Moving to the Plains

Frontier Settlements: 1870-1890

Population of the United States After the Civil War

The Great Plains States Entering the Union from 1867-1896 37-Nebraska (1867) 38-Colorado (1876) 39 and 40-North and South Dakota (1889) 41-Montana (1889) 42-Washington (1889) 43-Idaho (1890) 44-Wyoming (1890) 45-Utah (1896)

Blue skies and open prairies.

The location of the Great Plains.

Buffalo roamed the Plains.

What is the Message of this Picture?

The Realty--A Pioneer’s Sod House, SD

The Homestead Act of 1862 The Homestead Act gave public lands (lands owned by the national government) to American citizens.

Married couples were entitled to two shares, or 320 acres. Facts: Any person who was the head of a family or was at least 21 years old could become the owner of a homestead. - homestead = 160 acres - an acre = 4,840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet Married couples were entitled to two shares, or 320 acres.

Requirements: The settler must live on the land and work it for five years.

Hardships Lived in soddies Livable homestead cost Homes made of sod: grass, root and dirt. Livable homestead cost Difficulty farming for five years to claim land Bugs: grasshoppers, locusts ate wheat, rye barley fields mosquitoes Carried disease Drought Reduced land productivity

African Americans Moved West. Why?

Exodusters Moving West. I hope there’s no KKK. I hope there’s no Jim Crow Laws in the West. Maybe we can vote in the West.

Blacks Moving West

Steel Plow [“Sod Buster”] “Prairie Fan” Water Pump New Agricultural Technology Steel Plow [“Sod Buster”] “Prairie Fan” Water Pump McCormick Reaper

Teach your neighbor about the hardships the Homesteaders had?

Land Use: 1880

Gold and silver mines were discovered throughout the West. Thousands of miners from the U.S., Europe, Mexico, and China flocked to the West. Chinese miners White and Chinese miners hoping to strike it rich.

Boom Towns grew overnight Boom Towns grew overnight. Boom Towns mean that many people came to the town and businesses began growing.

Boomtowns - towns that grew up near major mining sites · Some boom towns developed into cities, such as Denver, CO, and Reno, NV.

Boomtown - The General Store, Corinne, Boxelder Co., Utah

· Many of these new towns became abandoned ghost towns when the ore disappeared. Silver City, Idaho

Boomtown Busttown Gold is All Found People Move Away to Find Jobs Businesses Close Discovered Gold People Move In Businesses Open Boomtown Busttown