1. The Great West

2. Movin’ West
Homestead Act – government offered 160 acres of land to any person who would settle in the West.
Oklahoma Land Rush took place in 1889, and settlers became known as “sooners.”
1890 U.S. Census declared that there was no longer a “frontier.”

3. Movin’ West
Settlers built sod houses, small homes dug from the earth (no trees).

4. Movin’ West
Morrill Land-Grant Act – gave federal land to state governments to build agricultural colleges.
NC A&T State University
NC State University

5. Movin’ West GOLD RUSH IN CALIFORNIA . . . Other settlers opened
cattle ranches.

6. Movin’ West Cattle drives – move cattle to railroad stations.
Cowboys learned how to round up, rope, and brand cattle from Mexicans.
Cattle drives – move cattle to railroad stations.

7. Movin’ West
Transcontinental Railroad – built in 1869 to connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the U.S.
Promontory Point, UT connected the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads!!!
Built by Chinese and Irish immigrants

9. Movin’ West
Technology in the West:
Steel Plow
Mechanical Reaper

10. **CLOSED THE OPEN RANGE**
Movin’ West
Barbed wire – prevented animals from trampling crops and wandering off.
**CLOSED THE OPEN RANGE**

11. Movin’ West
Refrigerator car – used to transport meat on the railroads.
Windmill – used wind power to pump water to the surface to irrigate crops.

12. Impact on Native Americans

13. Movin’ West Native American culture:
Men hunted and women prepared food
Children learned through stories and myths
Believed in spirits
Strong connection to the land

14. Destroyed Native American source of food, clothing, and shelter!!!
Movin’ West
American settlers hunted buffalo.
Destroyed Native American source of food, clothing, and shelter!!!

16. Movin’ West Native Americans had to fight to keep their land.
Reservations – specific areas set aside by the government for Native Americans.

17. Movin’ West Sioux became most powerful tribe on the Great Plains.
Battle of Little Big Horn -
Sitting Bull and others killed General Custer and his American troops.
Victory for Native Americans!!!

18. “I will fight no more forever.”
Movin’ West
Chief Joseph, leader of the Nez Perce, refused to give up land and move onto reservations.
“I will fight no more forever.”

19. Movin’ West LAST OF INDIAN WARS!!!
Sioux began the ghost dance (ritual) to get rid of white settlers.
Wounded Knee - American soldiers attacked and killed nearly 300 Native Americans.
LAST OF INDIAN WARS!!!

20. Movin’ West
Assimilation – Native Americans gave up their beliefs and traditions to become part of “white” culture.
Dawes (Severalty) Act, 1887 – broke up tribal lands and gave to individual owners.

22. Movin’ West
A Century of Dishonor – book by Helen Hunt Jackson to reveal U.S. government’s harsh treatment of Native Americans.

23. The Populist Movement

24. Who is the farmer’s worst enemy???
THE RAILROAD

25. Movin’ West
Railroads charged high prices and took advantage of poor farmers.

26. Movin’ West
Farmers suffered from low prices, deflation, and overproduction.
Many lost their farms!!!
The Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance were organizations to improve the social and economic status of farmers.

27. Movin’ West
Populist Party wanted to regulate the railroads and give farmers a greater voice in government.
Wabash v. Illinois, 1886 – Supreme Court declared that states do not have the power to regulate interstate commerce (railroads).
Interstate Commerce Act, 1887 – government said railroads must show their rates (prices).

28. Movin’ West Populists also wanted to increase the money supply.
U.S. had issued greenbacks, or worthless paper money, during the Civil War.

29. Movin’ West
Bimetallism – using both gold and silver to back the nation’s money.
More money = better economy VS
Gold Standard – using only gold.
Less money = more stable

30. Movin’ West
In the election of 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran for president as a Populist!!!
Delivered his “Cross of Gold” speech to support bimetallism.

31. “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

32. End of populism!!! Movin’ West
William Jennings Bryan lost the election.
End of populism!!!

33. QUIZ!!!
1 = A
2 = B
3 = C
4 = D

34. (4.01) Which best explains how settlers of the Great Plains dealt with the challenge of building homes on the treeless prairie?
A. They made houses from adobe bricks.
B. They used soil matted with grass roots to build sod houses.
C. They dug into hillsides to make cave-like cabins.
D. They made one-story dwellings of buffalo hides.

35. (4. 02) “We were like deer. They were like grizzly bears
(4.02) “We were like deer. They were like grizzly bears. We had small country. Their country was larger.” Which best explains Chief Joseph’s meaning?
A. The U.S. troops had overpowered and defeated his people.
B. His people would never willingly become a part of the United States.
C. He was asking the U.S. troops to permit the Nez Perce to emigrate to Canada.
D. He was explaining the reason for his alliance with Geronimo and the Apache.

36. (4.03) Which best explains why the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 was passed?
A. The bankers and railroads were losing money.
B. The Morrill Land-Grant Act had failed.
C. The transcontinental railroad had just been completed.
D. The Grangers felt victimized by bankers and railroads.

37. (4.04) Which group would mostly likely support bimetallism?
A. Bankers
B. Industrialists and merchants
C. Farmers and laborers
D. Foreign investors