1. Transforming the West
Chapter 6/Section 3

2. Mining Mining= 1st great “boom” in the West
Gold/Silver led to waves of white settlers puring into the West
Led to mining camps/communities; “Boomtowns”
By 1870s, large companies made mining a big business
Had the capital to purchase mining equipment
Fueled the nation’s industrial development

3. Railroads Open the West
The Transcontinental Railroad
Built by private companies, but supported by the US government
Government provided: 1) Land grants 2) Loans
Central Pacific= Laid track eastward from Sacramento, CA
Union Pacific= Laid track westward from Omaha, Nebraska
1869= Two tracks met at Promontory, Utah
Railroads intensified western settlement
Towns/Cities built along railroads grew
Intensified demand for Indians’ land

4. Cattle Ranching= 2nd Western “Boom”
Before arrival of eastern settlers, Mexicans in Texas raised livestock
Open-Range System: Cattle roamed freely, each cattle marked/branded so they could be identified
Spring: Ranchers hired cowboys to “round up” cattle spread out over thousands of miles
Cattle brought to railroad station, sent to Eastern markets
Open-Range system ended by 1880s; Why?
1) Invention of barbed wire
2) Beef supply exceeded demand= Price of beef dropped

5. Farmers & Homesteads
Homestead Act, 1862= Gov. offered farm plots of 160 acres to anyone
Requirements= 1) Live on land for 5 years 2) Dig a well & a road
Some new settlers were fromer slaves; Benjamin Singleton & the “Exodusters”
Life of a homesteader was difficult/lonely
Nature= Windstorms/blizzards/droughts/locusts
The Great Plains were treeless, many lived in home made of sod

6. Competition, Conflict, & Change
Economic Rivalries
Different settlers= Different uses of land, sometimes at odds with each other
Ex: Conflicts between minders, ranchers, sheepherders, & farmers
Large-scale mining polluted water that ran onto the Plains
No matter who won, Native Americans lost

7. Competition, Conflict, & Change
Prejudices & discrimination
Ranchers belittled homesteaders, called “sodbusters”
After 1850, West= 20% of pop./80% of nation’s Asian, Mexican, & Native American pop.
Besides American settlers, many settlers were foreign-born
Multiple cultural differences joined mix of several dozen Native American cultures
Conflict arose over natural resources as well; Ex: El Paso Salt War