 By the end of the unit you will be able to:  Describe the settlement of the west  Explain the changes to American society that resulted from industrialization  Analyze the role immigration played in industrialization.  Describe the political response to the economic problems of the period

 The growing industries in the east needed the West’s rich deposits of gold, silver, and copper.  These deposits brought settlers to the West’s mountain states

 Prospectors used simple equipment like picks shovels and pans to mine the shallow deposits of ore by hand known as placer mining  Corporations dug deep beneath the surface to mine the deposits of ore in a process known as quartz mining

 1859 Henry Comstock staked claim in Nevada.  This caused Virginia city, Nevada to go from a outpost to a BOOM TOWN.  Years later as mines ran out of silver towns became ghost towns.  This cycle of boom to bust was repeated throughout mountainous west

 During boom times crime was a serious problem.  Vigilance committees were formed to keep peace and punish wrongdoers

 Mining helped the growth of Colorado, the Dakota Territory, and Montana  Mining in Colorado spurred the building of railroads through the rocky mountains  Denver major supply point and became the 2 nd biggest city out west next to San Francisco.

 How did mining industry affect towns and cities out west?  Cycle of boom to bust- boom to ghost town  Lead to serious crime during boom times  Lead to building of railroads  Helped to establish Colorado, montana and Dakota territories  Denver became 2 nd biggest city out west

 After the civil war americans built large cattle ranches on great plains  The cattle ranching industry grew  Open range-vast grassland owned by government  Cattle raisers could graze herds w/o boundaries and for free  High prices for beef after war  The texas longhorn was one of few animals that could handle harsh climate

 The first long drive across great plains proved cattle could be sold for 10 times price in Texas  The major route for moving cattle was the Chisholm trail  Long drive consisted of:  roundup in spring  Branding  Cowboys moving heard to railways  Cowboys were: Confederate soldiers, Hispanic, and mostly African American

 Long drives ended when plains became fenced off by barb wire.  Investors put money in cattle business eventually leading to an over abundance of animals on market.  Prices fell and many ranchers went bankrupt  Explain how the invention of the barbwire affected cattle industry?

 Almost every map published between 1820 and 1860 labeled the Great plains as “the Great American Desert”. Settlement of the region became possible in part because of new drilling machines that could drill wells deep in the earth for water.

 The great plains region extends westward to the Rocky mountains from around the 100 th meridian –imaginary line running north and south from the central Dakotas through western Texas  Rainfall on the great plains averages 20 inches peer year.  Trees only grow naturally along rivers, streams and on hilltops.

 Huge herds of buffalo once grazed on the prairie grasses of the great plains  The name Great American desert was coined by Major Stephen Long, who also said the area was unfit for farming.  What is the Geography of the Great Plains?

 Railroads provided easy access to the Great Plains  Railroad companies sold land along the rail lines at low prices and provided credit  The federal government helped to settle the great plains by passing the Homestead Act in 1862  For $10 a settler could file for a homestead or a tract of public land available for settlement.

 Homesteaders could get up to 160 acres of land and could receive title of it after living there 5 years  Life on plains was difficult:  Summer temperatures over 100 F  Winter blizzards and extreme cold  Prairie fires  Grasshopper epidemics killing crops  How did the railroads and federal government help to settle the Great Plains

 Many inventions and new farming methods made farming on great plains very profitable  Dry farming-planting seeds deep in the ground where there was enough moisture to still grow  1860s new tools-, steel plows, seed drills, reapers, threshing machines. These machines made dry farming possible and allowed farmers to work large plots of land  However, sodbusters lost there land because of droughts, wind erosion and overuse of land

 1860’s-70’s new technology  Mechanical reapers, binders, and threshing machines made farming more profitable  These innovations also well suited for harvesting wheat  Wheat withstood droughts better than other crops, which made it most important crop on Great Plains

 Wheat farmers from minnesota and other midwestern states moved to great plains in large numbers.  Inexpensive land and new technology =profits  The Wheat belt began at the edge of great plains and included the dakotas, nebraska and kansas.  Bonanza Farms  Larger than single family farms  Covered over 50,000 acres  Large profits

 Causes for Great plains farmers falling on hard times  Glut of wheat causing prices to drop  Profits drop and cant pay back bank loans  Prolong drought 1890’s forced many to leave  Why did much of the Great Plains region become the Wheat belt?

 Census Bureau reported that the frontier was closing in 1890  This concerned many of people since area was seen as area for Americans to make a fresh start  Many people were successful because they were able to adapt to environment.

 Some were Native American nations were Farmers and hunters  Majority were nomads who moved from place to place in search of food following buffaloe herds  Things in common  Lived in extended family networks  Close relationship with nature  Divided into bands with governing council  Religion based on spiritual power of natural world

 Because of advancement of white settlement native Americans were under pressure  Dakota Sioux uprising Minnesota  Sioux lived on small reservations in exchange for annuities  Annuities small and often taken by traders  1862 Congress delayed payments  Sioux starving and chief ask for food on credit but denied  Led to deaths of hundreds of settlers as Dakota tried to survive

 Fetterman’s Massacre  US Army sent patrols to northern great plains  Lakota Sioux (nomads) feared losing hunting grounds  1866 Chief Red Clouds forces defeat US army detachment in Montana  Sand Creek massacre  Cheyenne and Arapaho native Americans vs Colorado miners  Miners mining for gold on reservation which violated treaty  Natives Americans attacked wagon trains and ranches in return  Cheyenne were ordered to fully surrender at fort Lyon  Cheyenne came to fort to negotiate but was attacked

 Indian Peace commision  Proposed creating two reservations  Ran by Bureau of Indian Affairs (Americans)  Army assigned to deal with groups who did not report or remain on reservations  Did not work because no guarantee that either side would follow treaties

 By 1870s buffaloes were disappearing, Why?  Migrants, sharpshooters, hunters (hides /sport), army (force NA onto reservations)  Many Native Amer. Left reservations, Why?  American settlers violated treaties  Custers last stand at Little Bighorn vs Lakota and Cheyenne  Nez perce refuse to live on reservation in Idaho, Later forced to move to Oklahoma  Government prohibits Ghost Dance  Wounded Knee was last resistance to federal authority

 Many Americans did not agree with treatment of Native Americans  Some thought could improve with assimilation  Becoming part of American culture as landowners and citizens  Broke reservations into allotments (Dawes Act 1887)  Was a Failure  Natives did not have training or want to be farmers  Allotments not profitable  Natives were not willing or able to adapt to settlers life styles