FREE ESSAY ON HOW THE WEST WAS WON

HOW THE WEST WAS WON

Table of contents
Table of contents???pg.1
(History) How the West was ?won?????pg.2
(History) Harmony Lost???pg.3
The Long Walk???pgs.4-7
Bibliography???pg.8
How the West was ?won??
For hundreds of years the early stories of the United States have been summed up by the
expression, ?How the West was won.? The classic cowboy and Indian films have always
portrayed the white settlers moving across America?s plains and mountains to be innocent
at heart in their journeys to search for gold or save souls. The Indian was always a
fierce, tomahawk-wielding warrior. Was Hollywood accurate in depicting this story?
How might history look from a different point of view? From the view of the native
inhabitants of this land, the story is much different. When the Europeans arrived the
Indians ?were forced to cope with the introduction into their environment of the most
rapacious predator they had ever faced: white European invaders,? states the book The
Native Americans-AN Illustrated History. 
Harmony Lost
Upon arrival in this new land Europeans were met with kindness and courtesy from the
natives. One account states: ?Without the aid of the Powhatans, the British settlement at
Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English colony in the New World, would not have
lasted through it?s first terrible winter of 1607-08. Similarly, the pilgrim colony at
Plymouth Massachusetts, might have failed except for help from the Wampanoags.? And the
Lewis and Clark expedition of 1874 would not have been successful had it not been for the
Shoshone woman Sacagawea. She was their ?token of peace? when they came face-to-face with
the Indians. 
The Europeans however, were greedy. And because of the way they used their land and the
limited food supply, the massive immigration caused tension between the invading settlers
and the natives. This was the beginning of the end as more and more settlers came to the
New World.
The ?Long Walk? 
The Navajo Indians emulated the pueblo. The shed their animal skin clothing for cotton
and learned quickly how to farm. These people settled in between the Rio Grande and the
Grand Canyon. They herded sheep and grew corn in the valleys. They were a peaceful group
of people, and were one with their surroundings. 
American settlers started to pour into the area and raids began. There were attempts to
negotiate treaties between eighteen-forty-six and eighteen-forty-nine but the Navajo,
with a population of twelve thousand, were very scattered, and could not have coordinated
discussions. 
Fort Defiance was built in eighteen-fifty-one. It was located about thirty miles
southeast of Canyon de Chelly. The Navajo people, to graze sheep, had used this land. And
now it had been taken over for use by the soldier?s horses. A long barrage of attacks and
reprisals had begun. These battles peaked in 1860 when one thousand warriors waged an
attack on Fort Defiance. The army was forced to abandon the fort, but revenge was the
word that would cut across the Navajo nation. The Navajo?s crops were burned, livestock
was confiscated or slaughtered, and they faced the threat of starvation. 
A peace agreement was signed in 1861, which included government rations for the tribe.
The ratios were given in a festive atmosphere, which including events such as horse
racing and betting. During the last race of the day, an army rider was accused of
cheating and was declared winner. Uproar ensued. The army withdrew to the fort where the
commander ordered them to open fire. More than thirty Indians were shot dead, including
women and children. This brought upon a new wave of violence. 
By 1863 Colonel Christopher ?Kit? Carson was named took command of the campaign against
the Navajo. His troops stormed the sacred Canyon de Chelly and burned their homes, as
well as saddles and clothing. Their sheep and cattle were slaughtered as well as two
million pounds of corn burned. Families were put under armed guard. Only a small few were
able to escape captivity. 
After months of imprisonment about eight thousand men, women and children were forced to
make the three hundred-mile forced march, known as the ?long walk?. They journeyed across
New Mexico to a dry desolate area known as Bosque Redondo. Carleton thought that the
Indians would become content there.
At Bosque Redondo the Navajo men were forced to build Fort Sumner. The soil was no good,
water was bitter, and they were given no wood for fires. And without the land and their
corn these people were in a state of desperation to make it through the harsh winter
months. This experience was all made worst by disease, and the Indians were practically
wasting away.
?Cage the badger and he will try to break from his prison and regain his native hole.
Chain the eagle to the ground- he will strive to gain his freedom, and though he fails,
he will lift his head and look up to the shy which is his home- and we want to return to
our mountains and plains, where we used to plant corn, wheat and beans.? 
--Written by a Navajo in 1865 
In the end the imprisonment of the Indians had its desired effect. Another treaty was
signed in eighteen-sixty-eight. This treaty granted the Navajo three and a half million
acres of land, which included their old home area.
During the imprisonment of the Navajo people they had lost about twenty-five percent of
their population. They were no longer considered a threat and began their long journey
home to rebuild their lives.