1. Opening the West
Chapter 18

2. The Western Frontier

3. Why Move West?

4. Why Move West?

5. Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny: the idea that the United States must expand its boundaries to the Pacific Ocean, popular in the 1800s

6. Westward Expansion

7. The Homestead Act of 1862
The US government gave 160 acres of land to anyone who paid a $10 filing fee and promised to farm this land for five years
Many could not afford to move West (remember difficulty of movement during Reconstruction)
Nevertheless, many people moved West, including:
Men
Single/widowed women
African Americans (called themselves “Exodusters”)

8. From Boomtowns to Ghost Towns
Boomtowns – towns that developed rapidly as a result of gold mining and expanding railroads
Ghost towns – towns that went “bust” when all the gold had been mined and all residents left

9. Vigilante Justice
In boom towns, which often sprung up overnight, the absence of laws and a police force resulted in vigilante justice.
This meant that normal people would take matters into their own hands and “punish” criminals.

10. Buffalo* Native Americans: Western Pioneers:
buffalo were a way of life
used ALL of the animal
Western Pioneers:
concerned mainly with buffalo fur
hunted the animals for sport
Different views of buffalo led to clashes among Native Americans and U.S. citizens
*NOT my hometown, the animal!

11. Railroads: The Lifeblood of the Western Frontier

12. The Transcontinental Railroad
Transcontinental Railroad – A railroad that spanned the United States. The track was roughly 1,700 miles long when it was completed in 1869!
Built by the Union Pacific in the East (from Omaha, Nebraska) and the Central Pacific in the West (from Sacramento, California)
Both tracks met at Promontory Summit, Utah
Paid for with subsidies:
Financial aid and land grants from the government
The quicker they worked, the more money the company made  a race to Utah!
The Union Pacific won (1,038 miles of track versus the Central Pacific’s 742 miles)
Construction was very tough to complete because they had to lay track across warm plains and through rugged mountains.

13. The Transcontinental Railroad

14. Tough Travel

15. Chinese Labor in the Snow

16. The Last Spike Ceremony May 10, 1869

17. Cattle Drives
-Cattle becomes a valued good for the newly settled West, as it was shipped by rail to the East for food
-Cattle was herded by cowboys 1,000 miles from Texas to railroad lines in cities like Abilene and Wichita for transport
-Cattle drives ended after the overproduction of cattle and the development of barbed wire
-Cowboy culture is often romanticized, even today, because it represented a life of freedom on the open range and the lawlessness of the West

18. Branding (copyright)

19. Rail Lines in 1895

20. Effects of the Transcontinental Railroads
Workers, ranchers, farmers, and manufactured goods moved west
Metals and produce moved east
Steel industry, coal producers, railroad car manufacturers, and construction companies all profited
New towns were set up along the tracks (ex. Denver, Colorado)
Train schedules led to the creation of our 4 time zones

21. Native Americans
“If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for it he will find it, and that is what the Indians are doing now when they ask to give them the things that were promised to them in the past. And I do not think they should be treated like beasts, and that is the reason I have grown up with the feelings I have.”
-Sitting Bull
Reservation – plot of land set aside for Native Americans by U.S. federal government
The United States government forced Native Americans onto reservations
If and when gold was discovered on these plots of land, the government forced Native Americans to leave
Sitting Bull – 19th century Lakota Sioux chief who led his people against U.S. government

22. Sioux War of 1876
Clash between thousands of miners and Lakota Sioux Indians led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull in the Black Hills Lakota and Sioux Reservations.
1876: Battle of Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand
Few soldiers versus many Native Americans  US loses battle

23. Custer’s Last Stand

24. Ghost Dance Seen by U.S. government as threatening; led to death of Sitting Bull

25. Massacre at Wounded Knee
Reacting to Sitting Bull’s death, the Lakotas fled their reservations, and were pursued by the U.S. Army
On December 29th, 1890, the Lakotas were rounded up and preparing to surrender
An accidental shot rang out, resulting in the massacre of over 300 Native Americans and 25 soldiers

26. The Dawes Act -Solution was unsuccessful
1887 – passed by Congress to encourage Native Americans to become farmers and eventually to become American citizens.
Ended tribal affiliations
Every Native American would be entitled to a plot of land on the reservation
-Solution was unsuccessful

27. Desperate times call for desperate measures

28. Farming on the Great Plains
Farmers faced many problems:
Cost of shipping crops and ordering goods was high
Crop prices were falling as more and more farms were set up
Farmers organized to try to come up with solutions to their problems:
The National Grange, Farmer’s Alliances
Populists

29. The Populists Platform:
U.S. government should own railroads and telegraphs to regulate prices
Free silver-based currency (nation was on gold standard at this point)
Graduated income tax
Shorter work day
Political changes: 1 term presidency, direct election of senators, secret ballots