Virginia City, Nevada, site of the “Big Bonanza.”

Learning Goals: 1.Explain how the discovery of gold and silver in the West caused a population surge. 2.Summarize the growth and decline of the long drives in the cattle industry. 3.Identify forces that increased population in western cities and in the Southwest. Journal: Imagine that you are a famous outlaw from the West. Write a diary entry about one of your robberies. Explanation: You may write about a train, bank, or stagecoach robbery.

1. The hope of striking it rich, also known as “gold fever,” attracted prospectors to the West from all over the world. A map of the California gold country.

Samuel Brannan ( ) set off the gold rush that brought thousands of people to California. Brannan was a successful merchant in San Francisco. On May 12, 1848, he showed a container of gold on the street and cried: "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!"

2. The Comstock Lode was discovered in western Nevada and created the “boomtown,” Virginia City. A lode is a deposit of valuable mineral buried in layers of rock. Silver miners in a mine. Silver miners at the Comstock Lode.

Think-Pair- Share Imagine you are a young person seeking to make your fortune in the west. What career do you think you would be prepared to do if you moved to the West? Why? Think about your answer and then turn to a neighbor and share your thoughts. We will share as a group.

3. Two problems that miners faced were lung problems caused by dust and cave-ins that could trap people. Cave in!

4. A lasting effect of the mining boom was that Nevada, Colorado, and South Dakota grew rapidly and gained rapid statehood. J. Neely Johnson, president of Nevada’s Constitutional Convention. South Dakota’s state flag.

Think-Pair- Share Explorers depleted resources of the West, exploiting Native American civilizations and their natural products. If you were to colonize a planet in space, what safeguards would you provide to protect and conserve the resources of the planet? Think about your answer and then turn to a neighbor and share your thoughts. We will share as a group.

5. Many cowhands in the West were African Americans who came to escape the southern Black Codes.

6. The main factor that led to the decline of the cattle industry was that more settlers moved to the Great Plains and fenced their lands in with barbed wire. Cattle were targeted by cow thieves called rustlers. People fenced in their land to protect the cattle from being stolen.

Think-Pair- Share Close examination of the land has determined it is cheaper and faster to lay rail through a sacred Indian burial ground than through a mountainside. Should the government break a treaty with the Indians and build on their land or spend millions and tunnel through? Think about your answer and then turn to a neighbor and share your thoughts. We will share as a group.

7. Some citizens in the West formed vigilante groups because rapidly growing cow towns had no sherrif or local governments.

CLOSURE ACTIVITY You’re Stuck Here Until: Pick two vocabulary words from the Growth in the West Unit. Put them in your own words. Share your definitions and words with two other people in class.