Chapter 2 Lesson 2 Farming the Plains

Farming Government Support for Settlement Homestead Act – U.S. Gov’t offered land (160 acres) to heads of families from 1862-1900 over 600,000 families took advantage of land (Homesteaders) Exodusters – Blacks leaving the South after the Civil War to move to Kansas Land giveaway in 1889 – Oklahoma land grab, settlers claimed more than 2 million acres. Some folks claimed land sooner than was allowed – “Sooner” state (Oklahoma)

Farming Settlers meet challenges on the plains Dwellings – settlers used the earth to make homes, digging into the hillside (dugouts) Soddy houses built out of mud and sod provided adequate shelter from the dramatic climate (cool in summer, warm in winter) Women had to work just as hard as men Agricultural education was important The Morrill Act (1862)– land grant universities Hatch Act (1887) – farming experiment stations Developments in farming techniques allowed the dry plains region to become America’s “breadbasket” Technology improves John Deere’s plow Cyrus McCormick’s reaper Barbed wire fences Dry Farming methods Farmers had to take loans to get started (machinery, land, seed) Market prices determined farmer’s success (prices high=repay loans; low prices=more debt) Bonanza Farms – huge, single crop farms Tried to make money off one crop Smaller farms could diversify crops Drought runs big farms out of business Railroad companies put farmers further into debt High prices to ship from the West Lack of competition   Settlers meet challenges on the plains Surviving on the prairie Farmers in debt * farmers must come together to defend rights

Homesteads from Public Lands

“Rain follows the Plow”

Settling the West Homesteading Myth Homesteading Reality “Soddy” – Sod house in SD

Farming “PRAIRIE FA N” (Water Pump) Technology tames the prairie “Sod Buster” (Steel Plow)

Closing the Frontier The Frontier Ends Frederick Jackson Turner – The Significance of the Frontier on American Society The Frontier Ends The U.S. loses its frontier – Unique American characteristic gone (Frontier = territory uninhabited by white settlers) 1st National Park – Yellowstone National Park (1872). Tourist destination

Frontier Settlement (1870-1890) Frederick Jackson Turner – The Significance of the Frontier on American Society