1. Essential Question:
What factors led to the settlement of the West during the Gilded Age ( )?
Warm-Up Question:
Let’s review the Unit 7 Organizer

2. The Gilded Age:
After the Civil War, the U.S. entered an era known as the Gilded Age when America experienced rapid changes

3. Overview of the West
After the Civil War, the area west of the Mississippi River was settled:
Miners, ranchers, farmers flooded into the “frontier” looking for economic opportunities
Transcontinental railroads connected the country
Plains Indians were forced to assimilate & move to reservations
By 1890, the frontier was closed

5. The Mining Bonanza
Mining was the 1st magnet to attract settlers to the West:
Before the Civil War, miners discovered gold in California, Colorado, & Nevada
After the Civil War, miners resumed their migration into the West to find more gold & silver

6. Mining Regions of the West
John Mackay became the richest man in the world & earned $25 a minute from his “Big Bonanza” in Sierra Mountains
Mining Regions of the West
Silver miners in Leadville, CO
$306 million in gold & silver was discovered at the Comstock Lode
Mining towns were formed in the West; Needed gov’t, law enforcement, & businesses ;

7. Corporations had the expensive machinery (“hydraulic mining techniques”) to extract most of the gold in the West

8. Chinese & Latin American immigrants came to find gold
Nativism led Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 which ended Chinese immigration

9. Ranchers & The Cattle Boom
After the Civil War, the demand for beef skyrocketed
To meet this demand, ranchers drove Texas longhorns across the open “range” to railroad towns:
Cattle bought in Texas for $4 could be sold for $40 in Kansas
Cattle drives created new towns
After the Civil War, the demand for beef skyrocketed; To meet this demand, ranchers (cowboys) drove Texas longhorns from Mexico to

10. Ranchers & The Cattle Boom
Ranchers used the “open range” to graze longhorns during the 3 month “long drive”
By 1867, ranchers started using trains to ship cattle to meatpacking cities like Chicago

11. Ranchers & The Cattle Boom
By the 1880s, cattle ranching was difficult because:
The “open range” was closed as farmers used new barbed wire fencing to close off their farms
Overgrazing & drought left little grasslands for grazing cattle
Competition from sheep herding

12. Homesteads & Farmers
The U.S. gov’t offered incentives for farmers to settle the West:
Homestead Act (1862) gave 160 acres to citizens who pledged to “improve the land” for at least 5 years
Other gov’t acts helped develop western lands by planting trees & building irrigation systems

13. By 1900, 600,000 Americans claimed homesteads

14. Homesteads & Farmers Used dry farming techniques
Life in the Plains was difficult:
There were few trees so homesteaders built sod houses
60% of homesteaders failed
But many homesteaders adapted:
Used dry farming techniques
Planted tough varieties of wheat
Used harvesting machinery

15. By 1890, the U.S. became a major crop exporter

16. Exodusters
Exodusters were black farmers who moved West to escape crop liens & Jim Crow laws in the South

17. Exodusters

18. Homestead Sales,
In 1890, the western frontier “closed”: There were no more unorganized territories in the West

19. Rails Across the Continent
In 1862, Congress authorized the first transcontinental railroad:
Union Pacific worked westward from Nebraska (Irish laborers)
Central Pacific worked eastward from CA (Chinese immigrants)
On May 10, 1869 the 2 tracks met at Promontory Point in Utah
1869 is same year as Suez Canal completion—similar effects; both opened access & tie two worlds together 7

20. Irish workers made up a large percentage of laborers on the eastern section
Chinese workers made up a large percentage of laborers on the western leg
The 1st transcontinental railroad connected the west coast to eastern cities in 1869

21. Federal Land Grants to Railroads by 1871
The national gov’t gave out $65 million & millions of acres to railroad companies to connect the East & West coasts with railroads

22. The Transcontinental Railroad

23. Railroad Construction, 1830-1920

24. The Plains Indians
In 1865, 2/3 of all Indians lived on the Great Plains
Their culture was dependent upon the buffalo & the horse

25. The Importance of the Buffalo in Indian Culture

26. America’s Indian Policy
America’s Indian policy changed:
In the 1830s, Indians were moved across the Mississippi River into “one big reservation”
In the 1850s, (due to Manifest Destiny), Indians were moved into concentrated reservations
In the 1860s, reservations were violated by farmers & miners
The Wagon trains to OR & CA, gold rush, transcontinental RR

27. Indians Wars
In 1876, Americans flooded into Sioux territory in South Dakota when gold was discovered
Little Big Horn (1876)
Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)
The Sioux, led by Sitting Bull, retaliated by ambushing Colonel Custer & all 197 soldiers in the Seventh Cavalry at Little Big Horn

28. Indians Wars
When the U.S. army tried to stop Sioux “ghost dances,” 200 men, women, & children were slaughtered during the Battle of Wounded Knee
The Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 was the last Indian war in American history
Little Big Horn (1876)
Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

29. The End of Tribal Life
The final blow to Indian culture came with annihilation of buffalo:
Began with the construction of the transcontinental RR in 1860s
From to , million buffalo were killed each year

30. Lands Lost by Native Americans (1894)
The Cession of Indian Territory

31. Conclusions By 1890, the frontier was closed:
Miners, ranchers, & farmers flooded West at the expense of Indians
But, Westerners began to grow frustrated due to their dependency on Eastern railroads, banks, & politicians

32. Closure Activity
What was the American “West” in 1750? 1800? 1850? 1900?
Now that the United States has acquired & occupied all lands between the Atlantic & Pacific, what’s next?