1. U.S. and Virginia History
Westward Expansion:
U.S. and Virginia History

2. Key Factors That Moved People Westward
Poor people (white and black) in the South
Many Southerners had very few economic prospects in the South after the Civil War
Homestead Act of 1862
Lincoln wanted to encourage Americans to move out West
Pay the $10 fee and you were awarded 160 acres of land in the Western Territories
Anyone who hadn’t fought against the Union was eligible, including women, blacks, and immigrants

4. Farming in the Great Plains
New technology, such as the railroad and the mechanical reaper, allowed farming to expand across the Great Plains at a rapid rate
Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper allowed for fields to be plowed and crops collected much quicker, particularly crops like wheat and barley
The railroad allowed
for crops to be sent back
East much quicker

5. The Era of the Cowboy
The large demand for beef led to a demand for certain workers to “drive” the cattle (typically from Texas) up to major railways in Nebraska and Kansas – enter the Cowboy
This Open Range system essentially allowed cowboys to bring the cattle up through large farms, enabling the cattle to typically go where they pleased
Barbed wire and decreased beef demand destroyed the need for cowboys
The heyday of the cowboy will last only about 20 years

7. Destroying a Way of Life
Whites hunters will slaughter 30 million buffalo over the course of a decade, decimating the Plains Indians way of life

9. Chinooks
Pueblos
Sioux

10. Map 13 of 45

11. Native Indian Resistance
Many Indian tribes decide to resist continued invasion from White settlers
Tribes such as the Sioux lead wars against the U.S. military
Battle of Little Bighorn – George Custer and his men are beaten by 7,000 Sioux warriors
Custer and all of his men are killed, around 220 cavalrymen
Indian Wars will end in 1890 at the Massacre at Wounded Knee Creek – U.S. soldiers slaughter men, women, and children – Indians moved to reservations

12. Sitting Bull
Crazy Horse
Sioux Leaders

13. Little Bighorn

14. Little Bighorn

15. Little Bighorn

16. Little Bighorn

17. Memorial-Little Bighorn