Settling the West
Cause Effect Discovery of Gold in CA & Colorado Discovery drew tens of thousands of miners to the west and led to the growth of mining camps and frontier towns Causes and Effects of settling
Cause Effect Land grants given to the railroads Railroad companies sold frontier land to farmers at low prices Railroad companies recruited Europeans as well to buy and farm frontier land
Cause Effect Homestead Act & related laws passed in 1870’s Homestead Act offered 160 acres of land free to anyone who would cultivate it for five years Similar acts offered land cheaply or for free in states such as Kansas and Oklahoma Also offered in AZ territory
Why would technology be important here?
Cause Effect Inventions & improvements in farm technology Increased farm productivity by decreasing the amount of effort and time required to produce farm goods
Cause Effect Morrill Land Grant Acts & Hatch Acts Supported farmers by financing agricultural education and research in farm technology and methodology
Causes Expansion of railroads, discoveries of gold, farming Rapid population growth in the Great Plains (N./S. Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska)
Causes Constant displacement of Native Americans to reservations Increase in numbers of western settlers
What hardships can you think of?
Hardships faced by frontier farmers Obtaining enough good land to support family Bad weather (droughts, floods,blizzards) Raids by outlaws & Native Americans Self-sufficient for clothing and medical care Financial problems (debt, bankruptcy, fluctuating prices, rising costs of shipping & equipment)
Key Aspects Homesteader- Settler of the free land “Soddy”- Home settlers lived in; dugout sod homes made from grass/dirt Bonanza farm- Enormous single-crop spreads of 15,000-50,000 acres. Populist Party- Political movement for “the people”, demanded reforms for farmers & workers. -Major feature of party platform: “the right to work”
Fort Laramie Treaty 1851 Treaty between the US Government and Plains tribes that agreed upon land in the Dakotas Did not last long and when government discovered gold and other valuable resources, wars ensued.
Sand Creek Massacre 1864, Cheyenne Tribe Disputes with government over land and control over planes territory Military slaughter around 150 defenseless Native Americans in the Colorado Sand Creek Among killed were old men, women, and children
Little Bighorn 1876 Aka- Custer’s last stand Fight between Government and Sioux/Cheyenne forces Natives beat the US in one of the greatest victories for the Indians during the Indian Wars General Custer is killed along with many of his troops
Wounded Knee 1890 Between US and South Dakota Sioux 2 weeks after Sitting Bull was killed Final major battle ends Plains Indian culture in the name of gold, land, and resources
Soddy House
Bonanza Farm
Causes Effects Gold, Homestead Act, Railroads, Growing Cattle Industry, Farming, Economic Independence Railroad, Displacement of Native Americans to reservations, barbed wire Causes and Effects of Westward Expansion
What drew people to Arizona? Gold and Copper mining Ranching & Cattle Coal mining