WOAHHHH…. Whattt is thattttt????

What do you think about this ol’ iron horse???

RAILROADS “Iron horse” to the Indians – spitting black smoke & moving at stunning speeds for people living in mining towns, railroads meant: – supplies – more people ( population) – rapid means of transporting goods & people

RAILROADS Transcontinental Railroad: one that stretches across a continent from coast to coast. – 1863 – Union Pacific Railroad- starts in Omaha, Nebraska & goes west – Central Pacific Railroad- starts in Sacramento, Cali & goes east – Gov’t aided both lines because it felt 1: competition was good for the economy 2: rails across the country would increase trade Union Pacific Central Pacific Look at the word!

RAILROADS Subsidy: financial aid or land grant from gov’t. – Congress lends $$ & land to railroad companies – Incentive (think DD): for every mile of track, the railroad companies receive 40 sections of surrounding land per mile – Upon completion: both companies own about 45 million acres what about the Indians????

RAILROADS RAILROADS PROMOTE GROWTH Both companies meet at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869 – Golden spike – Golden spike dropped in the middle to symbolize the first unity – Important national symbol WHY?...

RAILROADS From here, other lines branch out With growth came huge cities, with cities came more people – Populations so large – territories start applying for statehood…

RAILROADS I’VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD Trouble finding people to work for either company – laborers were short from Civil War – dangerous conditions – long hours – low pay – storms/ avalanches killed workers – tunnels through mountains took 1 day for a few inches

RAILROADS Immigrants (African Americans & Mexicans) the only ones willing to work Central Pacific: thousands from China had to go through rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains Union Pacific: thousands from Ireland – had to cut through Rocky Mountains

YOUR TURN !!! You have just been approached by the U.S. gov’t… they want you to work on continuing the branches of the r&r that runs throughout the country… You realize that they’ve been having trouble finding people to work for them…. On the back of your notes, list your contract: 5 CONDITIONS that must be met in order for you to go work at building the r&r for the U.S.!!! Meh… come work for the r&r, won’t ya? Hmm… What do I want from them???

CATTLE KINGDOM Wild cattle or longhorns grazed in huge herds across the plains After civil war: demand for beef increased – people in the growing cities in East – miners, railroad crews, farmers & communities in West – Longhorns were perfect: 1. huge 2. long travel with little water 3. no winter feeding required

CATTLE KINGDOM cattle drives: trips where ranchers would corral herds of longhorns & drive them hundreds of miles north to railroad lines cowhand: employed by ranchers to tend to cattle/ drive herds to market in good & bad weather

CATTLE KINGDOM Cowhands: – kept cattle moving & round up strays – hot, dirty, tiring, boring (18 hour shifts) – brought packs of horses as they would die off – weather, prairie dog holes, rattlesnakes, thunderstorms – nervous cattle drown during floods/ crossing river – grass fires – stampede – cattle thieves – majority – veterans of the Confederate army – Many had dreams of becoming ranchers, most never got there – Vaqueros – skilled riders who herded cattle on ranches in Mexico, California & the Southwest ALL OF THIS FOR – food, housing & $1 a day!!!

CATTLE KINGDOM Cow towns: towns along railroad lines where cattle are held in pens until they can be loaded into railroad cars & shipped to markets in the East.

CATTLE KINGDOM The end of a mission for cowhands… – saloons, dance halls, hotels, restaurants – a lot of partying/ letting off steam/ celebrating a job done – sheriffs had hard time keeping peace – doctors, teachers, barbers, artists & bankers would migrate to cow towns and help them grow into communities – general store: groceries, tools, clothing, medicine, supplies & goods

CATTLE KINGDOM CATTLE BOOM – 1870s – people from the East start to see how profitable the cattle industry COULD BE – begin investing in the West & traveling by rail to see their investments – cattle grows at exponential rate – ranchers let cattle roam openly ID with branding

CATTLE KINGDOM END OF CATTLE KINGDOM With a growth in curiosity & investment came more people > more people = more farmers – Farmers begin moving onto the range – Fenced in fields with barbed wire – Ranges become smaller Don’t forget those gov’t grants too

CATTLE KINGDOM END OF CATTLE KINGDOM After time, not enough grass to feed all cattle – Ranchers had to now buy feed & drive up cost of cattle meat as a result This lowered cattle population & sales – 1886 & 1887 winters killed entire herds of cattle – summer – severe heat & drought

Ranchers panic & begin buying land & fencing it in. pretty soon we see the patchwork patterned fields of the Southwest This is where farmers begin to take over… CATTLE KINGDOM