CH 13 CH 13

Settling the WestSettling the West

• Topics that you must picture – Mississippi River– Cattle Trails (pg 417) (name each trail)– Oklahoma Land Rush– Transcontinental Railroad – Native American Battles– Little Big Horn,

Wounded Knee

Map of the U.S. by 1850Map of the U.S. by 1850

• By 1850 the outline of the United States was complete

• People had already been moving west after the gold rush but now more than ever the push to go west engulfed the nation

Western SettlersWestern Settlers

• 3 groups led the move west for different reasons– Miners came in search of gold, silver, and

other metals for eastern industry– Ranchers brought vast herds of cattle and

sheep – Farmers came looking for farm land on the

Great plains

MinersMiners

• Miners were the first large group to make the move west

• When a mine strike was found people from all over would pour into the region and full towns would spring up almost overnight

Mineral StrikesMineral Strikes

• Comstock Lode– Huge silver deposit discovery– Virginia City, NV

• Leadville, CO

BoomtownsBoomtowns

• These towns became known as “Boomtowns”

• Once the minerals were gone the towns were deserted and called “Ghost towns”

MiningMining

• Placer Mining – Picks, Shovels, Pans

• Quartz Mining– Dig deep beneath the surface– Corporations

RanchersRanchers• Longhorn

– Could survive in the harsh climate

• Before the civil war beef in Texas was so numerous that the price fell to nothing

• War demand drove up the price so moving the cattle became profitable.

• So to make money ranchers started to round up their cattle and walk them over several states to railroad lines to sell in the East, this became the long cattle drives

RanchersRanchers

• The beef business became so profitable that Ranchers started buying land in the west closer to where the rail lines were coming and herding their cattle

• As the business grew barbed wire fences and brandings were used to regulate the cattle

FarmersFarmers

• The Homestead Act was passed in 1862 and offered land to those who were willing to cultivate that land for 5 years

• $10 registration fee

The Great PlainsThe Great Plains

• Great American Desert

• “Rain Follows the Plow”

• Hardship– Lack of trees/water– 100 degree heat and blizzards– Swarms

Wheat BeltWheat Belt

• Wheat could hold up to drought better than corn

• Dakotas, Western Nebraska, and Kansas

• Dry Farming

• New Technology– Mechanical Reapers, Mechanical Binders,

Threshing Machines

• Bonanza Farms

Hard TimesHard Times

• 1890’s – Glut in market caused low prices– Mortgages– Prolonged drought

• April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush lined up thousands of settlers at noon to dash for free land and make their claims

• Those who slipped passed and went early were called Sooners

• End of an era, loss of safety valve

Indian RelationsIndian Relations

• Settlers saw the land that had long been occupied by Indians as open for settling

• Mostly because Indians weren’t farmers who sectioned the land off like white settlers

ImmigrationImmigration

• Settlement in the West and Midwest opened the door to a massive flux of immigration in to the U.S.

• This led to Problems in relations with Native Americans

Indian CultureIndian Culture

• Nomads– Dependent on buffalo

• Extended family networks

• Gender defined roles– Women – Cooking, Child Rearing, Hide

Preparation– Men – Hunting, Trading, Fighting

Indian UprisingsIndian Uprisings

• Dakota Sioux Uprising– Sioux agreed to live on reservations in exchange for annuities

(payments)– Payments were late and Sioux revolted

• Lakota Sioux– Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull– Fetterman’s Massacre

• Cheyenne and Arapaho– Tension with miners– Sand Creek Massacre

• Indian Peace Commission– Two large reservations (Sioux and Southern

Plains Indians)– Army could deal with any tribe that refused to

go– Plan Failed

Little Big Horn 1876Little Big Horn 1876

• Miners over ran the Sioux Reservation looking for gold and silver

• So the Indians left the reservation to hunt in Montana

Little Big HornLittle Big Horn

• The U.S. army and George Custer were sent to confront the Sioux

• Custer took his vastly out numbered men (200-300) into battle against Sitting Bull and 2500 Sioux in broad daylight and was greatly defeated

Massacre at Wounded KneeMassacre at Wounded Knee

• Lakota were performing Ghost Dance against orders of the government.

• Sitting Bull killed when authorities tried to arrest him.• Ghost Dancers fled reservation with U.S. troops in

pursuit.– Dec. 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee

• The Massacre at Wounded Knee was one of the last battles fought between the U.S. army and the Indians

AssimilationAssimilation

• Assimilating Native Americans became the cry of people in the East although most attempts failed

• The Dawes Act in 1887 allowed for heads of household to have 160 acres of reservation land for farming

Excess InformationExcess Information

(Future Chapters)(Future Chapters)

• Many new inventions made settling the West easier

• Nothing aided the settlement of the west more than the Transcontinental Railroad

Transcontinental RailroadTranscontinental Railroad

• Two railroad companies worked on the first Transcontinental Railroad…– The Union Pacific Company started in

Omaha, Nebraska– The Central Pacific Company started in

Sacramento, California

• On May 10, 1869, the two companies joined the two railroad lines at Promontory Point, Utah

• Many immigrants from China and Ireland were used to build the Railroad

• Other inventions that aided the movement west were…– Windmill– Barbed Wire– Mechanized farm equipment– Steel Plow– Revolver

• John Deere invented the steel plow in 1837

• The first wireless form of long distance communication was invented in late 1800’s called the Telegraph

Farmer GrievancesFarmer Grievances

• In the late 1800’s farmers began to struggle with high tariffs

• They were also being squeezed by bad weather and high priced machinery

• The farmers first attempt to organize and fight was known as the Grange

• The Farmer’s Alliance began in Texas in 1877 to address issues faced by farmers

• In 1890 the group had over 3 million members

• When neither political party helped the farmers they started their own 3rd party called the Populist Party

Essay QuestionEssay Question

• List and explain in detail the 3 main groups who led the movement West in the U.S. following Reconstruction. List specific motivations, problems, and circumstances that were involved.