American History Chapter 13-3 Farming the Plains

Motivations to Farm the West 1862 Homestead Act: Gave 160 acres of land to the head of the household. – Had to build on the land & farm it for 5 yrs to own it Pacific Railway Act: Granted land to RR companies to construct railroad & telegraph lines Morrill Act: Granted land to states to build or finance colleges for the agricultural & mechanical arts.

Further Motivation to Farm the West 1889 Oklahoma Land Run: 2 million acres of land, previously believed to be Indian Territory, was opened up to white settlement. – 50,000 settlers rushed into Ok. to stake their claims.

End of the American Frontier 1890 – U.S. Census Bureau declared that the American frontier was closed. – Historian Frederick Turner believed that it was the frontier that had made the U.S. distinctive. – Today’s historians list other factors as being more important to the development of the U.S., (ie: slavery, immigration, industrialization.) Frederick Jackson Turner

Migration West Benjamin Singleton: Former slave who encouraged Af. Am. to build their own communities in the West. – Exodusters: 15,000 + African Americans moved to Ks. – Many blacks left the South to avoid segregation & the KKK.

Changes in Farming Many were forced to irrigate. – Constructed windmills. Lumber was scarce on the plains. – Farmers built dugouts & sod houses.

Other Farm Changes James Oliver: Invented a plow with a sharper edge. – Combine harvesters were invented. Bonanza farms developed: – Large companies bought up land & ran farms like factories. – Struggled with the boom-and-bust cycles of farming. James Oliver

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