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"Native
Americans were the first inhabitants of the area to become known as the state of
Montana. Tribes include the Crows in the south central region, the Cheyenne in
the southeastern part of the state, the Blackfeet, Assiniboine and Gros Ventres
in the central and northcentral area and the Kootenai and Salish in the western
sector. The Pend d'Oreille were found around Flathead Lake, and the Kalispel
occupied the western mountains.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition of
1804-1806 was the first group of white explorers to cross Montana. Hard on the
heels of the expedition arrived the fur trappers and traders. Trappers brought
alcohol, disease and a new economic system to native populations. The fur trade
was mostly over by the 1840's due to dwindling supplies of beaver, and the loss
of popularity of the beaver hat.
Roman Catholic missionaries
followed the trappers into Montana. They established Saint Mary's Mission in the
Bitterroot Valley, thought to be the first permanent settlement in Montana. They
also promoted agriculture and built a sawmill.
The discovery of gold brought
many prospectors into the area in the 1860's, and Montana became a territory in
1864. The rapid influx of people led to boomtowns that grew rapidly and declined
just as quickly when the gold ran out.
As more and more white people
came into the area, Indians lost access to their traditional hunting grounds and
conflicts grew. The Sioux and Cheyenne were victorious in 1876 at the Battle of
the Little Bighorn, and Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce won a battle in the Big
Hole Basin (1877). Yet, in the end, the Indians could not hold out against the
strength of the United States army.
Miners weren't the only early
settlers in Montana. Cattle ranches began flourishing in western valleys during
the 1860's as demand for beef in the new mining communities increased. After
1870 open-range cattle operations spread across the high plains, taking
advantage of the free public-domain land.
During the 1880's railroads
crossed Montana, and the territory became a state in 1889. Hardrock mining also
began at this time. Butte became famous when silver and copper were discovered.
The Anaconda Copper Company, owned by Marcus Daly, became one of the world's
largest copper mining companies and exercised inordinate influence in the state.
Cattle and sheep ranches
continued to take advantage of Montana's abundant grasslands. Passage of the
Enlarged Homestead Act in 1909 brought tens of thousands of homestead farmers
into the state looking for inexpensive land. Wheat farming was popular until an
extended drought, and a drop in market prices after World War I, ruined many
farmers. The homestead "bust" forced many farmers to abandon Montana.
Montana's post-World War I
depression extended through the 1920s and right into the Great Depression of the
1930s. Then President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" brought
relief to the state in the form of various projects and agencies: the building
of Fort Peck Dam; the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC); the Works Projects
Administration (WPA); the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA). These
"alphabet agencies" mark the first real dependence of the state on
federal spending in the 20th century -- a reliance that would build through the
century.
As across the nation, World War
II broke the hold of the Great Depression on Montana. The war brought additional
federal monies to the state, but drew young people into the service and into
wartime industries on the West Coast. The resultant wartime dislocation changed
Montana forever.
Post-war or "modern"
Montana (1945-2000) has been characterized by a slow shift from an economy that
relies on the extraction of natural resources to one that is service-based. Such
traditional industries as copper, petroleum, coal, and timber have suffered wild
market fluctuations and unstable employment patterns. Agriculture -- while
dependent on weather, a declining workforce, and international markets -- has
remained Montana's primary industry throughout the era. After 1970 tourism
supplanted mining as the state's second largest industry. This era also saw the
important shift in the state's transportation system from railroads to cars,
trucks and highways.
Montana post-war politics has
been keyed by some remarkable national politicians: James E. Murray; Mike
Mansfield; Lee Metcalf; Pat Williams. Montanans, more conservative on the state
level, frequently have split their legislative houses and sought only moderate
change. An exception was the passage of a new state constitution in 1972 -- one
which placed more responsibility on the individual voter and made significant
strides to protect the Montana environment. Some observers say that much of
subsequent Montana history can be seen as the working out of that 1972
constitution.
Montana's post-war society has
evolved significantly during the "modern" era. Still predominantly
white, it has experienced the building of bridges with Indian communities, the
acceptance of ethnic immigrants, the development of a Hutterite network, and the
emergence of white-supremacist cells. Population fluctuations cost Montana a
U.S. House seat in the 1990s and have kept the total population under 900,000.
Population shifts have loaded Montana's people in the western one-third of the
state and "emptied out" eastern Montana's vast spaces.
While some national observers
consider Montana a part of America's "cultural outback," many
Montanans pride themselves on their strong spirit of community, their close
contact with the environment, and their fundamental "sense of place."
The debate continues."
- From the state.mt.us website
To learn more about Montana visit http://www.state.mt.us/
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