Westward Expansion

Warm-up

• Do you think you receive a good education? Is it comparable to the education you might receive in other parts of the state? Would education be a reason you would move to or away from Baltimore city? Why?

Unit 2: Movement of Peoples

• In this unit we will focus on trends that lead to the Movement of large groups of people.

• We will start back in the 1830s and 1840s with Westward expansion and continue through history until we talk about modern day immigration.

Westward Expansion

Push and Pull Factors

• Push Factors- reasons why people want to leave a place (for example a famine)

• Pull Factors-reasons why people are attracted to another place (promise of more jobs)

Who moved west?• Settlers• Ranchers and Cowboys• Native Americans• Populists• Railroad Workers• Railroad Owners• Miners• African Americans

AFRICAN AMERICANS

AFRICAN AMERICANS

Positive

Out west, we can find opportunities in mining, ranching, and working as soldiers, cooks, teachers, and nurses. We can own our own land and farm.

In some cases, Exodusters like us have formed new all-black communities.

Despite the challenges of farming, we can now

succeed or fail on our own terms.

Negative

Even out west, we still face widespread racism

and discrimination. White townspeople have driven

some black migrants away.

MINERS

MINERS

Negative

My work is difficult and dangerous. Sometimes I

work in dismal conditions. Few miners have struck it

rich.

Positive

Placer mining is relatively easy, so it wasn’t hard for

me to learn this skill. I have plenty of

opportunity for work. Some of us have made a

lot of money. The Cornstock Lode brought

more than $300 million in gold and silver to the people who mined it.

RAILROAD OWNERS

RAILROAD OWNERS

Negative

We have many challenges buildign this rail line, like

financial shortages, conflicts with Indian

tribes, and rough terrain. Dangerous work

conditions sometimes slow our workers down

Positive

I was very excited when the Pacific Railway Act gave land and loans to companies like the one my partners and I own. We then sell this land to settlers at a profit! And farmers pay us very high

rates to ship their crops to market

RAILROAD WORKERS

RAILROAD WORKERS

Negative

Our working conditions are often dangerous and

harsh. We endure attacks by Indians. During the

winter, we face the threat of frostbite and

avalanches. Some of us are still targets of racism.

Positive

Some of us escaped discrimination and

poverty by moving west to work on the railroads. There are plenty of jobs available for those o fus

willing to work hard. Workers who survive the

dangerous conditions have money in their

pockets.

POPULISTS

POPULISTS

Negative

Technology has allowed too many of us farmers to create a surplus of crops, causing crop prices to fall and our debt to increase.

Then, with railroads charging high rates for us to ship goods, we can’t

pay our debts!

Positive

We’ve been able to organize for the first time

and to find a political voice. We’ve also helped make sure the Interstate Commerce Act passed, forcing railroads to set

reasonable rates for farmers. Many of the organizations we’ve

formed have brought attention to our plight.

AMERICAN INDIANS

AMERICAN INDIANS

Negative

Settlers are pushing us off our land, and we see our buffalo killed by them. Sometimes US soldiers, as in the Sand Creeek Massacre and the

Battle of Little Bighorn, attack us. We are forced onto reservations, which are sometimes invaded by

propectors or settlers. We have died from disease and

poverty. Assimilation and the Dawes Act prevent us from retaining our way of life and

keeping our land

Positive

Some of us who have learned to survive in

American society have succeeded as miners and

farmers.

RANCHERS AND COWBOYS

RANCHERS AND COWBOYS

Negative

Being a cowboy is difficult and hazardous work. We

have to watch out for stampedes and attacks by Indians. We sleep outside, even in bad weather, and

endure hard living conditions. Some of our cattle and even entire herds have died from

disease.

Positive

There are plenty of cattle for cowboys to herd, and

there is plenty of grass for the cattle to eat. The

growing populations of cities in the East have

increased the demand for beef and led to more jobs

for us. Railroads have made shipping bef easier, so

cowboys like myself can drive cattle up trails like the Chishold Trail to towns that

ship the animals.

SETTLERS

SETTLERS (Homesteaders)

Negative

Building shelter without trees is hard work. Droughts and

dry soil make farming difficult for some of us who live in

drier regions. Grasshoppers have destroyed some of our

crops

Positive

The Homestead and Morrill Land-Grant acts have given many of us

land to farm. Technology has modernized our

production and made our work easier. In the plains, we have the opportunity to live out our dreams.

Why did people move west?

• Complete your push and pull factor sheet about Homesteaders.

• You have 5 minutes to complete the sheet.

Causes and Effects of Westward expansion

• We will complete a folder pass to determine the causes and effects of Westward expansion.

• You have 20 minutes to complete this activity.• Each group has a folder containing 8 sheets,

pass the sheets around in your group and be ready to discuss.

How did Technology affect Westward Expansion?

• Railroads allowed people to travel west easier.

Westward expansion and its effects on the enivornment

• Destruction of the open plains by grazing and settlement