The Frontier Influences Development of the U.S. I.Def. – farthest region of settlement – dividing line bt. civilization & wilderness II.Westward Migration A.Seek economic opportunity B.Social and political democracy C.Adventure & excitement III.Peaks of migration A.after Am. Revo. B.Manifest Destiny 1840s and 1850s C.after Civil War

IV.Mining – series of gold & silver strikes flow of prospectors moving west 1.placer mining – “panning”

2.deep shaft mining – required large amts. of $mining companies

3.development of boom towns – “here today, gone tomorrow”

4.Major discoveries a.Comstock Lode, Nevada b.Pikes Peak, Colorado c.Black Hills, South Dakota d.Klondike, Yukon in Alaska 5.Lifestyle – rugged, lawless 6.jobs – timber, farming, ranching (cattle & sheep)

V.Ranching A.Began in Texas B.longhorn cattle introduced by Spanish C.shipping east main problem D.thousands roamed free

E.Cattle drives – cattle rounded up and driven north to railheads in Kansas where they loaded onto trains and shipped east to Chicago

F.ended due to: 1.overgrazing of plains by end of 1880s 2.blizzard of killed 90% of cattle in U.S. 3.introduction of barbed wire

VI.Farming A. Wheat belt – eastern grt. plains 1. Homestead – tract of public land available for settlement 2. Sod Busters – name given to those who settled on grt. plains

B. Factors encouraging settlement 1. military outposts/forts – protect settlers from Inds. 2. Homestead Act of 1862 – 160 acres of free land to who could live on it and develop it for five years 3. Timber Culture Act – additional land to plant trees 4. Desert Land Act – additional land to build irrigation 5. Dept. of Agriculture est. to promote farming issues 6. Hatch Act – est. experimental stations to research grains that could survive the grt. plains

C. Technological Advances 1. windmills – H20 scarce; uses wind to pump water from beneath the earth’s surface 2. dry farming techniques – keep moisture in ground 3. barbed wire – fence in land w/o wood; keep out wild animals & Inds. 4. improved machinery a. John Deere – 1 st steel plow b. Gang Plow – connected 3 plows together c. steam operated seeders, reapers 5. Russian wheat survived the extreme draught and temps on the plains

D.Frontier Life 1. Housing – no wood; a. used sod bricks to build homes b. dugouts – dug out parts of hills 2. Hardships a. isolation, weather, hard labor, insects b. fuel – corn cob, husks, & animal waste c. Indian threat