1. Warm Up 1.Raise your hand if you have moved from one house to another at some point in your life. 2.Find someone who has moved and ask them the following questions: – Why did you move? – Did you like the place you moved? – How was it different from where you used to live?

2. Objectives Content: Determine the most important reasons for Westward Expansion. Language: List the features of the Great Plains.

3. Westward Expansion “The Great Plains”

4. The Great Plains Pre Civil War it was viewed as a “treeless wasteland” Features: – Flatlands that rise gradually from east to west – Land eroded by wind and water – Low rainfall – Frequent dust storms

5. The Great Plains Now seen as a vast area for settlement and opportunity – Land Homestead Act – citizens can acquire 160 acres of land as long as they pay a filing fee and live on the land for a minimum of 5 years. http://youtu.be/yxaJY8UZxn4?list=PL6813F8A8A1A97A4E http://youtu.be/yxaJY8UZxn4?list=PL6813F8A8A1A97A4E – Adventure – Railroad – Gold and Silver – Escape from discrimina tion

6. Inventions and Adaptations Western settlement was aided by new inventions and technologies There were a total of 8 adaptations and inventions that helped settlers to survive the harsh climate they are: 1.Railroads (most important reason for Westward Expansion)

7. Transcontinental Railroad – Completed May 10, 1869. – The last spike was driven at Promontory Point in Utah. It was called the Golden Spike. – The Union Pacific (from the East) and the Central Pacific (from the West) had laid over 1700 miles of track. – Most important reason for Westward Expansion Story of US http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcAoIlyw9i0&feature=related

8. Effects of Railroads Towns grew along the rail line Transported goods to cities and larger markets Increased demand for steel, coal and construction work

9. Effects of Railroads Led to increase in farming and cattle ranching Established 4 time zones in 1883. Made official in 1918 by Congress. – Story of US

12. Objectives Content: Name the adaptations the settlers developed to survive in the Great Plains. Language: Write a paragraph on the most important adaptation(s) western settlers made.

13. 2. Dry Farming Plant seeds deep into the ground where there was some moisture. Allows for crops in climates that seemed un-farmable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48H7zOQrX3U&safety_mode=t rue&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

14. 3. Steel Plow By 1870’s the steel plow was invented that could break through the tough layers of sod.

15. Farmers adopted an improved strain of Russian wheat which required less water and grew well in the dryer soil of the Great Plains. 4. Wheat Farming

16. 5. Windmills Farmers could use windmills to pump water out from under the ground.

17. Built using rectangles of grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots. It was a similar style to an igloo. They were very well insulated, but also very damp. 6. Sod Houses

18. A Nebraska Sod House Sodbusters- Name given to the plains farmers Story of US

19. In the early 1800s, cattle ranches began appearing on the Great Plains, especially in Texas. Demand for beef was high, and as railroads developed, cowboys and vaqueros would drive the rancher’s cattle north to meet up with the rail lines. 7. Beef Cattle Raising

20. Vaqueros and Cowboys

21. 8. Barbed Wire Developed barbed wire to protect their land in r esponse to cattle herders. Story of US