1. Closing the West
Post Civil War West (1870s)

2. FACTORS ENCOURAGING SETTLEMENT OF THE FRONTIER
Precious Metals. The California
Gold Rush in 1849 and later dis-
coveries of gold and silver in
other western states brought
prospectors westward.
Cheap Land. The Homestead
Act (1862) promised settlers
160 acres of free land if they
farmed the land for 5 years.
this law greatly increased the
settlement of the West.
FACTORS
ENCOURAGING
SETTLEMENT OF
THE FRONTIER
A New Start. Immigrants from
Europe and city people from the
Eastern United States were often
attracted by the prospect of
starting a new life with their
own piece of land.
The Railroad. The completion of
The Transcontinental Railroad in
1869 cut travel time to the West
and enabled ranchers and
farmers to ship cattle and
grain to eastern markets. 2

3. Settlement of the West: Miners, Cattlemen, Ranchers
Promontory Point, UT (May 10, 1869)
FACTORS Promoting Settlement:
1848: discovery of gold & silver mines (impact)
Construction of RR (land grants) created transportation & promote settlement
Homestead Act of 1862: 160 acres of free land; 500,000 took advantage
Western farming techniques: dry farming, deeper plows, new strains of wheat, barbed wire, hardships

4. Railroad Construction

5. West Settled: Impact on Native Americans
Increased western settlement = conflict
A Century of Dishonor: Helen Hunt Jackson describes treatment of N-A
Destruction of plains buffalo
Push for assimilation of NA
Dawes Act: tribal lands broken into lots of 160 acres (breaks up tribes): live 25 years & adopt civilized life = citizenship

6. END of Frontier? Turner’s Thesis
1890: Census Bureau “frontier settled”
Frederick Jackson Turner: “Significance of Frontier in American History”: 300 years of frontier life shaped our history:
Promoted independence, self-reliance
Promoted democracy (fewer class distinctions)

7. Changes in Farming
More commercialized, mechanized: by 1900, 37% fewer farmers needed
Increased production= lower prices
Fewer self-sustaining farmers: crops grown for overseas market
More farmers forced off land (city workers)

8. Inventor of the
Grain Reaper (1834)
Cyrus
McCormick
( )

9. Essential Questions
What national issues emerged in the process of closing the western frontier?
Why does the West hold such an important place in the American imagination?
In what ways is the West romanticized in American culture?