OCTOBER 28-30,2015 Western Expansion

WARM UP Write down three questions you have about the settlement of the West. (think cowboys and Indians, gunfights, cattle rustlers, trains, buffalo, etc)

Agenda  Warm Up  Unit Introduction  Geography and Innovation  Exit pass

Essential Question  How did people’s perceptions and use of the Great Plains change after the Civil War?

Content Objective: You can  Explain how physical feature and climate affected people movements into the Great Plains

Language Objectives: You can:  Apply written knowledge

WESTWARD MOVEMENT How physical features and climate influenced the movement of people westward 2a

Physical features/climate of the Great Plains Flatlands that rise gradually from east to west Land eroded by wind and water Low rainfall Frequent dust storms

Dust Storms  of-us/videos/america-black-blizzard#america- black-blizzard of-us/videos/america-black-blizzard#america- black-blizzard

Before 1860, those who crossed the Mississippi generally traveled all the way to the west coast. Few settled on the Great Plains. Living on the Great Plains presented many challenges. The winters were bitter cold. There were few rivers and streams for water, and few trees for wood. Low rainfall caused drought and dust storms. Fierce winds and frequent dust storms eroded and blew away the soil. The remaining tough soil was thought to be unsuitable for farming. Before the Civil War, the Great Plains were considered a "treeless wasteland".

Encouraged by the Homestead Act of 1862 which gave willing farmers land on the Great Plains, and new technologies which allowed people to live in more challenging environments, farmers and immigrants flocked to the Great Plains during the decades after the Civil War. People began to see the Great Plains not as a "treeless wasteland" but as a vast area to be settled

WARM UP What natural challenges did settlers face who moved onto the Great Plains after the Civil War?

Agenda  Warm Up  Innovation  Exit pass

Essential Question  How did people tame the Great Plains after the Civil War?

Content Objectives: You can  Identify the technologies and innovations that made settlement of the Great Plains practical

Language Objectives: You can:  Apply written knowledge

Essential Understanding  During the nineteenth century, people’s perception and use of the Great Plains changed.  Because of new technologies, people began to see the Great Plains not as a "treeless wasteland", but as a vast area to be settled.

Essential Question  How did people adapt to life in challenging environments?

Inventions and Adaptations  Barbed Wire  The invention of barbed wire allowed farmers to keep cattle from nearby ranches off their fields and away from their crops.

Steel Plows  With improved steel plows, farmers could break up the tough soil.

Dry Farming  Farmers learned they could grow crops on the dry soil if they plowed deeply, breaking up the tough sod with the new steel plows.

Sod Houses  Lacking trees and other materials, settlers on the Great Plains built their homes from sod, a sort of packed dirt held together by roots and cut into squares.

Beef Cattle Raising  In the early 1800s, cattle ranches began appearing on the Great Plains, especially in Texas. Demand for beef was high, and as railroads developed, ranchers would drive their cattle north to meet up with the lines.

Wheat Farming  With the invention of the mechanical reaper which could do the work of 20 men, wheat farming took off. Farmers adopted an improved strain of Russian wheat which required less water and grew well in the dryer soil of the Great Plains.

Windmills  New models of windmills were used throughout the Great Plains to pump water from the ground and to provide power.

Railroads  The railroad network in the US grew fast. The Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869, was made of many different lines. It linked the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and opened the vast interior to people who wanted to settle there. The railroad made trade between different parts of the country easier, encouraging industrial and economic growth.

Transcontinental Railroad  nental-railroad/videos/transcontinental- railroad?m= baf036&s=All&f=1&free=fa lse nental-railroad/videos/transcontinental- railroad?m= baf036&s=All&f=1&free=fa lse

Essential Understanding Innovations and adaptations encouraged settlement of the Great Plains and help people adapt to the challenging environment

WARM UP List three inventions or innovations that helped settle the Great Plains

Agenda  Warm Up  Quiz  Fencing the Homestead Reading

Essential Question  What were homesteaders’ lives like?

Content Objectives: You can  Describe how homesteader dealt with challenges

Language Objectives: You can:  Apply written knowledge