Impacts of the millions of Americans on the Plains Indians as they settled on the Great Plains from 1865 to 1900
The new railroads in the West occasioned by the Civil War opened up the area to economic development and new settlers. American settlers from the East entered via the Mississippi to ranch farm and mine. Native American settlers also poured from Deep South after being convinced that prosperity was only found in the West. Chinese workers constructing the railroads worsened diversity of the population in this region. The Great Plains underwent transformation because of settlers from the east. Farmers cultivated wheat and other crops on their lands and wiped out herds of American bison. The industry of cattle blossomed as the railroads provided a means of transport to market the cattle (Josephy 32).
The lives of African-Americans residing in the west were drastically affected by the increase in white settlement and disappearing of bison. Civil conflicts led to occasional victories by the American Indians despite great US military force and the large number of white settlers. By mid 1980s, over 50% of American Indians had been pushed into reservation areas that least appealed to the white settlers. Because of the civil war, there was a huge traffic of people entering the West Mississippi. These people originated from Midwest and East as well as Asia and Europe. Millions of people had been lured by the promise of riches from gold mines, cheap lands and the imagination of a better living style.
The new railroads offered a new means of transportation for the settlers while some of them sailed in order to arrive to the west coast. They settled on the Great Basin, Great Plains, and South West, enduring disillusionment, danger, and hardship. By 20th Century, the white settlers had acquired new homesteads, industries, and communities. Some of them became greatly successful although most of the settlers did not succeed in achieving the wealth they desired...