The Hopi are a farming civilization. They grow squash, corn, melons, and beans. Their most important crop is corn. Thousands of years ago Hopi learned to grow crops in the southwestern soil. The soil is not very good for farming, so they planted seeds 12 inches deep in the ground, allowing rainwater to seep into the roots of the crop.
About 1,000 years ago, Hopi people began to build adobe homes out of adobe, a mixture of mud, clay, and straw baked in the sun. Adobe houses kept the houses cool in the summer and warm in the winter. There were no doors to the ground floor of an adobe house. Instead there were ladders to the second floor. If there was any danger, they would pull the ladders up, keeping the people inside safe.
During the 1800s, southwestern lands became a part of the growing United States. The newcomers began settling in Native American areas, causing land disagreements. The United States sent troops to these areas to protect the settlers. They fought many battles with the indigenous people. Soon, instead of fighting any longer, the government created reservations. A reservation is land set aside for Native Americans.
In 1882, the Hopi reservation was created. The Hopi were forced onto this small spot of land.They were also urged to drop their traditions, such as their religion.Today, about 10,000 people live on the Hopi reservation today. It is located in northeastern Arizona.
In the 1500s, the Spanish explored Mexico, Central America, and South America. There they found huge supplies of gold and silver. In 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado organized an army to march into the Southwest. About 300 Spanish, African, and Native American troops made up his army. Coronado was a conquistador, a conquer in Spanish.
His army marched north from Mexico. They hoped to find riches beyond what they could ever imagine. But after visiting many villages inhabited by pueblo communities Coronado and his army returned to Mexico empty-handed.
Coronado claimed southwestern lands for Spain. Spanish settlers soon followed him into the region. They soon found Native Americans. The conquistadors and Spain wanted the Natives to become Christians.
Priests from Spain were sent to create missions, a type of settlement that had a church in the center. In missions, priests gave Native Americans lessons on the Roman Catholic religion. Some became Christians, others continued to practice their own religion. Most were forced to work at the missions which were built everywhere.
After living in Spanish territory for the last 100 years, the Pueblo Revolted and attacked Spain’s post in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and drove the Spanish out. But they returned 12 years later and took back their territory.
By 1821, the Spanish settlers had rebelled against Spain and won their independence as Mexico. In the 1830s Texas was a part of Mexico. Settlers began to move there from the U.S. Although they promised to stay loyal to Mexico, they didn’t want to be ruled by Mexico.
In 1835 the settlers rebelled. A major battle was fought at the Alamo, a Spanish mission, in San Antonio, Texas. Even though the Texans lost the battle, they won the war.
Ranching is when people take care of animals for the purpose of getting products, such as food and wool. It started when the Southwest became a part of the U.S. after the Mexican-American War. The new Americans wanted to work on ranches. The people who take care of the cattle became known as cowboys.
In the 1860s, there was a demand for beef in the Northeast. But there weren’t enough cows in the region. In Texas, 1 cow sold for $4, but in the Northeast, it was 10 times the price. To cash in on this economic opportunity, the ranchers herded their cattle north in a cattle drive. More than 4 million cattle traveled in these cattle drives.
A popular trail for cattle drives was the Chisholm Trail. This trail was from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas and it stretched 1,000 miles. It might seem easy, but a cattle drive was dangerous work because it usually lasted 3 or more months to move the cattle to their destination. During the ordeal, the herders might face droughts, thunderstorms, and even outlaws. One of the only women to travel the Chisholm Trail, Lizzie Johnson Williams ran a ranch in Driftwood, Texas.
In 1874, big changes in the ranching business occurred that drove cattle drives out of business. One of them is the invention of barbed wire by Joseph Glidden, which allowed farmers to fence off huge areas of land with little wood. However, the main change was railroad lines which went into Texas and Oklahoma. Barbed wire decreased the amount of open space that cowboys could use to drive cattle, while railroads transported cattle in a more efficient way.