Chapter – Life in the West, Farming, and Populism EQ: 1.What is the Homestead Act of 1862 AND why was it created?
Q1: Women in the West sometimes lonely, didn’t leave homestead often cook, seamstress, doctor, farmer, housewife and mother West also provided opportunities: – teachers/servants/took in extra sewing – Ran dance halls/boarding houses – More legal rights than in East, able to own property – Wyoming 1 st territory to give women the vote Few even became sheriffs, gamblers, or outlaws
Q2: Western Population Explodes Gold/silver strikes and new railroad lines brought rapid growth to West
Q3: Buffalo Soldiers 1866 – U.S. Army created African- American regiments to serve in West and Southwest Nicknamed “Buffalo Soldiers” by Native Americans. Later the generic name of all African American soldiers. Troops helped keep peace on frontier and fought in campaigns against Native Americans Some sources assert that the nickname was given out of respect for the fierce fighting ability of the 10th Cavalry. Other sources assert that Native Americans called the black cavalry troops "buffalo soldiers" because of their dark curly hair, which resembled a buffalo's coat.
The Buffalo Soldiers on the Great Plains
Q4: Fact or Fiction? West became larger-than-life place where brave people tested themselves against hazards of all kinds and won “Dime novels” filled with daring adventures popular among Easterners Traveling “Wild West” shows (e.g. -William “Buffalo Bill” Cody) very popular “Mythical West” often ignores the govt involvement and minority groups such as African Americans, Mexicans, Native Americans, and Chinese and their roles/treatment in Westward expansion
The Traditional View of the West
William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show
“Buffalo Bill” Cody & Sitting Bull
Legendary Female Western Characters Calamity Jane Annie Oakley
Q5: Homestead Act Government wanted to interest American and immigrant families to move West Homestead Act of 1862 offered 160 acres of land for free to anyone who agreed to live on and improve the land for five years
Frontier Settlements:
1887 Land Promotion Poster for the Dakota Territories
Q6: Farming on the Frontier Land treeless, homes built of sod instead of wood Water hard to reach, DEEP wells needed Blizzards, hailstorms, tornadoes, and drought Prairie fires Grasshoppers Plow invented by John Deere, windmills, barbed wire, reapers, and threshers helped make farm work more efficient
A Pioneer’s Sod House, SD
Rain Fall
New Agricultural Technology “Prairie Fan” Water Pump Steel Plow [“Sod Buster”]
Q7: Problem for Farmers Farmers watched prices for crops drop lower and lower in 1870s-1880s – Example: Wheat sold for $1.45 a bushel after Civil War, 30 years later it was only $0.49 Due to overproduction – Additional farmland opening up – Farming methods and machines improving Farmers went into debt, some lost farms
Supply and Demand
Q8: Populism Farm groups joined together to gain political power forming Populist Party Wanted government to put more $ into circulation by using free silver policy, instead of gold standard to create inflation so crop prices would go up 1892 and 1896 Populist presidential candidates lost (to Grover Cleveland (D), then William McKinley (R)) ending Populist Party
Q9: Closing Frontier “American Frontier” was term used to describe the changing area marking farthest extent of pioneer settlements as they moved further and further westward until 1890 By 1890 fenced-in fields replaced open plains and last remaining open land was in Indian Territory 17 million people lived between Mississippi River and Pacific Ocean by 1890, Census Bureau declared country no longer had continuous frontier line – the frontier no longer existed
American Frontier closed when pioneers could move no further West to create new settlements
Summary Create a 3-6 sentence summary answering the EQ in detail! Remember! The EQ was: What is the Homestead Act of 1862 AND why was it created?