Violence in Old West
How Violent was the Old West
During the time frame of 1860-1890 there was an area in the West known as the Great Plains. Although, before it was designated as the Great Plains it was known as the Great American Desert. The Great Plains was originally home to buffalo and Indians labeled as Plains Indians which can be broken down into several different groups such as, the Lakota Indians, Pawnee Indians, and Cheyenne Indians just to name a few. Soon all that changed when the Idea of money and greed came into the minds of some Americans, thus creating Cattle booms, Railroads, and mining towns, and the settlement of cowboys and railroad crews as well as U.S. Soldiers, and later, families on the Great Plains which was originally home to the Indians and buffalo. Due to this, violence and severe cuts to the buffalo and Indian populations became ubiquitous throughout the Plains. The Old West was extremely violent due to the harm caused occupationally, environmentally, and racially. With the settlement of the many types of people on the plains due to their occupations, mainly men, could have made the Indians upset or they could have been upset with each other on the job. Before the Settlement of Northerners on the plains, there was a law dubbed the No Entry Law, which prohibited anyone who was not an Indian to stay on the trail and made settlement on the Plains illegal. Then an act by the name of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowed whites from slave states such as Missouri and Free states such as Illinois to move into Kansas. Then, between 1861 and 1865 the Civil War was fought. In Cattle towns from the year 1870-1885 from the towns of Abilene, Ellsworth, Wichita, Dodge City, and Caldwell there was a whopping total of 45 homicides, which they happened because cowboys had come to town. In the mining town of Bodie, California from 1878-1882 there were 116 homicides recorded, and in the Mining town of Leadville, Colorado in the year of 1880 there were a 105 homicides
During the time frame of 1860-1890 there was an area in the West known as the Great Plains. Although, before it was designated as the Great Plains it was known as the Great American Desert. The Great Plains was originally home to buffalo and Indians labeled as Plains Indians which can be broken down into several different groups such as, the Lakota Indians, Pawnee Indians, and Cheyenne Indians just to name a few. Soon all that changed when the Idea of money and greed came into the minds of some Americans, thus creating Cattle booms, Railroads, and mining towns, and the settlement of cowboys and railroad crews as well as U.S. Soldiers, and later, families on the Great Plains which was originally home to the Indians and buffalo. Due to this, violence and severe cuts to the buffalo and Indian populations became ubiquitous throughout the Plains. The Old West was extremely violent due to the harm caused occupationally, environmentally, and racially. With the settlement of the many types of people on the plains due to their occupations, mainly men, could have made the Indians upset or they could have been upset with each other on the job. Before the Settlement of Northerners on the plains, there was a law dubbed the No Entry Law, which prohibited anyone who was not an Indian to stay on the trail and made settlement on the Plains illegal. Then an act by the name of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowed whites from slave states such as Missouri and Free states such as Illinois to move into Kansas. Then, between 1861 and 1865 the Civil War was fought. In Cattle towns from the year 1870-1885 from the towns of Abilene, Ellsworth, Wichita, Dodge City, and Caldwell there was a whopping total of 45 homicides, which they happened because cowboys had come to town. In the mining town of Bodie, California from 1878-1882 there were 116 homicides recorded, and in the Mining town of Leadville, Colorado in the year of 1880 there were a 105 homicides