New Symbols of the American West: A Land of Transition - Research Paper Example

 New Symbols of the American West: A Land of Transition The American West is commonly identified through a variety of classic symbols that are supposed to epitomize the spirit and character of this area of the country. These symbols include cowboys, covered wagons, log cabins, prospectors, the saguaro cactus and so on. These symbols are often criticized for their overgeneralities and lack of focus on elements that truly had an impact on the development of culture and society in this period. The saguaro cactus, for example, only grows in Arizona and a limited portion of New Mexico yet is used to symbolize the entire region from west of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. In addition, many of the symbols used provide little indication that man ever populated this area unless it were Native American warriors or (presumably) white men in hats with the funny outline that marks them as cowboys. Some of these symbols are quite valid – the Native Americans should be represented as the first people to live on the land and cowboys did play a significant role in the development of the culture – but there are other symbols that should be considered just as valid. Symbols such as a buffalo, Chief Sitting Bull, a silhouette of Mexican aristocracy, a herd of cattle, a piece of barbed wire, a gold nugget, an African American man in front of a storefront, a Chinese herbal farmer, a train engine and a telegraph would capture the concept that the Old West was never fully settled into one image at the same time that they would demonstrate those elements that made the territory what it is today. Life in the Old West, before it was ever coveted by white man, was possible because of the existence of large herds of roaming buffalo. Even before the introduction of the horse by the Spanish, the Indians had learned to hunt these large animals using every part of the animal they could. “The Indian was frugal in the midst of plenty … When the buffalo roamed the plains in multitudes, he slaughtered only what he could eat and these he used to the hair and bones” (Luther Standing Bear cited in Malakoff, 1998). The buffalo provided the Indians with their primary food supply, housing material, clothing, furs to keep warm in the winter, strong footwear, weapons, tools, fibers for making textiles, interior lighting source and even glue to hold things together. With the introduction of horses, the Indians became increasingly more successful in their hunts and more wasteful of their kills yet the bison continued to support the tribes well into the 1800s. It was the competition with the white man, first as trappers and traders and later as large scale hunters seeking deliberate extinction, which led to the near-extinction of this animal. To defeat the Indians, to protect the train tracks and to keep the cattle and ranches safe, the buffalo had to go. Without the buffalo, the Indian economy crumbled and the tribes were finally forced to yield to the white man’s dominance. Thus the buffalo is both the symbol of the region’s primary economy as well as of the willful destruction of an entire ecological and cultural way of life. It is to be expected that the invasion of the white man into the heart of the Indian way of life would have been met with some opposition and the perfect symbol for this clash is Chief Sitting Bull. The Sioux leader fought fiercely against the encroachment of the white man and serves as an example of the pride, resilience and determination of his race. He was the leader and figurehead for an association of tribes in the Dakota’s region who were united in their hatred of white encroachment following broken treaties over sacred land. “Authorities did little to prevent the Whites from coming onto the reservation and when gold was discovered in 1874, thousands of prospectors poured onto the land, ignoring land ownership and Indian rights” (Duckstander, 2005). The government directed that all Indians be confined to their respective reservations in 1876 and deployed the Army to enforce the order. With Sitting Bull taking a leadership position, Indian tribes banded together and prepared to repel the U.S. Cavalry from their native homeland. The Indians won the first two major battles at the Battle of the Rosebud and the battle of the Little Bighorn. “Aroused and humiliated by these and other defeats, the Army concentrated on a relentless pursuit of the Sioux” (Duckstander, 2005). Most Indians in this region had little choice but to surrender or be killed and some were never given the choice. However, Sitting Bull along with a small band of his supporters managed to escape north across the Canadian border.  After three years of severe hardships, those that did not die or return to the reservation joined Sitting Bull when he finally surrendered in Montana in 1881. He spent the next two years in prison but had been considered a folk hero by the white population prior to and even more so after his release. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show made him a star and enhanced his legend as it toured the East Coast states in 1885. Another element of society that is often ignored by anyone who does not live in the west is the strong presence of Mexican settlers in the Old West prior to the interest of the mostly white Americans coming out from the east. These people should be represented as aristocracy to help counter the impression that Mexicans have a low position in society. When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, it held a tremendous chunk of land in the northern continent in areas that we today call California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas (Gonzales, 2000). Both under Spanish rule and as an independent nation, Mexico had settled towns and villages throughout the west, missions served the needs of the Indians and farmers were working in much the same way as settlers from the east were working – everyone struggling together to encourage a healthy, happy life out of the ground. These territories were so far developed that each state had its own competing factions as to the best way the region should be governed and highly developed social hierarchy. For example, in California, the question of independence was only seriously considered by the elite classes with the common people taking no part. Among the elite, though, many years were spent battling over whether California should seek independence from Mexico City. New Mexico was inclined to go its own way both because of the difficulty of communicating with Mexico City as well as because of the increasing necessity for them to look to their own welfare under the assaults of the American Indians attempting to retake their territory. “Unable to help New Mexico solve its Indian problems but intent on reining in the independent-minded pobladores of the Upper Rio Grande, the central government imposed an unpopular governor, Albino Perez … [who] soon incurred the wrath of the local citizenry” (Gonzales, 2000) and inspired revolution as well as a favorable eye toward North American traders. The Mexican people of the Arizona and Texas territories nearly disappeared under the Indian onslaught encouraged by the norteamericanos from the eastern United States. Like the buffalo for the Indians, cattle are a symbol of the riches white men expected to receive upon embarking on the Old Western territories. The raising of cattle for profit was actually introduced into the western territories by Spanish and Mexican settlers in these regions, giving rise to the developed societies previously discussed. Some of the Mexican ranchers were very comfortably wealthy and were able to wield a great deal of power within their somewhat isolated towns. Seeing these ranchers gave cowboys the chance to dream of what their lives could grow to become if they just saved up enough for a start. The plains, particularly Texas, were well-suited to providing thousands of cows the necessary grasses and grains to thrive without risking valuable farmland. Cattle could roam in sheltered valleys, watched over by cowboys and dogs, and take their time getting from the plains to the railroad yards where they could be shipped to the east for butchering. The cattle drove settlement of the west along these trails from their birthplace in the West to their markets mostly in the east with the United States (Jordan, 1993). As they did so, strings of so-called cow towns would grow at the major intersections of cattle drive trails, settling the west one crossing at a time. When Texas broke away from Mexico, it was already leaning toward the United States as a strong ally because of these economic connections. When Texas became a part of the United States, it did so because it had few other options as the entire economy was based on its ability to trade cattle with the powerful country to the east. As the west was developing these cow-towns, it became necessary and desirable for farming to take root and this would not have been possible on the frontier had it not been for another important symbol of the west, barbed wire. The growing economy of the American West was encouraging more people to come out and make their fortune. For those who had grown up in the cities of the east, the open range aspect of cattle was daunting, but the invention of barbed wire made it possible for these new cattlemen to become cattle ranchers (Cook, 1998). By fencing the cattle in, they were able to operate with fewer hands, preserve more cattle and the cattle were able to bulk up more before shipment to market. As more and more cattlemen bought up land and fenced it in, more and more farmers were able to consider planting without the need to square off against their neighbors or do battle with the mostly lawless cattle drivers. “The barbed wire fence made better farming possible … Fences not only protected the growing crops from livestock, but also gave the farmer an opportunity to use the fields as pasture after harvest” (Hayter, 1960). The cattle were fed through the winter, kept protected and well-fed and encouraged further growth of towns throughout the frontier territories. Although this growth was occurring at a good rate on its own, it was because of another strong symbol of the west that many of these people migrated in this direction. The gold nugget may be considered a symbol of California only, but it is no exaggeration to say that mining, particularly hopes that gold would be found anywhere throughout the west, that drove thousands of hopeful people through the frontier territory. Although the population of the western states was widely diverse prior to the discovery of gold, the sudden influx of men in search of fortune threw these races together in often violent ways. Characterizing the spirit of the mid-1800s California immediately following the discovery of gold, Holliday suggests that the difference between success and failure was often as simple as the roll of the dice. “In April 1850, the overwhelmed harbor master at San Francisco estimated the number who had landed during the previous twelve months at more than sixty-two thousand, from ports around the globe” (Holliday, 1998). Within this climate of overcrowding, hasty building and lawless society, it becomes clear that those who succeeded were also those who were intelligent enough to branch out into other elements of service such as building, store ownership, gambling house management or pool hall proprietorship. This quest for new means of creating wealth, constantly adjusting to the needs of the moment, contributed greatly to the continuation of the frontier, entrepreneurial spirit. “In their reckless, roll-the-dice crusade for profit and wealth, the forty-niners pushed America beyond its entwined traditions of European pedigree and New England morality toward a new ethos, unconstrained by privilege or principle and measured only by the democracy of the dollar” (Holliday, 1998). This spirit was born more out of necessity rather than design as each individual found it necessary in whichever situation they found themselves in to either figure out how to carve out a niche for themselves or die in the attempt. The need to find unique approaches to survival was a particular skill for the Black people of the Old West, who forged a new existence for themselves of greater equality than elsewhere in the country and should be represented in the symbols of the region. Whether they were already free when they reached the western frontier or were still considered slaves upon their arrival, black men went to work in the gold mines and on the ranches and used the money they earned to purchase their own freedom or the freedom of their relatives. When they had no one left to purchase, they invested their money in new businesses, those that would be sustainable well into the future. “African Americans hit plenty of pay dirt – by 1863, they were collectively worth about $5 million … But their real gains came outside the gold fields – some of Gold Rush California’s most influential, educated, daring pioneers were African Americans” (Magagnini, 1998a). They built schools, newspapers, businesses, stores, restaurants and more. They gave up menial positions and became judges, managers and influential members of society sending encouragement and support back toward the east. California became a haven of sorts for black people seeking a means of finding a happier, more fulfilling life. “In 1851, shortly after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, the New Bedford, Mass. Mercury urged its black readers to seek refuge in California” (Magagnini, 1998a) and many followed the call. Left to fend for themselves and with the freedom to make of themselves what they will, black settlers proved beyond a doubt that they knew how to care for each other and they were more than capable of bringing about positive change for their community whether it was black, white or some other race. Just as the Black people played a significant role in helping to establish commercial structure throughout the old west, contributing to its transformation from frontier to settled landscape, the Chinese contributed to the west’s more open-mindedness. As hard-working as the Blacks, the Chinese were equally motivated to make things work for them. Unfortunately for them, the large numbers that arrived in America still needing to pay off the cost of their passage coupled with cultural attitudes that seemed weak in the eyes of the Anglo settlers to automatically shunt these people to the bottom levels of society. “From the time they landed, they patiently worked long hours for low pay, quickly earning the resentment of their white competitors” (Magagnini, 1998b). While they were unable to achieve the respect of their new countrymen, they were able to make a significant impact upon the western culture. For example, Yee Fung Cheung introduced the idea of herbal medicine into the Western culture when he failed at gold mining and opened up herbal stores in Fiddletown and Virginia City. He also started a long line of Yee doctors that persists in the area still today before he returned to China as a rich man. The Chinese did face a great deal of persecution, such as not being able to testify in court, but they made themselves useful in a number of ways throughout the community. “Despite the virulent racism they faced, many Chinese stuck it out as cooks, cigar makers, restauranteurs, vegetable farmers and merchants. The first Chinese laundry opened in San Francisco … in 1851; a thousand more followed” (Magagnini, 1998b). Like the blacks, the Chinese didn’t waste time worrying about not being accepted by the whites. They simply got busy making their own lives – starting their own churches, newspapers, stores, entertainment venues and gambling houses. While they did enjoy some success in the mines, the Chinese were much more successful in other areas of business and were soon found working in other occupations, sometimes just as difficult such as working the railroads that brought them. The carving up of the Great American Desert by the introduction of the first Transatlantic Railroad introduced both positive and negative change to the lives of the average individual even as it transformed the landscape, the ecology and cemented the west’s path toward settlement. For the Indians, there were almost no positives to be found as they lost their lands, their respect, their livelihoods and their ancestral cultures in the face of the marauding bands of railroad workers, army battalions and armed settlers brought in the wake of the great steam engine (Gordon, 1996). This same carving up of the land made it possible for the country to grow, though, providing the space necessary for the United States to absorb the massive influx of people fleeing repressive practices in their own countries, such as the Chinese, or seeking a means of making a better life for themselves and their families, such as the Irish. Because these immigrants arrived in such large numbers, they quickly gained the contempt and disrespect of those who had either been born in America or were otherwise of the ‘ruling’ class and skin color (Ambrose, 2000). However, the railroad provided them both with a means of supporting themselves and establishing the new life they sought, if they could survive the experience and applied their knowledge well, such as saving their money rather than gambling it away in the camps that followed them. The railroad also provided the avenue through which the Chinese immigrants, mysterious to the Americans thanks to a language barrier, could prove themselves worthy of respect and through which women were able to discover new freedoms and independence within respectable realms. The railroad introduced significant changes to the previously wild and unknown western portions of the country. While there were already many individuals living out in the empty prairies before the railroad, it remained a difficult and precarious lifestyle, frequently isolating individuals from families back east. With the railroad, law and order were introduced, more women and children moved into the west and towns began growing and producing. When the telegraph was invented, it helped speed up human communication over long distances because it didn’t depend on human travel anymore. Joseph Henry invented the first telegraph in 1831 which broke the restrictions to communication that had effectively cut off the western part of the country from the news of the eastern part of the country for the duration of a train on the Transatlantic line. A telegraph allowed messages to be passed as quickly as a signal could be sent over a wire. This invention further opened business opportunities in the west as well as contributed to a reduction in crime as scams and criminals could be identified earlier, business contacts could reach Wall Street investors relatively easily and deals could be made over the wire. Alexander Graham Bell reasoned that if a single sound could be sent via wire, why not a range of sounds, such as a human voice? He perfected his telephone in 1876 and the wires were in place for the first transcontinental phone call to be made in 1914. This opened the possibility of families keeping in touch, further reducing resistance to move ‘out west’ and increasing the perception of it being an adventure rather than a hardship. With the introduction of phones and ‘live communication’ back home, the west lost much of its wilderness connotations and became instead the exciting new cultured land of opportunity. Things pretty much remained the same on the communications front for a while as inventors explored the possibilities of other forms of communication such as radio, photography, cinema and television (Rowland, 1997), all entertainments that further fostered a sense of togetherness with the eastern areas of the country. The American West underwent significant changes during the century of the 1800s and into the 1900s. From an economy driven by the buffalo mostly for the benefit of the Native Americans to a bustling land filled with settled towns and cities chiefly dependent on cattle, farming and mining, all fueled by the railroad and kept in touch with the east through the telephone and entertainment options such as radio, the American West cannot be symbolized by a single icon or based upon a single moment in time. The West was constantly changing, constantly challenging and constantly presenting new opportunities. The entrepreneur, never say die attitude that grew out of this environment was largely the result of the vast fortunes that could be made in a relatively short period of time, but this wasn’t necessarily true all the time and often required a great deal more work and innovation than originally envisioned. Works Cited Ambrose, Stephen E. Nothing Like it in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Chavez, Ken. “State’s Latinos lost in the rush.” Bee Capitol Bureau. (January 18, 1998). Cook, Scott. “The Rise of Barbed Wire and its Transformation of the American Frontier.” American Studies at the University of Virginia, 1998. March 12, 2010 Duckstander, Frederick J. “Great North American Indians.” Dallas, TX: Rhodes Educational Publications, 2005. March 12, 2010 Gonzales, Manuel. Mexicanos: A History of Mexicans in the United States. Indiana University Press, 2000. Gordon, Sarah H. Passage to Union: How the Railroads Transformed American Life, 1829-1929. Chicago, IL: Ivan R. Dee, 1996. Hayter, Earl. “Barbed Wire Fencing – A Prairie Invention.” Heritage of Kansas. September, 1960. Holliday, J.S. “Gold Fever.” Humanities. Vol. 19, I. 1, (January/February 1998). Jordan, Terry. North American Cattle-Ranching Frontiers: Origins, Diffusion, and Differentiation. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1993. Magagnini, Stephen. “Fortune smiled on many black miners.” Bee. (January 18, 1998a). Magagnini, Stephen. “Chinese transformed Gold Mountain.” Bee. (January 18, 1998b). Malakoff, David. American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation. New York: Partridge Films, 1998. March 12, 2010 < http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/american-buffalo-spirit-of-a-nation/introduction/2183/> Rowland, Wade. The Sprit of the Web: The Age of Information From Telegraph to the Internet. Toronto: Somerville House, 1997. Read More