The Effects The Natural Environment Had on Indians, Cattlemen and Farmers

As time passed the lives of the Indians cattlemen and the farmers in the west changed drastically due to various factors. An important factor would be the natural environment, which consisted of the animals in the area and the climate in general. In the West there were three major types of regions the Mountains, Dessert and Plains. Furthermore, there were other factors that contributed to the great changes occurring to these three types of people, and a major factor would be the United States government. Overall, the natural environment and other factors were equally powerful in changing the lives of the Indians, Cattlemen, and Farmers in the West.

The natural environment was a major factor to shape the lives of the Indians, Cattlemen, and Farmers through many ways. The natural environment shaped the lives of the Indians, especially due to the fact that Indians were pushed into more concentrated areas as the white men expanded. Several times, the Indians were pushed out of their lands completely and were forced to live in completely different environments. This meant the Indians had to adapt, and when environmental conditions became to tough many Indians relied on the animals nearby for food primarily the buffalo. The Buffalo was considered a sacred animal to the Indians because they provided the Indians with skin, food, and bones for religious practices. Therefore, the natural environment caused for a change religiously because the Indians in several cases worshiped the buffalo, and lead them to various hardships with food. The natural environment affected the Cattlemen completely differently, and this can be seen when there was a terrible winter followed by a scorching summer in which thousands of steer were killed. Furthermore, there was a bit of overgrazing and over expansion, which took a toll on the cattlemen. Another group the Farmers faced many changes through the natural environment too. One characteristic of the natural environment that helped the farmers would be the abundance of cheap land found there, and another would be dessert which produced many farming problems. The cheap lands allowed farmers to produce more profits then they could have in the more expensive lands of the South east. The dessert posed its problems because the land was hard to turn into workable soil, until black sod of the prairies could be developed.

Others factors played a major role in the shaping of the lives of the Indians, Cattlemen, and the Farmers too. Such factors would include the United States government. The United States government often totally disregarded its rules towards the Indians. Such examples would be when the gold miners stampeded into Indian Territory after American treaties stated they would not trespass Indian lands. This caused Indians to move into different lands and constantly buffalos would be killed and skinned in Indian territory and Indian homes would be destroyed. The United States government affected farmers by the Homestead Act of 1862 which caused many farmers to acquire cheap lands to start farming but often these cheap lands ended in disaster because of natural disasters. Overall, the natural environment and the American government equally shaped the lives of the Indians, Cattlemen, and Farmers in the west.