1. Opening the West

2. Essential Question
What were the causes and effects of mining booms in the West?
Discovery of gold and silver in west led to mining boom
Effect: creation of new states
Effect: Transcontinental Railroad
Effect: new wave of settlers
Effect: benefits to industry

3. Gold Silver and Boomtowns
Mid 1850s – California gold rush has ended
Miners began prospecting in other parts of the West
Prospectors skimmed gold dust from streams or scratched particles from the land
Most gold is deep underground
Companies stand a better chance at getting rich than individuals

4. Boomtowns
Boomtown

5. Boom and Bust Gold strikes created boomtowns
Towns develop almost overnight
Lively, lawless places, violence and gambling
Mostly men, but some women acted as laundresses, cooks or entertainers
Everyday people called, vigilantes, enforced the law
Once the gold was gone, people left and they became ghost towns

6. United States Expands West
As mining areas became more populated, they eventually became states
1876 – Colorado
1889 – North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Montana
1890 – Wyoming, Idaho

7. Railroads Connect East and West
Gold and silver had little value unless they could reach factories, ports and markets
People living in boomtowns also needed shipments of food and supplies
Nation’s railroads expand rapidly between 1865 and 1890

8. Railroads

9. Government and the Railroad
Railroad construction was often supported by large government subsidies
Railroad executives argued that their companies should receive free public land because connecting East and West would benefit the entire nation
Federal government agrees, grants 130 million acres to railroads
Most land is obtained by treaties with Native Americans

11. Transcontinental Railroad
Enormous Challenge!
Low wages/harsh conditions for workers
Irish
Chinese
African Americans
Harsh terrain: forests, deserts, mountains
Harsh weather: hot summers, icy winters

12. Transcontinental Railroad
Race between Union Pacific Company and Central Pacific Company
May 10, 1869 – construction is completed
East and West coast are connected

13. Effects of Railroads Brought thousands of workers west
Boost in steel industry with more needed for tracks
Coal producers, railroad car manufacturers, construction companies benefit
Towns spring up all along railway
Brings next wave of settlers west
Farmers
Ranchers
UNITES THE COUNTRY

14. Making Connections What was life like in boomtowns?
Lively, lawless places
More men than women
Law kept by vigilantes
Why did the government provide subsidies to Railroad Companies?
Building a Transcontinental Railroad was expensive and the RR companies argued that the government should pay for it because RRs would bring benefits to the entire nation.

15. Ranchers and Farmers Ranchers and Farmers
When you hear the word “cowboy” what do you think?
How does this song portray the life of a cowboy? Be specific.
Romanticized: Deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion

16. Essential Question
How did cattle ranchers and farmers adapt to life in the west?

17. Cattle on the Plains
When the Spanish settled Mexico and Texas, they brought a tough breed of cattle with them – Longhorns
Most of Texas is open range and ranchers added to their herds by rounding up wild cattle
They burned symbols into their hides to mark them as their own

18. Railroads and Cow Towns
Markets for beef were in the North and East
When railroads start expanding east, value of Texas cattle shot up
Texans drove their herds to the nearest rail point in Missouri to be shipped East
Increase in longhorn’s value set off what became known as the Long Drive

19. Long Drive

20. Life on the Great Plains
Cowhands and ranchers lived difficult lives on the Plains
Rode up to 15 hours a day in the saddle
Violent lightning storms, dust storms, blazing sun, freezing nights
Lonely
Stampedes
Vaqueros: Hispanic ranch hands who developed riding, roping and branding skills

21. The Cattle Kingdom Ends
Ranching replaced cattle drives because of hardier, plumper cattle
Ranchers became rich when cattle prices boomed
Too many cattle forced prices down
Cattle industry survives, but farming becomes main economic activity.
Is the life of cowboys romanticized? Why?

22. Farmers Settle the Plains
Free land and new farming methods brought many settlers to the Great Plains
1872 – A Nebraska farmer wrote
“One year ago this was a vast, houseless, uninhabited prairie…Today I can see more than thirty dwellings from my door.”

23. Farmers Settle the Plains
Several factors brought settlers to the Plains
Railroads made journey west easier
New laws offered free land
Above average rainfall in the late 1870s made land better suited for farming

24. The Homestead Act
This land gave up to 160 acres to settle for a $10 filing fee and who promised to live on the land for 5 years
Immigrants and women were eligible
Attracted thousands of new settler to the plains

25. The Homestead Act

26. New Groups of Settlers Immigrants African Americans
End of Reconstruction mean end of protection in the South
Fearing for their safety, they moved West
By 1881, more than 40,000 had migrated to Kansas

27. Women on the Frontier Worked hard in the fields alongside men
Sewed clothing, made candles, cooked and preserved food
Kept farm running when men were away
Children worked the farms as well

28. The Oklahoma Land Rush
Oklahoma Territory, designated by Congress as “Indian” Territory was the last region of the Plains to be settled
Government opens is up to settlers on April 22, 1889
1890 census reveals the frontier was no more
Settlement had greatly changed the Plains, especially for Native Americans

29. Making Connections
Why do you think cow hands capture the imagination of many Americans?
Making Predictions
How do you think the Oklahoma Land Rush affected Native Americans?

30. Native American Struggles
How did westward expansion affect Native Americans?

31. Following the Buffalo
Native Americans of the Great Plains depended on buffalo to survive, but railroads threatened this lifestyle
Great Plains Indians like the Comanche, Sioux and Blackfeet lived a nomadic life following their food source

33. Following the Buffalo
For most of their history the Plains Native Americans had millions of buffalo to supply their needs. After the Civil War however, American hunters hired by the railroads began slaughtering the animals to feel their building crews. Railroad companies also wanted to prevent the giant herds of buffalo from blocking the tracks. Starting in 1872, hunters targeted buffalo to sell their hides back east.

34. Following the Buffalo

35. Conflict
Conflict between Native Americans and whites grew as Native Americans were forced onto reservations
Army was given authority to deal with any groups who would not move

36. Reservation Life
Government agents often used trickery to persuade Native Americans to move to reservations
Located on poor land
Government often failed to deliver food and supplies
Some groups abandoned reservation life
The stage was set for conflict

37. Conflict Begins
Sioux
Summer of 1862 – Red Cloud and Sioux warriors burned and looted homes and killed hundreds before being stopped by the army
1866 – Crazy Horse and Sioux warriors tricked military leaders
Cheyenne and Arapaho killed hundreds of settlers as well
Sand Creek Massacre: Army killed hundreds of Cheyenne on their way to make peace in Colorado

38. Little Big Horn
1868 – Government signed treaty that promised “No white person or persons shall be permitted” to settle on the Black Hills
However, prospectors swarmed the area looking for gold
Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and their Sioux warriors gathered along Little Big Horn River to meet the US army
Within 30 minutes, Colonel George Custer and his 250 soldiers were dead

39. Little Big Horn
George Armstrong Custer

40. The Dawes Act
Passed in 1877 to remove what whites regarded as two weaknesses of Native American culture
Lack of private property
Nomadic tribal life
Each Native American received a plot of land to farm

41. Native Americans and Westward Expansion
The Westward Expansion of the late 1800s continued to create problems for the Native Americans who stood in its path. By the 1840s, only scattered groups of Native Americans still lived in the East. Most lived west of the Mississippi on lands that few whites wanted
The California Gold Rush
Transcontinental Railroad
Discovery of rich farmland in the Great Plans

42. Native Americans and Westward Expansion
All of these factors changed the view of white people and they began to move onto Native Americans lands in the West
One way that Native Americans tried to “fit in” with the white settlers was to obey the law that was passed by Congress in 1887.
The Dawes Act

43. Native Americans and Westward Expansion
The purpose of this act was to break up tribes of Native Americans and reservations. It offered Natives who gave up tribal ways the deed to their land and US citizenship after 25 years.
Questions to consider
Was the Dawes Act fair to the Native Americans? Why or why not?
Did the Native Americans Support it?
Did the economy of the West rely on the same kinds of business as the economy of the North? If so, how?

44. The Dawes Act

45. Wounded Knee
Police shot and killed Sitting Bull for leading the ritual of the Ghost Dance
In response, several Lakota Sioux gathered at a creek called Wounded Knee
Army killed over 200 Native Americans
Marks the end of the conflict between the US Government and Native Americans

46. Wounded Knee

47. Letters
You are a Native American living in the American West! Every year, westward expansion is taking its toll on you and your people. Write a letter to the United States government highlighting
The struggles that you and your people face
The effects that westward expansion has on your daily life
The effect you hope your letter has on the policies of the United States government
Be sure to include relevant facts and details
Must be at least 10 sentences long!

48. Farmers in Protest Essential Question
Why did farmers organize and begin reform movements in the late 1800s?

49. The Farmers Organize
After the Civil War, farming expanded in the West and the South
However, the supply of crops grew faster than the demand and prices fell
Farmers blamed their troubles on 3 groups

50. Farmers in Protest Farmers blamed their troubles on 3 groups
Railroad Companies
Charged high shipping rates
Eastern manufacturers
Charged high prices for their products
Bankers
Charged high interest rates for borrowing money for seed and equipment
Farmers began to organize in an effort to solve their problems
Form a mass political movement

51. Farmers Populists and Politics
For many years, farmers were ignored by the American public especially in Congress and government. During the latter half of the 19th century, farmers were gaining more influence through two organizations. The Grange and the Populist Party.
One of the main reasons that 3rd parties tend to develop in the United States is because of the major issues that are ignored by the two major parties.

52. Farmers Populists and Politics
The Populist Party – Party started by a group of farmers to give them a representative voice in government. This party had 3 major goals
1. Graduated Income Tax
2. Direct Election of Senators (Amendment 17)
3. Government ownership of railroads, telegraphs and telephones

53. Farmers Populists and Politics
Another group designed to help farmers create a better life and lifestyle for themselves was The Grange
What was the goal of this organization?
To develop strong social ties between farmers and industrialists. They wanted to win back power from the railroads.
Was it successful?
Fairly successful (Munn vs. Illinois)

54. Farmers Populists and Politics
The Election of 1896
Populist candidate William Jennings Bryan makes a bid for the White House but falls short to Republican President William McKinley. One of the major issues during the campaign was the passage and coinage of free silver
What is free silver?
Free coinage of silver would produce cheap money or currency inflated in value that would make it easy for farmers to pay off debts
Why do you think William McKinley was opposed to free silver?
He had the support of big business