Growth of a Nation Expansion from 1860 to 1900

Content Area and Grade Level Grade five Content Standard 3.0 Geography Geography enables the students to see, understand and appreciate the web of relationships between people, places, and environments. Students will use the knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts within the six essential elements of geography: world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, and the uses of geography. Learning Expectations Era 5 - Civil War and Reconstruction ( ) 5.02 Understand the plans and policies for Reconstruction and subsequent successes and failures. Era 6 - The Development of the Industrial United States ( ) 5.03 Understand the development of Industrial America Understand the acquisition of territory to the United States.

The mid 1800’s began a period of growth for our new country. Immigrants played an important part in the growth of agriculture and industry in the United States. Thousands of immigrants were entering the country through Angel Island in the West and Ellis Island in the East. They saw the promise of a new life, very different from their homelands of China, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Armenia, Russia, Britain, Ireland, Germany, Norway, and Sweden.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, cities in the United States were growing fast. Some people thought they were growing too fast. No one had expected such rapid growth, and no one had planned for it. Millions of people were coming to American cities from other countries, and millions more were moving to cities from farms. By 1920, for the first time, more people lived in cities and towns than in rural areas. As cities grew, so did their problems:

Overcrowded tenements

Quick spread of disease and illness

Crime

Fires

Since the time of the Civil War, citizens had been slowly moving toward the lesser populated areas of the central United States. The few people who were there found that they were able to find good farmland and start a new life away from the overcrowded coastal cities. In 1862, The United States Congress passed the Homestead Act. This law opened the Great Plains to settlers by giving 160 acres of land to any person who would live there from five years.

Between 1862 and 1900, about 80 million acres of public land on the Great Plains was settled. Thousands of other settlers bought western land at low prices from the railroads. Over the years, the government had given the railroads millions of acres of land on the great plains. Railroad owners used the land to build railroad lines and wanted more people to settle the Plains because that would mean more business for them.

The Farming Industry While farming on the Great Plains was difficult for families, many were quite successful. Bonanza farms began to appear on the Plains and were able to raise crops cheaply and their investors made very large profits.

Problems arise Problems, however, began to present themselves: Extreme weather and temperature in winter and summer Insects, particularly grasshoppers, were known to destroy crops Drought could devastate an entire harvest

Changes that helped Changes in technology began to help the Great Plains farmer: Windmills to pump water from below the ground The reaper would cut much more quickly than the scythe The combine would both reap and thresh crops

The Cattle Industry By the early 1800s, settlers from the United States and Mexico had moved to Texas. Many of these settlers had started ranches. After the Civil War, cattle ranches spread throughout the Great Plains. Part of the region came to be known as the Cattle Kingdom. Many of the ranchers in the Great Plains wanted to take advantage of the large land area available through the government as free grazing land.By 1880, companies owned many ranches. They used the government offer of land and money from investors to set up large ranches.

Because railroad lines were being built throughout the Great Plains area, the moving of cattle from southern areas to northern areas became easier. While cattle had been used primarily for hide in the South, the North was interested in beef and was willing to pay higher prices if ranchers could get their cattle to them. The cattle industry was booming!

While the Cattle Industry was booming, problems began to arise: Many cattle began to die on the long northern journeys the blizzards of caused many cattle to die The start of problems

Dry summers caused grass to die leaving little food for cattle The growing trend of farming caused land/border disputes between ranchers and farmers As fences became more popular, range wars erupted between ranchers and farmers The government eventually told ranchers to either move their cattle from the free grazing lands or purchase the land.

The Mining Industry While homesteaders farmed the Great Plains and cowhands worked on ranches, miners rushed to the West to get rich. After the California gold rush of 1849, there were other finds. Gold was discovered in the Colorado territory in 1858 and silver was found near present day Nevada in Silver was also soon to be found in what are now Arizona, Idaho, and Montana.

Booms With luck, many miners were able to find $25 of gold/silver a day Large companies moved in with steam powered equipment, thus forming new towns and communities Denver, Colorado and Boise, Idaho became major centers of industry and transportation as well as mining.

Busts –Individual miners could not reach the minerals deep in the ground –When all the valuable minerals in an area had been mined, booming towns became ghost towns –While large companies were getting rich, it was at the expense of the miners who had low pay and dangerous working conditions.

Writing Situation: Pretend you are either a farmer, a miner or a rancher during the expansion of the country during the time we just read about. Directions for Writing: Write a letter to a friend back east telling them about your adventures. Include good adventures and bad ones.