How and why was the Plains Indians' way of life destroyed by 1900?
The destruction of the buffalo, the reservation system and forced assimilation, the Dawes Act of 1887, the role of the railroads and the army, the suppression of Native culture, and the position of the Plains Indians by 1900.
A focused answer to the destruction of the Plains Indians' way of life in OCR's Making of America period study, covering the slaughter of the buffalo, the reservation system, forced assimilation and the Dawes Act of 1887, the role of the railroads and army, the suppression of Native culture, and the Plains Indians' position by 1900.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point completes the tragic story of the Plains Indians, explaining how and why their way of life was destroyed by 1900. You need the destruction of the buffalo, the reservation system, forced assimilation (including the Dawes Act of 1887), the role of the railroads and army, the suppression of Native culture, and the position of the Plains Indians by 1900. It is a key test of consequence and significance, and it pairs directly with the Plains Indians' way of life and the Indian Wars.
The destruction of the buffalo
The reservation system
Forced assimilation and the Dawes Act
The role of the railroads and the army
The Plains Indians by 1900
Try this
Q1. What did the Dawes Act of 1887 do? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. It broke up tribal land into individual plots for families, which in practice stripped tribes of much of their remaining land as "surplus" land was sold to settlers.
Q2. Explain why the government slaughtered, or allowed the slaughter of, the buffalo. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Besides hides and sport, destroying the buffalo deliberately removed the basis of the Plains Indians' food, shelter and economy, forcing them to give up resistance and depend on government reservations.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR SHP 20184 marksDescribe two ways the US government tried to change the Plains Indians' way of life.Show worked answer →
The period study opener (4 marks, two features, 2 marks each). Reward two distinct, developed methods.
Method one. The reservation system: tribes were confined to fixed areas of often poor land, where they were expected to give up nomadic hunting and take up farming, controlled by government agents.
Method two. Forced assimilation: the government tried to destroy Native culture by sending children to boarding schools to learn English and white ways, banning ceremonies such as the Sun Dance, and breaking up tribal land under the Dawes Act of 1887.
Top marks. Two separate methods, each with a precise supporting detail.
OCR SHP 202212 marksExplain why the Plains Indians' way of life had been destroyed by 1900.Show worked answer →
The period study extended "Explain why" question (12 marks). Reward a developed analysis of several reasons, with a judgement.
Reason one. The destruction of the buffalo: hunted to near-extinction by the 1880s, it removed the basis of Plains Indian food, shelter and economy, forcing dependence on reservations.
Reason two. The reservation system and military defeat: confined to poor land after defeats culminating in Wounded Knee (1890), the tribes could no longer live freely.
Reason three. Forced assimilation: boarding schools, bans on ceremonies and the Dawes Act (1887), which broke up tribal land into individual plots, deliberately attacked Native culture and landholding.
Reason four. The railroads and settlers: these split the herds, took the land, and brought overwhelming numbers of settlers and troops.
Top band. Explain several linked reasons and judge which mattered most.
Related dot points
- The way of life of the Plains Indians, their dependence on the buffalo, their social and tribal organisation, their beliefs and attitudes to land and war, and how their culture was adapted to survival on the Great Plains.
A focused answer to the Plains Indians in OCR's Making of America period study, covering their nomadic way of life, dependence on the buffalo, tribal and social organisation, beliefs about land, nature and war, and how their culture was adapted to survival on the Great Plains.
- The growing conflict over land and the buffalo, the broken treaties and reservation policy, key events including the Fort Laramie treaties, Little Bighorn in 1876 and Wounded Knee in 1890, and the reasons the US government defeated the Plains Indians.
A focused answer to the Plains Wars in OCR's Making of America period study, covering the growing conflict over land and the buffalo, broken treaties and the reservation policy, key events such as the Fort Laramie treaties, Little Bighorn in 1876 and Wounded Knee in 1890, and why the US defeated the Plains Indians.
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- The course and outcome of the American Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, the reasons for Union victory, the abolition of slavery, the aims and limits of Reconstruction, and the position of African Americans by 1900.
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