CH 13 Settling the West

U.S. Map in 1850 You will draw an outline of the U.S. map in period after Reconstruction and fill it in with drawings of the topics we are discussing

Topics that you must picture –Mississippi River –Cattle Trails (pg 417) (name each trail) –Oklahoma Land Rush –Transcontinental Railroad – label Sacramento, Omaha, Promontory –Telegraph –Native American Battles– Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee (draw each battle showing location and how the battle turned out) –Boom Towns in California

By 1850 the outline of the United States was complete People had already been moving west after the gold rush but now more than ever the push to go west engulfed the nation

3 groups led the move west for different reasons –Miners came in search of gold, silver, and other metals for eastern industry –Ranchers brought vast herds of cattle and sheep –Farmers came looking for farm land on the Great plains

Miners Miners were the first large group to make the move west When a mine strike was found people from all over would pour into the region and full towns would spring up almost overnight

Comstock Lode –Huge silver deposit discovery –Virginia City, NV Leadville, CO Pike’s Peak Hoax

These towns became known as “Boomtowns” Once the minerals were gone the towns were deserted and called “Ghost towns”

Placer Mining –Picks, Shovels, Pans Quartz Mining –Dig deep beneath the surface –Corporations

Ranchers Longhorn –Could survive in the harsh climate Before the civil war beef in Texas was so numerous that the price fell to nothing War demand drove up the price so moving the cattle became profitable. So to make money ranchers started to round up their cattle and walk them over several states to railroad lines to sell in the East, this became the long cattle drives

The beef business became so profitable that Ranchers started buying land in the west closer to where the rail lines were coming and herding their cattle As the business grew barbed wire fences and brandings were used to regulate the cattle

Farmers The Homestead Act was passed in 1862 and offered land to those who were willing to cultivate that land for 5 years $10 registration fee

Great American Desert “Rain Follows the Plow” Hardship –Lack of trees/water –100 degree heat and blizzards –Swarms

Wheat Belt Wheat could hold up to drought better than corn Dakotas, Western Nebraska, and Kansas Dry Farming New Technology –Mechanical Reapers, Mechanical Binders, Threshing Machines Bonanza Farms

Hard Times 1890’s – Glut in market caused low prices –Mortgages –Prolonged drought

April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush lined up thousands of settlers at noon to dash for free land and make their claims Those who slipped passed and went early were called Sooners End of an era, loss of safety valve

Indian Relations Settlers saw the land that had long been occupied by Indians as open for settling Mostly because Indians weren’t farmers who sectioned the land off like white settlers

Settlement in the West and Midwest opened the door to a massive flux of immigration in to the U.S. This led to Problems in relations with Native Americans

Indian Culture Nomads –Dependent on buffalo Extended family networks Gender defined roles –Women – Cooking, Child Rearing, Hide Preparation –Men – Hunting, Trading, Fighting

Indian Uprisings Dakota Sioux Uprising –Sioux agreed to live on reservations in exchange for annuities (payments) –Payments were late and Sioux revolted Lakota Sioux –Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull –Fetterman’s Massacre Cheyenne and Arapaho –Tension with miners –Sand Creek Massacre

Indian Peace Commission –Two large reservations (Sioux and Southern Plains Indians) –Army could deal with any tribe that refused to go –Plan Failed

Little Big Horn 1876 Miners over ran the Sioux Reservation looking for gold and silver So the Indians left the reservation to hunt in Montana

Little Big Horn The U.S. army and George Custer were sent to confront the Sioux Custer took his vastly out numbered men ( ) into battle against Sitting Bull and 2500 Sioux in broad daylight and was greatly defeated

Massacre at Wounded Knee Lakota were performing Ghost Dance against orders of the government. Sitting Bull killed when authorities tried to arrest him. Ghost Dancers fled reservation with U.S. troops in pursuit. –Dec Battle of Wounded Knee The Massacre at Wounded Knee was one of the last battles fought between the U.S. army and the Indians

Assimilation Assimilating Native Americans became the cry of people in the East although most attempts failed The Dawes Act in 1887 allowed for heads of household to have 160 acres of reservation land for farming

Excess Information (Future Chapters)

Many new inventions made settling the West easier Nothing aided the settlement of the west more than the Transcontinental Railroad

Transcontinental Railroad Two railroad companies worked on the first Transcontinental Railroad… –The Union Pacific Company started in Omaha, Nebraska –The Central Pacific Company started in Sacramento, California

On May 10, 1869, the two companies joined the two railroad lines at Promontory Point, Utah Many immigrants from China and Ireland were used to build the Railroad

Other inventions that aided the movement west were… –Windmill –Barbed Wire –Mechanized farm equipment –Steel Plow –Revolver

John Deere invented the steel plow in 1837

The first wireless form of long distance communication was invented in late 1800’s called the Telegraph

Farmer Grievances In the late 1800’s farmers began to struggle with high tariffs They were also being squeezed by bad weather and high priced machinery

The farmers first attempt to organize and fight was known as the Grange

The Farmer’s Alliance began in Texas in 1877 to address issues faced by farmers In 1890 the group had over 3 million members

When neither political party helped the farmers they started their own 3 rd party called the Populist Party

Journal Entry, March 31 Given what you know about the situation when settlers wanted to move West in the late 1800’s and the issues faced with the Native Americans… –How might you handle the problems that were faced between the Settlers and Native Americans?

Essay Question List and explain in detail the 3 main groups who led the movement West in the U.S. following Reconstruction. List specific motivations, problems, and circumstances that were involved.