep the peace.
- Develop reason one with detail: rising numbers of migrants on trails such as the Oregon Trail disturbed and killed buffalo herds and damaged grazing land and water sources along the route, threatening the resources Plains Indian bands relied on for food and shelter.
- Develop reason two with detail: although the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 set out tribal boundaries and safe passage for migrants in return for annual payments, the US government could not control the number of settlers crossing the land, and the boundaries were increasingly ignored by both sides.
- Link the two reasons in a final sentence: because the treaty failed to solve the underlying problem of competition for land and resources, distrust between migrants, the US government and Plains Indian bands continued to build through the 1850s rather than being resolved.
Practice questions
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Q1In what year was the Fort Laramie Treaty signed?Show answer
Answer: 1851.
Q2What did the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 attempt to set out for different Plains Indian nations?Show answer
Answer: Defined territorial boundaries, alongside a promise of safe passage for migrants and annual payments to the tribes.
Q3What did the Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 provide funding for?Show answer
Answer: Beginning to relocate Plains Indian tribes onto designated reservation land.
Q4Give one reason why the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 broke down.Show answer
Answer: The US government could not control or limit the growing numbers of migrants crossing the agreed tribal territories, so the treaty's boundaries were increasingly ignored.
Q5Name one Plains Indian resource that was damaged or reduced by increasing migrant traffic.Show answer
Answer: For example, buffalo herds (disturbed or killed by wagon trains), or grazing land and water sources along the trails.
Q6What broad change in US government policy towards Plains Indians did the Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 begin?Show answer
Answer: A shift from treaties managing shared use of the Plains towards a policy of separating Plains Indians onto reservations.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two consequences of the growth of migration across the Great Plains for relations between migrants and Plains Indians, c1835-1854.
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Describe two features of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851.
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