1. Ch 4: Settling the West
Why did we go West?
Gold

3. “Boomtowns” towns in west that experienced explosive growth
Vigilante Committees
Volunteers who went after wrong-doers
Most Boomtowns do not last
“ghost-towns”

5. Hydraulic Mining

6. Ranching and Cattle Drives
Second way the West opened
“Open Range”
Vast areas of grassland owned by the government

7. The Long Drive
Herding the cattle to Missouri and Kansas

9. Why the Long Drives ended
Invention of barbed wire
Protection from other ranchers and thieves
They flooded the market with cattle
Prices drop sharply
The blizzards of
Over 4 million cattle freeze or starve to death

10. Settling the Great Plains

11. Homestead Act Government program to encourage settlement on Plains
$10, up to 160 acres

12. The Wheat Belt

13. Struggles of the Plains Indians
Dakota Sioux Uprising (Minnesota)
Agreed to live on reservations for annuities
Annual payments
Reservations are full of poverty and lack food
Hundreds of civilians slaughtered

14. Red Cloud's War Lakota refuse to give up land
Guerrilla military tactics turn back U.S. military

16. Red Cloud
Sitting Bull
Crazy Horse

17. Sand Creek Massacre
Tension between miners and Cheyenne / Arapaho tribes
Tribes begin raiding trains, stealing cattle and horses
Both sides brutally massacre

18. Battle of Little Bighorn
Miners overrun Lakota territory
Lakota begin hunting outside reserved area
U.S. cavalry is wiped out

19. Tragedy at Wounded Knee
Lakota continue to perform “Ghost Dance”
Outlawed by U.S. government
Attempted arrest of Sitting Bull starts massacre

20. The Dawes Act (1887) Families: 160 acres of land to farm
Single: 80 acres
Goal: “assimilation”
Slowly absorb Natives into American culture

21. Ch 4 Essential Questions
Both miners and ranchers were looking for economic opportunity. How did they differ in their approach?
What difficulties might farmers have faced as they worked the new land?
Why did conflict arise between Native Americans and the settlers?