1. The West Transformed

3. Moving West
After the Civil War the attention of people turned to the west
The area stretched from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean
Known as the frontier

4. Moving West The Frontier had prairies, mountains, and forests
Americans thought the land was unsettled but it was home to Mexican settlers and Native Americans

5. Boom and Bust
Many settlers moved west in the hope of finding gold or silver
The gold rush of 1849 in California excited the nation, and people quickly moved west

6. Boom and Bust
After the Civil War, prospectors fanned out all over the west.
Montana, Idaho, and Colorado
Although many people went west few were able to strike it rich

7. Boomtowns
Towns often started quickly in areas where mining was taking place
Merchants would follow prospectors into boomtowns
Merchants would bring tools, food, and clothing
Prices were extremely high

11. Who were the miners? Half the miners were foreign born
Irish, Italian, German, Spanish, and Chinese
Mining towns had little law and order so groups of vigilantes would impose their brand of justice

12. Railroad Boom
Before 1860 Railroad lines ended at the Mississippi River
Federal government start to offer Subsidies for every mile of track put down past the Mississippi

14. Transcontinental Railroad
Westerners dreamed of a railroad that spanned the continent
Central Pacific Railroad won the right to build east from Sacramento
The Union Pacific would build west from Omaha

15. Transcontinental Railroad
Railroads hired thousands of workers
Native Born Whites, Mexican Americans, African Americans, and immigrants
Central Pacific brought in 10,000 Chinese to the United States to build the railroad

20. Transcontinental Railroad
Work was dangerous, pay was low
Daily progress sometimes came in inches

21. Transcontinental Railroad
May 10, 1869 the two lines met at Promontory, Utah
New towns sprang up in the West
People and supplies poured in, and Gold and Silver Poured out
Population in the west grew rapidly
Nevada, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming all became states by 1890
Made it easier to settle the WEST

23. Native Americans
Native Americans in the Plains lived by gathering food, hunting, and fishing.
They would follow the buffalo herds
In the winter they trailed the herds into protected valleys, and in the summer onto the grass Plains

24. Native Americans Buffalo were important to their way of life
Buffalo were used for meat, the horns and bones were turned into tools, tendons became thread, buffalo hide became clothes or tepees

25. Native Americans Division of Labor
Women managed the village, cared for children, prepared food
Men were hunters and warriors

28. Broken Treaties
The U.S. promised to safeguard Native American lands, but as miners and railroad crews moved west those treaties were broken

29. Broken Treaties Fort Laramie Treaty
In 1851, 10,000 people from the Plains nations gathered near Fort Laramie to talk with U.S. officials
Officials wanted the nations to stop following the buffalo, and if they permanently settles the government would protect their lands
“FOR AS LONG AS THE GRASS WOULD GROW”

30. Broken Treaties
As soon as some of the nations agreed settlers started moving onto their lands
In 1859, a gold strike in Colorado sent miners swarming to the region

31. Broken Treaties Sand Creek Massacre
A band of peaceful Cheyenne settled in Sand Creek Colorado were attacked
Ignited a new era of war

32. Broken Treaties Buffalo Soldiers
African American soldiers that were veterans of the Civil War

33. Reservations
Many of the Plains nations moved to reservations in Oklahoma
Poor soil made farming difficult
Life on Reservations was difficult

34. Little Bighorn
Colonel George Custer had orders to force Native Americans onto reservations
Custer led an attack on a band of Sioux and Cheyenne (Led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse)
Custer and all of his men died

36. Ghost Dance Some Native Americans dreamed of returning to old ways
Native Americans would begin swaying and dancing
Believed they were talking to ancestors and that it would bring back the old way of life
Soldiers guarding the Reservations saw this as an uprising
1890 Native Americans police went to a Sioux village to stop the dances. In that struggle Sitting Bull was killed

37. Failure of Reform
The poor treatment of the Native Americans brought criticism to the government
The Dawes Act-1887
Hoping to improve Native American Life congress passed the Dawes Act
It tried to turn Native Americans into farmers
Each male received 160 acres of farmland
The Act setup schools to make Native American children more like other Americans

38. The Dawes Act failed
Few Native Americans took to farming
most sold their land cheaply to dishonest whites
Native Americans forced to give up their way of life
As a result, Native Americans remained poor and dependent on the government

40. Rise of the Cattle Industry
For years wild cattle wandered the open range of Texas
Ranchers began rounding up the cattle in order to deliver the beef to market
Skilled riders had to drive the cattle from Texas to the rail lines in Kansas, Missouri, and Wyoming

41. Rise of the Cattle Industry
Cattle Drives lasted months as they followed the trails
Cattle Drives were dangerous and pay was low

43. The Wild West
Cattle drives ended at towns along railroad lines. These Cow Towns were unruly places and helped to create the myth of the Wild West
Cow towns had Dance halls, saloons, hotels, and restaurants that served the cowboys.
Drinking and gambling often led to barroom brawls that spilled onto streets

44. The Wild West Myth of the West
Believed to be rough and tumble, full of violence and adventure
Buffalo Bill Cody used this fantasy and created a traveling wild west show.
The show featured daring feats of sharp shooting and horse back riding.

46. Boom and Bust in the Cattle Kingdom
Cattle boom lasted from 1860s to the late 1880s
Ranchers earned high profits on cattle

47. Boom and Bust in the Cattle Kingdom
An economic depression and over breeding helped to lead to a decline in the cattle industry
Farmers fencing in the open range closed the cattle trails and stopped the cattle boom

48. Homesteading
500,000 farmers had settled on the Great Plains by 1900, many were attracted by the offer of free land
Homesteaders- settlers who acquired free land from the government

49. Homesteading Homestead Act-1862
Congress passed in 1862 and it offered 160 acres to anyone that resided on the land for five years
Gave poor a chance to own farms

50. Homesteading Few had the money to actually move west to get the land
The land on the Plains was often dry and not suitable for farming
1 out of 3 lasted the five years

51. Life on the Great Plains
Life was not easy (water was scarce and crops were hard to grow)