CONTENT STATEMENT
Continued settlement by Americans in the West intensified conflict with American Indians and reinforced the policy of the reservation system.
CONTENT ELABORATION
Industrialization led to increased demand for natural resources and encouraged westward migration by Americans.
As Americans moved west, conflicts often occurred as Americans came into contact with American Indians. Consequences of these conflicts included:
- the Plains Wars;
- the Battle of Little Bighorn;
- the Wounded Knee Massacre; and
- resistance to assimilation (e.g., Ghost Dance).
The demand for resources and land in the West changed the life of the American Indians, who continued to be displaced from their ancestral lands through a series of treaties and government actions that included:
- Homestead Acts;
- Dawes Act;
- reservation system;
- Indian residential schools; and
- Americanization and assimilation.
EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNING
Explain how continued American westward movement impacted American Indians.