Relationship Between Eastern US and Western US From Eastern US the West Gets: 1) People moving to the West looking to get rich, etc From the Western US the East Gets: 2) Raw materials used for manufacturing goods 3) Manufactured goods 4) A new “market” to sell their manufactured goods Here is the backup for the statement at the beginning of this lecture Ask students to make a list of the raw materials obtained from the West: --gold, silver, other minerals --sudden rise of mining towns --boom and then bust to ghost towns --”lawless” Old West of movie fame --lumber East was less fertile, more crowded, depleted. Once the West opened, Easterners could abandon farming and focus on manufacturing.

Native American lands in the United States in 1492

Areas Still Open to Native Americans by 1783 Most Natives had supported the British, as the Americans seemed intent upon unlimited expansion. With the American victory, Native Americans were more or less forced West of the Appalachians.

Areas Still Open to Native Americans by 1815

Areas Still Open to Native Americans by 1840 As Anglo population and land lust grew, the “liberal” approach was abandoned. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced all Indians west of the Mississippi. Dusty, bleak Oklahoma became set aside as Indian land. Read from Chief White Halfoat from Catch 22 The “Trail of Tears” and Andrew Jackson --16,000 Cherokees begin; 4,000 die

Areas Still Open to Native Americans by 1890 After the Civil War, a 25 year long US government war on the Indians pretty much destroyed any independent Native American presence in the United States. Dawes Act of 1888 --most on reservations --no communal ownership of land Indian presence reduced to Oklahoma, Dakotas, Arizona desert

Natural Hazards Drought Extreme Heat Prairie Fires Lack of Raw Materials Bugs/Insects/Snakes Extreme Weather

Why it sucks to be a farmer... You work very hard to grow as much as you can to sell at the market… So does everyone else… Prices on farm goods go down… You don’t make as much money as you thought… You take out a loan to make up the difference… Repeat steps 1-5 a few more times… You can’t pay back the loans… The bank takes away your farm.

Response By Farmers Form cooperatives to save money and fight against larger scale operations Local control gave farmers hope Use the collective might of the farmers to lobby for new legislation Interstate Commerce Act of 1886 Demand government assistance Federal loans and unlimited silver-backed currency

Response By Farmers New Political Parties Formed: Greenback Party Wanted to expand the money supply by printing paper money to increase inflation Populist Party Wanted political reforms, unlimited silver coinage, publicly owned utilities, federal assistance to businesses, and an 8 hour work day