Experiencing U.S. Expansion: Southern Arizona - Part II

6. What two threats did Mexico face in its northern frontier in the mid-nineteenth century?

a. The renewed conflict with Indian groups such as the Apache.

b. United States leaders desired their land because of the abundance of natural resources.

7. Why did the Gadsden Purchase have such a great impact on northern Mexicans?

      The Gadsden Purchase had an impact on northern Mexicans because it moved a number of important towns and hundreds of Mexican citizens into US territory. The Mexicans were angry at what they saw as their government’s betrayal.  

8. List two ways that cultural misunderstanding contributed to a growing conflict between U.S. settlers and Apache groups.

a. U.S settlers were unable to tell the difference between Indian groups. They often confused these groups with the groups they had made peace agreements with and those that they didn’t.

b. They often believed their allies had betrayed them. Mistrust developed and increased on both sides. These misunderstanding contributed to a growing cycle of violence and further misunderstanding created a situation of desperation for the Apaches.


9. How did the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase spark a civil war in...

a. Mexico?

The people of Mexico were angry at their government for trading so much land to the United States. They believed that the government, the economy, and society needed a complete change. In 1854, the reformers overthrew Santa Anna’s government and finally established a new government in 1861.

b. the United States?

The gain of land to the United States sparked a Civil War because there was much debate over whether the new land would be slave or free. Also, the U.S were forced to pull all the troops out of Arizona to go East to fight in the war there, leaving Arizona Apache raids alone.    


10. a. What did many U.S. settlers want U.S. policy towards the Apache to be?

Many settlers opposed the reservation system brought up by President Grant. They thought the reservations gave the Apaches resources but didn’t punish them. They also believed if they were to put more Apaches on the same reservations they would continue to raid. Some of the settlers believed in extermination and avenge them from stealing their livestock. Others wanted the Apache moved away from their land.


b. In what ways did this clash with the federal government’s Peace Policy?

U.S settlers were divided over the way but most believed that the Apaches should be punished for their action against the settler’s communities. The U.S Peace Policy sought to move the Apaches and others to new homes on the reservations, the settlers did not believe that the reservations provided punishment for the Apaches. The settlers wanted a more conclusive end to the Apache problem. This desire was in conflict with the U.S Peace Policy towards the Apache.


11. Why were the Apache hesitant to move onto reservations?

The Apache believed the government was using peace as a trick to exterminate them. Many of the Apache had already experience U.S betrayal in previous negotiations. The brutal Navaho experience of forced relocation made many Apache suspicious of the U.S government’s true plans. In addition, being forced to live on a reservation was not in harmony in the Apache way of life as it did not allow them to make their yearly migrations.

Experiencing U.S. Expansion: Southern Arizona

1. What were the two broad groupings of Native Americans in southern Arizona when the Spanish arrived?

Broad Group 1   Name for Self:   O’ odham               Spanish Name(s): Pima and Papago

Broad Group 2   Name for self:     Nnee             Spanish Name(s): Apache

2. How did the O’odham show their unwillingness to fully embrace the Spanish missions?

Although at first the O’odham welcomed the missions believing that the Catholic priests were healers who could help the O’odham against diseases and although they appreciated the other resources (food and tools) provided by the missionaries, the gifts were not free. The Spanish wanted their converts to work in the fields and their livestock used up valuable water resources. The Spanish tried to stop the O’odham from practicing their religion and the O’odham who came in contact with the Spanish had a higher risk of disease. Some O’odham stayed at the mission but others expressed their dissatisfaction by moving to the desert, visiting Spanish settlements only during times of need or yearly migration. The Spanish for their part often expressed frustration at the O’odham unwillingness to take park of their “civilizing project.”

3. Why did Apache groups raid Spanish settlements?

Initially the Apaches did not view raiding as stealing since they did not view animals as property. The harsh response of the Spanish quickly led them to view raiding as taking an enemies’ property. Once they began to realize the Spanish were their enemy, they began stealing their goods in order to survive the harsh environment they lived in.

4. What was the cycle of violence?

The cycle of violence occurred because tribes like the Apache and the O’odham went to war to make amends for wrongs committed against them. Military campaigns against the Apache would then encourage more violence rather than less. The cycle of violence was one group’s violent interaction with another creating another violent action and another rather than stopping the violence.

5. How did Spanish and Apache views of the peace created by the establicimientos de paz differ?

The Spanish believed they had ushered in a period of peace but it may be that they had just become more receptive to the Apache’s own attempts at peace. For the Apaches they believed this period to be a peace among only local bands and local communities and the peace was maintained through obligations. The Spanish gave them rations and the Apaches provided military assistance.

New Settlers in the West

1.      Read pages 10 - 18 List three reasons why people in the United States moved west.

a)      The west offered new opportunities. Such as rich fertile land for farming, forests full of lumber, and many mineral resources.

b)      Dramatic growth in the United States population from immigration required more land. The immigrants wanted to be part of what they saw as the promise of the United States. The US was the beacon of hope for other countries. Expanding land was a new way for immigrants to be part of this new life.

c)      More opportunity for freedom, persecution, religious beliefs, and better social opportunities for others.

2.      How did westward expansion contribute to sectional tensions in the United States?

Sectional tensions increased in the United States with westward expansion mainly because of the divisive issue of slavery. The North and the South began to compete to gain new states as either free or slave to try to gain control of Congress. Every time a new state joined the Union, there was more tension.

3.       What was the Peace Policy?

The Peace Policy was enacted by president Ulysses S Grant towards the Indians. The aim of the policy was to put all Indians on reservations or lands the government designated for Indian use. Religious leaders were named to enact the policy, however, the policy was not really peaceful as the United States considered all Indians not on reservations to be hostile and sent the army to enforce the laws. The real goal of the peace policy was to pacify Native Americans by making them give up their traditions and their way of live to follow the customs of white America.

Indian Removal Act

1.      Why did the United States fight or negotiate with dozens of Indian groups for the lands in the Louisiana Territory?

The US demand for land was strong. More and more settlers, miners, and other workers were moving west and looking for more land to settle. Some leaders wanted to negotiate because they saw the territory that they would acquire in the Louisiana territory as areas where they could either settle or move the Indians to giving more local Indian lands over to white agriculture and trade.

2.       In what ways did the Cherokees assimilate U.S. values and customs?

The Cherokees in Georgia created a government modeled on that of the United States. Cherokee famers participated in the cotton economy and some had African American slaves on their plantations. The Cherokees adopted a written constitution and declared themselves to be an independent nation and produced a newspaper and books. In spite of their attempts to assimilate into white society, they were not accepted. They prospered too well in the minds of their white neighbors who in fact believed there were limits to assimilation. Indian groups were expected to adopt US customs but also were expected to give up their cultural and political independence and their land. Georgia created a special police force to enforce Georgian laws on Cherokee lands and passed laws intended to make Cherokee life miserable in order to force them to leave their lands.