The plains was a way of living for Native Americans for centuries. They had a lifestyle where the chief would advise and a council of elders would make decisions. They were constantly on the move, and they would hunt their largest game on the plains, buffalo. This lifestyle improved when the Spanish brought horses to the Americas. This made their travel easier. However, when the American settlers started to enter their newly bought land, their way of life conflicted with the natives. 

Tribal Lifestyle and Customs on The Plains

After decades of treaties with the US, in which 371 of them were to keep natives from whites, tensions were high between the natives and the government. On December 27, 1890, the last of the independent Sioux Native Americans surrendered to the U.S. While they were being disarmed, an accidental shot was fired. This shot caused a massacre that killed 200 Sioux, with only 27 natives surviving. This was the last surviving hope for the Sioux Nation. 

                  The Battle of Wounded Knee              

Sitting Bull is an extremely famous Native American. When he was a kid he was first seen as weak for his lack of skills. He joined his first war party at the age of 14. After achieving victories in many battles and from the respect he earned as a leader, he become a Chief of the Lakota Nation. One of the main events that he is most known for is Custer's Last Stand, in which he ambushed Custer's forces and made a major victory for the natives. 

                       Sitting Bull                   

Life as a Settler was very hard. They often faced droughts, floods, locusts, fires, and even raids. The lifestyle of settlers in the plains lead to the creation of vaqueros and cowboys. These two groups of people are extremely similar, with the main difference being that cowboys are American and vqueros are Mexican. Usually the lifestyle made men work the field while the women did most of the other jobs, including caring for animals, making soap, and caring for the children. 

Lifestyle of Settlers, Vaqueros, and Cowboys

      Problems with the Railroads     

Despite the railroads undeniable success, it had many problems. The first of which started with the workers. Most of the workers for the railroads were immigrants, usually Chinese or Irish, who worked for very little money. After railroads were being heavily developed they started abusing the systems. They sold government land to businesses, made  prices to keep farmers in debt, and caused many scams. Due to the railroad's importance it made the US economy dependent on the railroad's success. The US economy's dependence on the railroad caused a crash in 1893 when competition between companies became too great.