1. Taming the West and The New Industrialized America
After the nation is done rebuilding, our sights are set west

2. Taming the West
Chapter 8

3. American Progress John Gast
What do you see?
What symbols are used?

4. Let’s Go Back a Bit… The west = silver, gold, copper
Big strike in Nevada and Henry Comstock
1859 – Henry Comstock strikes it rich in Virginia City, NV
Almost overnight, people flood into the city – population reaches close to 30,000!
Once the silver is gone though, so are the people – this cycle of “boomtown” to “ghost town” is repeated throughout the west
Crime also skyrockets – prospectors fight over claims, thieves ran rampant, self-appointed vigilante groups created, etc.
Truth of the matter is, there was plenty of gold and silver, it was just hidden beneath the surface and hard to get out

5. Let’s Go Back a Bit…Continued
Mining help create the states of Colorado, Montana and the Dakotas
Once people were able to dig deep into the earth, a second rush began in the 1870’s
These huge finds throughout the Rockies spurred the building of railroads further west
Discovery of gold in the Black Hills (South Dakota) and copper (Montana) led to a rapid development into these territories…problem is, people are living there

6. Ranchers and Cowboys
Post-Civil War life as we know, was terrible, some people’s solutions were to head west to seek their fortune
Early 1800’s, Americans didn’t think ranching on the Great Plains was even practical – water was scarce, prairie fires and cattle from the east couldn’t survive on the prairie grasses
Texas Longhorns
Breed of cattle from Spain that bred with cattle in Mexico that grew the distinctive long horns
1865 – 5 MILLION roam free

7. Texas Longhorn

8. Ranchers and Cowboys…Continued
Mexicans introduced cattle ranching to states we know today as California, New Mexico and Texas, but the industry grows because of the open range – a vast area of grassland owned by the government.
This area covers basically the Great Plains; cattle are able to roam free and graze with no restrictions
Why ranch?
2 reasons that ranching becomes profitable:
The Civil War – cattle are slaughtered at massive rates to feed both armies
Railroads

9. Railroads
By the 1860’s, railroads had reached the Great Plains, but didn’t stretch further Dodge City, Kansas
Ranchers realized that if they could round up their cattle and send them north to the railroad they could be sold for a huge profit
Cattle, if they survived the hundreds of miles trek northward, could be sold for 10 times the price they could in Texas

11. Ranching Becomes Big Business
Cowboys drove MILLIONS of cattle from Texas to Kanas
Some of the cattle go straight to the slaughterhouse, but others are sold to ranchers in Wyoming, Montana and other territories in the Great Plains
This cowboy way of life really only last 20 years or so and the big reason is barbed wire – steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands
Ranchers really saw barded wire as a nuisance because it shut off the grazing for their large herds traveling north
Also, investment from back east and Britain poured money into this new, booming business which leads to an oversupply of animals and leads to a huge price drop

12. Why Move to the Great Plains?
Construction of Railroads
“Rain follows the Plow”
The Homestead Act
Technology

13. 1. Construction of Railroads
Provides easy access to the Great Plains
Open up offices throughout the U.S.
“Ticket to Prosperity”

14. 2. “Rain Follows the Plow”
Phrase coined to sell the idea that cultivating the Great Plains would increase rainfall (…what?!)
Ironically, the weather cooperates! From , rainfall on the Great Plains was above average contradicting the belief that it was nothing but a barren wasteland

15. 3. The Homestead Act
1862
For a $10 (about $200 today) registration fee, you could file for a homestead – a tract of public land available for settlement claiming up to 160 acres!
Provided a legal method for settlers to acquire a clear title to property

16. 4. Technology
Dry farming – plant seeds deep into the ground where there’s moisture
Mechanical reapers – speeded the harvests
Wheat is the cash crop because it can withstand drought better than corn
Not everyone can handle living in such a harsh place

17. American Indians

18. Pushed Too Far
Most Plains tribes were nomadic – roaming vast distances, following their main food source and for them, that food source was the buffalo
98% of the buffalo had been wiped out by whites
Buffalo skin made a lot of money
Whites killed for sport OR were hired to ride on the trains and shoot at the buffalo so that they wouldn’t disrupt the trains
Unlike whites just killing for sport, Plains tribes relied on the buffalo for everything from meat to clothing, to decoration to housing. Essentially, buffalo were sacred

21. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
American Indian Culture, Last of the Indian Wars, the Dawes Act and Assimilation