1. Reshaping the Nation The Frontier “The most significant factor determining the development of the United States was the existence of the Western Frontier.” From our beginnings to 1890, Americans “looked West.”

2. Reshaping the Nation The Frontier Factors contributing to America’s westward expansion: Population growth, both naturally and through immigration Abundance of free land and resources Government policy Easy communication/transportation –Turnpikes and Canals –Steamboats –Telegraph –Railroads

3. Reshaping the Nation The Frontier The “Frontier” was not a single time or place, rather it was an overlapping succession of “frontiers.” –The Fur Frontier (1815-1845) –The Mining Frontier (1848-present) –The Cattle Frontier (1860-1890) –The Farming Frontier (1860 to present)

4. Reshaping the Nation The Frontier The Fur Frontier –Was relatively short –Depended on the trade in beaver pelts. –Did lead to exploration of the North American interior by the “Mountain Men.”

5. Reshaping the Nation The Frontier The Mining Frontier –California Gold Rush - 1848 –Comstock Lode - 1859 –The Black Hills - 1874 –Additional “strikes” throughout the West - 1860 to 1890. –Yukon Gold Rush - 1892

6. Reshaping the Nation The Frontier The Cattle Frontier –Depended on the “open range” and the railroad. –Led to the “Cowtowns” of Dodge City, Sedalia, Abilene –Ends after 1886 due to Barbed Wire Weather Overproduction New settlers

7. Reshaping the Nation The Frontier The Farming Frontier –1862 Homestead Act made land available –Post Civil War exodus –Railroads and their land policy –Elimination of Indian tribes –New Farming Techniques

8. Reshaping the Nation The Frontier The frontier effectively comes to an end with the opening of Indian Territory to settlement in 1890.