Moving West

The West Push Factors Pull Factors Government incentives Crowding back East Displaced farmers Former slaves Eastern farmland was expensive Ethnic and religious repression in Europe Pull Factors Government incentives Pacific Railway Act Morrill Land-Grant Act Homestead Act Private Property Miners Ranchers Farmers

Pacific Railway Acts 1862, 1864 Large land grants to Union Pacific RR and Central Pacific RR 175 million acres

Morrill Land Grant Act 1862 Each state government received 30,000 acres of federal land, they can: Sell it Create land grant colleges for agricultural and mechanical arts If their state doesn’t have enough land to give out the state was given a “scrip” that allowed them to take land from other states NY took timber land from Wisconsin to fund Cornell University The purpose of the land-grant colleges was without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactic, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the State may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professionals in life

Homestead Act 1862 Small fee, settlers received 160 acres if: 21 yrs old Build a house Live there at least 6 months of the year Farm the land for 5 years in a row 372,000 farms 80 million acres http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ht3b1m2m20#t=34

Exodusters Freedmen looking for new start after the Civil War Most headed to Kansas - “pulled” by the Homestead Act and free land Exodusters based on the biblical “Exodus” of the Hebrews from Egypt - leaving bondage for freedom in the “Promised Land”

Homesteader Homes Built with available materials (sod) Small Functional as a shelter

Sodhouse on American Prairie

Homesteader lifestyle Difficult Subsistence farmers Some livestock Storms Distance Lack of building materials

Check It What’s the difference between a push and a pull factor? What were three push factors? What were three pull factors? What impact did the Pacific Railway Act, the Homestead Act and the Morrill Land Grant Act have upon westward expansion? Describe the life of a homesteader. In what ways did the Homestead Act and the Indian Relocation Act have a similar impact upon America?

Homesteading and Primary Sources Each group gets a set of Primary Source docs Complete the Primary Source Activity within your group