Transforming the West

Miners Hope to Strike it Rich During the mid-1800s, the idea of Manifest Destiny pushed many people to move westward. The economic opportunities found along the way encouraged greater settlement. One of these opportunities focused on the mining industry. What happened at Sutter’s Mill in California in 1848? Gold was discovered After the gold and silver disappeared, many of these ‘boomtowns’ became ghost towns.

Miners Hope to Strike it Rich There was a growing environmental concern over the lack of water in the West. Big companies would use water to blast minerals from silt, and it would runoff downstream, contaminating water used by farmers and their livestock.

Railroads in the West The idea of a transcontinental railroad that connected East to West was proposed as the need to transport goods became more necessary. Instead of being owned by the government, the U.S. gov expected private companies to build them.

Railroads in the West The Central Pacific and Union Pacific rail lines started in opposite directions and built towards one another. It was not easy: there was a shortage in labor, so Chinese immigrants were brought over and treated harshly. In 1869 in, Promontory Summit, Utah, the two rail lines met. The West experienced a population boom with simply the prospect of a railroad being built. White settlers invaded both Native American and Mexican lands, angering those who lived there.

The Cattle Industry Before the railroad, cattle had been allowed to roam free on the Plains, not fenced by their owners. This was known as the open range system. Owners would keep track of cattle by branding them. The railroads made this system impossible, and ranchers were forced to fence in their cattle using barbed wire.

Farmers Move West Many farmers moved westward with the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862. This act granted 160 acres to individuals who were willing to move West and establish a farm. During Reconstruction, African Americans who moved West (known as exodusters) left the South to find profit. They were given this name because like the Israelites, they journeyed out of slavery to the ‘promised land’. The government encouraged farming as a career by passing the Morrill Land Grant Act in 1862 which established agricultural colleges.

Land Grant Colleges Auburn University of Arizona University of Florida Iowa State University University of Maryland, College Park North Carolina A&T University NC State University Clemson University Texas A&M University

Push and Pull Factors Individuals who moved to the West (known as homesteaders) relied on a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. Various factors led to their movement to the West. Pull Factors: Homestead Act free land! Advertising by railroad companies Newspaper and magazine articles highlighting the benefits of the West Letters from family who had moved West Push Factors: Overcrowding Wanting to escape poverty Persecution– religious or racial Desire for new opportunities.

Prejudice and Discrimination in the West The West was home to 80% of the country’s minority populations. These differences in language, food, religion and cultural practices created fear and distrust between the groups. This was exemplified in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act prevented the immigration of ALL Chinese laborers, and was the first piece of legislation restricting a specific ethnic group.

Prejudice and Discrimination in the West The last major land rush happened in Oklahoma in 1889. As of 1890, the ‘frontier’ was considered ‘closed’, as every square mile of the US (w/o AK and HI) was considered inhabited. Turner hypothesized that on the frontier was where democracy was most evident. As territories became populated, the people established states in a manner representative of themselves democracy!