Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Pirlet, Christian D

Titel

The Black Hills gold rush: A lack of policy and an insatiable demand for land

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations Publishing

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The earliest land infringements in the Black Hills stemmed from a variety of sources. Immediately following the Louisiana Purchase, the government commissioned expeditions to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Subsequently, the demand for furs forced fur trappers west past the Mississippi. As American civilization expanded west, an era of private enterprise ensued. Fur trapping led to fur trading and gold fields in California, Colorado, and Montana enticed hundreds of thousands of Americans west. Soon migrants endangered Lakota lands. Tensions escalated as America reverberated with rumors of gold in the heart of Lakota lands, the Black Hills. An integral part of the American experience was, for many, the opportunity to "strike it rich," whether in the form of acquiring large tracts of land, engaging in the lucrative triangle of trade, or profiting from the whaling industry. The discovery of gold in California underscored this American dream. Gold rushes had enticed fortune seekers throughout much of the mid-nineteenth century. Tens of thousands had traveled across the country to California. Thousands more ventured west in search of gold in Montana and Colorado. Hunches led hardened prospectors and novice treasure hunters alike to risk their lives for a chance to land a successful claim. What follows is an examination of the events, the policies, and the men who shaped them. The evidence is clear. The driving force behind acquisition of the Black Hills was not a deliberate and concerted federal policy, but the result of the efforts of private citizens.