1. The Last West

2. The West: Settlement of the Last Frontier
After Civil War, many Americans begin settling in the West
Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Western Plateau
These lands known as “the Great American Desert”
Few trees, <15 inches of rainfall a year
Open grasslands supported an estimated 15 million bison
Provided food, clothing, shelter, tools for 250,000 Plains Tribes in the West

3. The West: Settlement of the Last Frontier
Frontier largely vanished over the next 35 years
Bison wiped out
Open lands fenced in by ranches and homesteads
Railroads
New towns
Progress came at a cost
Extermination of the buffalo, environmental damage
High human and cultural cost paid by the Native Americans

4. The Mining Frontier
1848: discovery of gold in the area brought first flood of newcomers
California gold rush would extend well into the 1890s
Also helped to settle much of the region
Series of gold and silver strikes the primary reason for admitting these territories into the Union
Nevada, Idaho, Montana

5. The Mining Frontier
California’s gold rush set the pattern for other rushes
Individual prospectors gave way to deep-shaft mining that required expensive capital and resources
Rich strikes created boom towns over night
Almost immediately became ghost towns as soon as the gold or silver ran out
Some towns continued by adding other infrastructure, others expanded into prosperous cities
San Francisco, Sacramento, Denver

6. Chinese Exclusion Act
As mines expanded, owners employed experienced foreign miners
One-third of western miners in 1860 were Chinese
Native-born Americans resented the job competition
Political pressure on Congress resulted in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Prohibited further immigration to the U.S. by Chinese laborers
Immigration from China was severely restricted until law first major act of Congress to restrict immigration on the basis of race and nationality

7. Legacy of the Mining Frontier
Stimulated settlement of the West
Increase in supply of silver created a major political issue in 1880s-90s over silver- vs. gold-backed currency
Mining boom left disastrous environmental scars
Native Americans lost their lands

8. The Cattle Frontier
Earlier, cattle were rounded up on a small scale by Mexican cowboys, or vaqueros
Traditions of cattle ranching were actually borrowed from Mexico
Texas cattle business was easy to get into
5 million free cattle and thousands of acres of free grass
Railroads opened up the markets for Texas cattle
Cowboys only received $1 a day for their dangerous work

9. The Cattle Frontier Long cattle drives came to an end in 1880s
Over grazing, winter blizzard, and drought of killed 90% of the cattle
Arrival of homesteaders who began using barbed wire fence to cut across the previously open plains
Cattle owners turned to huge ranches using scientific methods of breeding
The cattle frontier changed Americans’ eating habits from pork to beef
Also created the legend of the rugged, self-reliant cowboy

10. The Farming Frontier Homestead Act of 1862
Encouraged farming in Great Plains by offering 160 acres of free land to anyone who settled on it for 5 years
Promotions of railroads and promise of free land saw about 500,000 families take advantage of the Homestead Act
Best public lands often ended up in the hands of railroads or land speculators
Earliest settlers built their homes out of sod bricks (“sodbusters”)
Extreme weather, scare water, no wood to build houses or fences
160 acres was not enough for adequate farming
Severe weather, falling crop prices, rising cost of machinery caused the failure of two-thirds of homesteaders’ farms by 1900

11. The Closing of the Frontier
Last great land rush occurred in Oklahoma Territory (once set aside for Native Americans) was opened for settlement
1890- U.S. Census Bureau declared the entire frontier had been settled
Turner’s Frontier Thesis- “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” (1893)
Argued 300 years of frontier experience had shaped American culture- promoted independence and individualism; challenges of the frontier caused Americans to be inventive and practical- minded
The frontier had always held out the promise of a fresh start- once it was closed, would the U.S. be doomed to follow the patterns of class division and social conflict that troubled Europe?
By the 1890s, most Americans were moving to the cities and industrialized areas
The era of the western frontier and dominance of rural America was coming to a close

12. ?
What were the major reasons the western frontier came to a close by 1900? What were the negative consequences of this era?
What was the primary reason some western territories were admitted to the Union?
What was the significance of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?
Why did the cattle frontier come to an end?
What was Frederick Jackson Turner worried about the most in “The Significance of the Frontier in American History?”