Ch 18 The Western Frontier 1858-1896

Why did many Americans move to the western frontier in the mid 1800s?

The Mining Booms Sec 1

Mining is Big Business After the California Gold Rush ended in the mid-1850s, miners began prospecting in other parts of the West Most gold was located in underground lodes- rich streaks of ore sandwiched between layers of rock Large mining companies began to replace the lone miner

Comstock Lode Comstock Lode- rich lode of silver found on the banks of the Carson River in Nevada

Mining Frontier Gold strikes created boomtowns- towns that grew up almost overnight around mining sites

What was life like in a boomtown?

Life in Boomtowns Lively, often lawless Violence was a part of everyday life Many people carried large amounts of cash and guns Vigilantes dealt out their own kind of justice without judge or jury

Boom and Bust Many mining booms were followed by busts. Many boomtowns turned into ghost towns as people left when the ore was gone

Railroads The nation’s railways expanded rapidly to meet demands of the miners in the west Miners needed to get their ore to the East and they need to get supplies Railroad track increased from 35,000 to 150,000 miles

Government and Railroads To promote growth the government gave the railroad companies 130 million acres of land Much of the land was purchased or obtained in treaties from Native Americans

Transcontinental Railroad Transcontinental Railroad- railway that would span the continent and connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts TCRR Map

What kind of challenges did the railways face in building the transcontinental railroad?

Challenges 1700 miles Weather Geography Labor Hot plains Cold mountains Geography Rugged mountains Labor

Transcontinental Railway Completed May 10, 1869 Union Pacific working from the east completed 1038 miles of track Central Pacific working from the west completed 742 miles of track Met in Promontory Point, Utah

Promontory Point

How did the Railroads affect the economy of the United States?

Effects of Trains Steel Industry Coal Industry Timber Industry Railroad car manufacturing Creation of time zones

Ranchers and Farmers Sec 2

If you were a settler in the West how would you build a house?

Cattle on the Plains When the Spanish settled Mexico they brought longhorns, a tough breed of cattle with them These cattle eventually spread throughout Texas

Open Range At this time, much of Texas was open range, not fenced or divided into lots Ranchers added to their herd by rounding up wild cattle and branding them Branding

The Long Drive To sell their cattle ranchers had to drive them to the nearest rail point The Long Drive- led cattle more than 1000 miles to meet the railroads Between the late 1860s and the mid 1880s more than 5 million cattle traveled on long drives

What was life like for cowboys on the trail?

Life on the Trail Hard work Long hours- up to 15 hour days Bad weather- hot sun, bad rainstorms, dust storms Lonely Rustlers Geography- raging rivers

Cattle Kingdom Ends Just like mining the boom eventually bust Overgrazing depleted farmlands Too many cattle on the market

Farmers Early pioneers did not believe the land of the plains could be farmed Dry Tough soil

Homestead Act Homestead Act- law passed by Congress that gave people 160 free acres of land if they paid a fee and lived on the land for 5 years This brought farmers to the plains to homestead- earn ownership of land by settling on it

Who were the people that settled on the plains?

Settlers Immigrants Women African Americans

What kinds of problems did farmers on the frontier face?

Problems on the Frontier Climate Droughts Floods Fire Bugs Harsh winters Resources

Sod House Build a Sod House

New Farming Methods To deal with difficult plains conditions the sodbusters, plains farmers, needed new methods and tools Dry farming- plant seeds deeper in the ground where there is moisture New steel plows New fencing called barbed wire

Barbed Wire

Oklahoma Land Rush Oklahoma was the last part of the plains to be settled April 22, 1889- 10,000 people lined up on the Oklahoma border to stake their claims However, sooners, people who slipped into Oklahoma early, took most of the claims

Who was the most affected by the settlement of the plains?

Native American Struggles Sec 3

How were Native Americans affected by the settlement of the Plains?

Native Americans Each new group that settled in the West dealt another blow to Native Americans Miners Farmers Railroads Cattle Drives

Buffalo (not the city) Most Plains Indians including the Sioux, Comanche, and Blackfeet lived nomadic lifestyles. They traveled great distances following their main source of food, the buffalo

Buffalo Plains Indians used every part of the Buffalo The buffalo provided food, shelter, tools, and clothing. KIDS Only? - Fun Stuff To Do - How Many Ways Can You Use a Buffalo?

Decline of the Buffalo After the Civil War hunters were hired by the railroads to shoot buffalo to feed the crews Many buffalo were killed to prevent the huge herds from blocking the trains Buffalo were also killed for their hides that were made into leather

Why were the white settlers so easily able to defeat the Native Americans on the Plains?

Conflict Until the 1860s, most whites left the Plains Indians alone As more people settled in the west the government adopted new policies to deal with the Native Americans

Reservations Reservations- tracts of land set aside for Native Americans Not a new policy but the government started increasing its efforts 2 of the largest reservations were in Oklahoma and Dakota Territories

What were the problems with reservations?

Problems Government officials often tricked Native Americans into moving Located on poor land Failed to deliver on promises of food and supplies

Conflict on the Plains During the 1860s many armed clashes took place between whites and Native Americans

Little Crow Little Crow- led Sioux warriors in an uprising against settlers in St Paul, MN They began attacking settlements after the government refused to give them food they had been promised Led to US soldiers patrolling the plains

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse- Lakota leader who fought against US soldiers in Montana Fetterman Massacre- ambush set up by Crazy Horse where 80 US soldiers were killed in Montana

Little Bighorn Little Bighorn- battle between Sioux and Cheyenne forces in the Black Hills of the Dakotas “Custer’s last stand” Forces led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse killed 250 US soldiers

The Apache Wars The Apache Wars- series of fights in the Southwest US between Apaches led by Geronimo and US forces Thousands of troops pursued Geronimo and his forces throughout the Southwest Geronimo became the last Native American to formally surrender to the US in 1886

Changing Culture To end the poor treatment of Native Americans some reformers supported assimilation- absorbing Native Americans into white culture

Dawes Act Dawes Act- law aimed at assimilating Native Americans into American culture. It aimed to end the Native American nomadic tradition and lack of private property

Wounded Knee In an effort to preserve their native traditions the Sioux began performing a ritual known as the Ghost Dance Reservation officials became alarmed and decided to ban the dance Sitting Bull- Sioux leader who was killed when reservation officials tried to arrest him for performing the Ghost Dance

Wounded Knee Wounded Knee- last armed conflict between whites and Native Americans where 200 Sioux were killed

How did the loss of the buffalo affect Native Americans?

Farmers in Protest Sec 4

Warm Up As farming expanded into the west after the Civil War, the supply of crops grew faster than demand. What happened to the price of the crops? Why? How did this affect farmers?

Problems for Farmers Prices fell steadily as supply increased 1866, a bushel of wheat sold for $1.49, by the mid-1890s the price was $.49 Expenses increased Equipment Seeds Transportation

Farmers blamed their troubles on 3 groups Railroads- charged more money for farmers than they did for manufacturers Manufacturers- charged high prices for their goods Bankers- set high interest rates for farmers and would take their farms if they could not repay the loans

The Grange National Grange- first farmers organization in the United States Helped farmers with education and support

Cooperatives Cooperatives- stores where farmers bought products from each other Charged lower prices than regular stores Provided an outlet for farmers crops

Farmers’ Alliances Farmers’ Alliances- networks of farmers that sprang up in the West and South in the 1880s Sponsored education and cooperative buying and selling Torn apart by regional differences

Populist Party Populist Party- People’s Party of the USA, political party rooted in appeal to the common people Believed the government should own telegraphs and railroads Wanted to base the economy on free silver- unlimited production of silver coins Believed this would give farmers more money to pay debts

Election of 1896 Populists and Democrats chose William Jennings Bryan to run Defeated by Republican William McKinley

Populist Legacy Never won any elections but many of their reforms were later adopted US abandoned the gold standard 8 hour work day Income tax Direct election of senators