The American Cowboy

Today were are looking at a true American Icon.... The Cowboy! By examining the job of the cowboy we can come to understand who they were as Americans. The clothes are unique and purposeful. The job was grueling, rough and quite dangerous. The pay was abysmal and the hours were Loooooooooong! it was a period in American History that only lasted about 20 years, but remains an important and much talked about subject in our heritage.

The Dawes Act/Boarding Schools

Today we are finishing up our studies on the Plains Indians. We examined the decision to send Indian children to boarding schools to become "Americanized". It was a very drastic and radical experiment where the children were striped of their belongings, beliefs, language, names and customs. They were replaced by American culture, but done in a strict, military style approach. This was designed and intended to save the Indian population from government welfare, starvation and possible extinction.

"Kill the Indian to Save the Man" was the motto of many Boarding Schools

Start of the Indian Wars

Conflicts between White Settlers and Plains Indians started to get increasing more violent after the end of the Civil War. Indians that agreed to live on increasingly smaller reservations became frustrated,malnourished and angry. Many white settlers snuck on to Indian Reservations in search of gold, silver and buffalo hides. Both sides behaved badly and it eventually led to a period of time known as the Indian Wars. Many Plains Indian warriors left the reservations hoping to survive on their own and the U.S.military was brought in to find them.

Native American and the Buffalo

Today we are learning about the many conflicts between American settlers and Plains Indians in the late 1800's. Where Plains Indians do not believe in owning the land, white settlers came to farm and put up fences. Where Plains Indians saw the buffalo as sacred and religious, white hunters saw it as a money making opportunity. These two culture were going to clash and the confrontations became known as the Indians Wars of the late 1800's.

Miners and a Quiz

Today in class we are looking specifically at techniques, difficulties and perils involved in early gold mining operations in California. Using a section of the series Into the West, students will see how the average person could get scooped up in the Gold Rush and how some poor decisions were made along the way by many. Educational, entertaining and also a good lesson on greed and human nature!

Quiz: Tomorrow
Hint..."The effects of the transcontinental railroad on the U.S." is your essay question. Use your chart or download from the notes on the right of this page.

Railroad Building/Effects on America

Today we are continuing our look at the building of the transcontinental railroad as well as the effect it had on America. We completed a chart that showed how 4 different areas were effected by the Transcontinental RR.

We then looked at some video clips of the problems that occured on the railroad including tunneling, explosives, avalanches and racism toward immigrant workers.

Video Clips:
Dangerous Jobs and Explosives
Musical Tribute to Chinese Workers
Musical Tribute to Irish Workers

The Transcontinental Railroad

Today in social studies we are looking at one of our greatest achievement in American History.

Some Loose Ends

Today I gave make up exams for those who missed the test on Friday. Grades for the Exam and Grades for the mid-marking period will be calculated and given tomorrow.

We needed to examine in greater detail the idea of Sharecropping and how in many ways it became the replacement economic system for slavery.

I also wanted the students to know about the evolution of the Ku Klux Klan after reconstruction. We looked at the rise in the 1920's, the clan vs civil rights, and the modern day KKK.