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What was the cause of the rush to the west?

The war between the United States and Mexico in 1847 finally settled the dispute.

At the end of this conflict, the United States acquired, among other things, California, which in 1849 became the scene of a gold rush on an unprecedented scale, attracting populations from all over the world.

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Rush for Oklahoma: Control of Indian Territories

In 1889, hundreds of thousands of European settlers divided Indian lands among themselves by taking part in the Land Run, a furious cavalcade across the plains of Oklahoma.

Their goal ?

Get hold of land offered for settlement. 8,000 square kilometers of land to be colonized

The principle is as simple as it is astounding: the plots of land will be allocated free of charge to the settlers on a “first come, first served” basis.

This Land Run of April 22, 1889 remains one of the most mind-boggling - and brutal - episodes of the conquest of the West.

In the year 1889, the great explorations of the American West were drawing to a close. The gold rush and the construction of the transcontinental railroad were a thing of the past.

The central Great Plains region (Montana to Texas) had been colonized, notably under the Homestead Act of 1862, a law giving European farmers ownership of the land they occupied after driving out the Indians.

Today's Oklahoma was a special case. Called then Indian Territory, it was the last refuge of the Amerindians after decades of violence and displacement of populations.

To be an owner, it was enough to arrive first on a piece of land, to take possession of it by planting a pole on the ground on which was written "This land is mine".

Cities raised from the ground in one day. The next day, the first solid buildings were erected: banks, saloons, gambling houses…

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Hello everyone ! Who was Buffalo Bill really?

In the West, when legend outweighs reality, the legend is printed. "

This provocative line comes from a journalist in John Ford's western The Man Who Killed Liberty Valence (1962).

It applies perfectly to Buffalo Bill, the most famous character of the Old West.

The most famous, but also the most controversial ...

Icon of the cowboy with his long hair, his beautiful mustaches, his Stetson and his fringed tunics, William Cody owes much his popularity to accommodations with reality, even to pure and simple inventions, which transformed a bison killer. as an epic hero.

Because this guide appreciated by the colonists and the army proved to be a sacred storyteller and an extraordinary director of the stories that the cowboys told each other at the vigil, whether they were fighting against the Indians or cavalry charges.

William Cody challenges another US Army scout named Billy Comstock. It's about slaughtering as many bison as possible in a day, without ever dismounting.

This competition, organized by newspapers, takes place in front of a hundred spectators who came by special train. Cody manages to kill 38 beasts in the first round, then 18 and 13 more.

Final score: 69 for Cody, against 46 for Comstock.

From then on, we only call him Buffalo Bill.

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African-Americans, Jews, Irish…

Minorities in the days of the Far West : 

The Mexicans

The Mexicans may have traced their genealogy since the founding of New Spain, they were collectively recruited as seasonal workers, notably in the corn and cotton fields of the New Mexico.

The French:

based in San Francisco Unlike the Italian or Irish migrants, these newcomers did not flee poverty.

For most traders, investors or bankers, it was the opportunities to make a fortune that attracted them there.

To mock the lack of enthusiasm of our fellow citizens to adopt the English language, they nicknamed them the "kezkidis".

The British: The Mormon Wave Among the workers in the coalfields, one particular case has deeply marked the history of the West: that of the British Mormons who came to build "the new Jerusalem" in the great American spaces.

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African-Americans, Jews, Irish…

Minorities in the days of the Wild West.

The Irish: A Key Role in the Railroad Epic Found in large numbers in the mines of California, Nevada and Colorado, they also played a key role in the railroad epic.

From 1860 to 1869, the faithful of Saint Patrick built from Omaha, Nebraska, the "east-west" section of the first transcontinental railway line, while their Chinese counterparts carried out from Sacramento, Calif., The “west-east” section.

So it was thanks to the Sino-Irish force that New York was only a week's journey from San Francisco - instead of six months before.

The Chinese: They called themselves "Gamsaanhaak", "the guests of the Golden Mountain".

An evocative paraphrase to designate California plunged into gold fever since 1848.

Agricultural workers (coolies), cooks, launderers around the deposits, or workers, they were distinguished by their endurance.

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African Americans, Jews, Irish ...

Minorities in the Old West African Americans: The West was a refuge.

Land, easy money, a new life and most of all ... freedom.

The Jews: Two men with similar surnames perfectly illustrate these American-style success stories.

One became a great politician and the second, Levi Strauss, founded commercial establishments in San Francisco in the 1850s.

He then created the essential piece of the loggers 'and miners' panoply: blue jeans.

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