1. Essential Question:
What factors led to the settlement of the West during the Gilded Age ( )?
Warm-Up Question:
Let’s review the Unit 7 Organizer

2. The Gilded Age:
After the Civil War, the U.S. entered an era known as the Gilded Age when America experienced rapid changes

3. The Gilded Age: 1870-1900 Industrialization & Urbanization
Tons of steel per year
Industrialization & Urbanization
Ranching, Mining, & Farming
Reconstruction &
Rise of Jim Crow Segregation

4. Introduction to the Gilded Age Video

5. Overview of the West
After the Civil War, the area west of the Mississippi River was settled:
Miners, ranchers, farmers flooded into the “frontier” looking for economic opportunities
Transcontinental railroads connected the country
Plains Indians were forced to assimilate & move to reservations
By 1890, the frontier was closed

6. What changed in America in the Gilded Age?

8. The Mining Bonanza
Mining was the 1st magnet to attract settlers to the West:
Before the Civil War, miners discovered gold in California, Colorado, & Nevada
After the Civil War, miners resumed their migration into the West to find more gold & silver

9. Mining Regions of the West
John Mackay became the richest man in the world & earned $25 a minute from his “Big Bonanza” in Sierra Mountains
Mining Regions of the West
Silver miners in Leadville, CO
$306 million in gold & silver was discovered at the Comstock Lode
Mining towns were formed in the West; Needed gov’t, law enforcement, & businesses ;

10. Corporations had the expensive machinery (“hydraulic mining techniques”) to extract most of the gold in the West

11. Chinese & Latin American immigrants came to find gold
Nativism led Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 which ended Chinese immigration

12. What changed in America in the Gilded Age?

14. Ranchers & The Cattle Boom
After the Civil War, the demand for beef skyrocketed
To meet this demand, ranchers drove Texas longhorns across the open “range” to railroad towns:
Cattle bought in Texas for $4 could be sold for $40 in Kansas
Cattle drives created new towns
After the Civil War, the demand for beef skyrocketed; To meet this demand, ranchers (cowboys) drove Texas longhorns from Mexico to

15. Ranchers & The Cattle Boom
Ranchers used the “open range” to graze longhorns during the 3 month “long drive”
By 1867, ranchers started using trains to ship cattle to meatpacking cities like Chicago

16. Half of the cowboys in the West were African-American or Mexican
Cattle Drives
Half of the cowboys in the West were African-American or Mexican

17. Ranchers & The Cattle Boom
By the 1880s, cattle ranching was difficult because:
The “open range” was closed as farmers used new barbed wire fencing to close off their farms
Overgrazing & drought left little grasslands for grazing cattle
Competition from sheep herding

19. What changed in America in the Gilded Age?
1850
1890

21. Homesteads & Farmers
The U.S. gov’t offered incentives for farmers to settle the West:
Homestead Act (1862) gave 160 acres to citizens who pledged to “improve the land” for at least 5 years
Other gov’t acts helped develop western lands by planting trees & building irrigation systems

23. By 1900, 600,000 Americans claimed homesteads

24. Homesteads & Farmers Used dry farming techniques
Life in the Plains was difficult:
There were few trees so homesteaders built sod houses
60% of homesteaders failed
But many homesteaders adapted:
Used dry farming techniques
Planted tough varieties of wheat
Used harvesting machinery

25. Sod House

26. By 1890, the U.S. became a major crop exporter

27. Exodusters
Exodusters were black farmers who moved West to escape crop liens & Jim Crow laws in the South

28. Exodusters

29. Homestead Sales,
In 1890, the western frontier “closed”: There were no more unorganized territories in the West

30. What changed in America in the Gilded Age?

31. Rails Across the Continent
In 1862, Congress authorized the first transcontinental railroad:
Union Pacific worked westward from Nebraska (Irish laborers)
Central Pacific worked eastward from CA (Chinese immigrants)
On May 10, 1869 the 2 tracks met at Promontory Point in Utah
1869 is same year as Suez Canal completion—similar effects; both opened access & tie two worlds together 7

32. Irish workers made up a large percentage of laborers on the eastern section
Chinese workers made up a large percentage of laborers on the western leg
The 1st transcontinental railroad connected the west coast to eastern cities in 1869

33. Federal Land Grants to Railroads by 1871
The national gov’t gave out $65 million & millions of acres to railroad companies to connect the East & West coasts with railroads
Western railroad lines by 1887

34. The Transcontinental Railroad
“Pullman cars” & “refrigeration cars”
In 1870, railroads developed the 1st time zones

35. Railroad Construction, 1830-1920

36. What changed in America in the Gilded Age?

38. The Plains Indians
In 1865, 2/3 of all Indians lived on the Great Plains
Their culture was dependent upon the buffalo & the horse

39. The Importance of the Buffalo in Indian Culture

40. America’s Indian Policy
America’s Indian policy changed:
In the 1830s, Indians were moved across the Mississippi River into “one big reservation”
In the 1850s, (due to Manifest Destiny), Indians were moved into concentrated reservations
In the 1860s, reservations were violated by farmers & miners
The Wagon trains to OR & CA, gold rush, transcontinental RR

41. Indians Wars
In 1876, Americans flooded into Sioux territory in South Dakota when gold was discovered
Little Big Horn (1876)
Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)
The Sioux, led by Sitting Bull, retaliated by ambushing Colonel Custer & all 197 soldiers in the Seventh Cavalry at Little Big Horn

42. Indians Wars
When the U.S. army tried to stop Sioux “ghost dances,” 200 men, women, & children were slaughtered during the Battle of Wounded Knee
The Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 was the last Indian war in American history
Little Big Horn (1876)
Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

43. The End of Tribal Life
The final blow to Indian culture came with annihilation of buffalo:
Began with the construction of the transcontinental RR in 1860s
From to , million buffalo were killed each year

44. 1 hunter = 100 buffalo per day

45. Lands Lost by Native Americans (1894)
The Cession of Indian Territory

46. Conclusions By 1890, the frontier was closed:
Miners, ranchers, & farmers flooded West at the expense of Indians
But, Westerners began to grow frustrated due to their dependency on Eastern railroads, banks, & politicians

47. Closure Activity
What was the American “West” in 1750? 1800? 1850? 1900?
Now that the United States has acquired & occupied all lands between the Atlantic & Pacific, what’s next?

48. Essential Question:
Who were the Populists & what new ideas did they promote in order to help western farmers?
Warm-Up Question: ?

49. Group Activity: The Problem of Farmers & Rise of the Populist Party
In groups, complete these tasks:
Examine the documents provided & determine what major problems farmers faced in the Gilded Age
Write your answers in the matrix
When finished, generate a plan that provides a solution to meet the needs of farmers

50. The Problems of Farmers
In the 1870s & 1880s, western farmers faced serious problems:
Prices for their crops were falling due to over-production of grains
Banks were charging high interest rates on mortgages & were foreclosing on debtors
Railroads charged high rates for shipping & storing their crops

51. Price Index for Consumer & Farm Goods

52. The Problems of Farmers
Government policies hurt farmers:
The gov’t reduced the paper money (greenbacks) & relied on gold-backed currency
This led to deflation making it harder for farmers to pay off debts
When westerners appealed to their politicians, nothing was done

53. Reform Attempts by Farmers
Farmers attempted to organize & fight back through groups like the Grangers & the Farmers’ Alliance:
These groups attacked abusive banks & railroad companies
They called on farmers to form their own co-op stores, banks, & storage silos to avoid exploitation
Both groups failed to gain improvements for farmers

54. Granger Meeting

55. The Populist Party
In 1890, the Populist Party was formed & demands reforms:
Government regulation of railroads in order to lower rates
A national income tax to take the burden of taxation off farmers
Direct-election of Senators to make politicians more responsive
Bimetalism: Using gold & silver to inflate the money supply
Their platform included the Ocala Demands, an 8-hour day, gov’t control of RRs & banks, the breakup of monopolies, & tighter immigration restrictions
Populists emerged as a powerful 3rd party & got numerous state & national politicians elected

56. Bi-Metalism

57. The Rise of the Populist Party
From 1890 to 1896, the Populist Party emerged as an influential 3rd party & began to challenge the Democrats & Republicans
…the state gov’ts of Idaho, Nevada, Kansas, & North Dakota were dominated by Populists
, & dominated the state governments of Idaho, NV, CO, KS, & ND
During this time, 3 governors, 10 congressmen, & 5 senators were elected as Populist candidates…
In 1892, Populist James Weaver made a run at the presidency

58. William Jennings Bryan & the Election of 1896
In the 1896 presidential election, William Jennings Bryan embraced Populist ideas & was nominated by the Democrat & Populist Parties:
Bryan made bimetallism the issue of the campaign as a result of his “Cross of Gold” speech
Republican William McKinley argued for the gold standard

59. Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” Speech

60. Bimetallism: A recipe for prosperity or lunacy?

61. The Election of 1896
McKinley’s defeat of Bryan in the election of 1896 killed the Populist Party…
…but key Populist ideas such as the income tax, direct election of Senators, & regulation of railroads will be enacted by the Progressives from 1890 to 1920

62. Closure Activity ?