Miners Ranchers Farmers chapter 7, section 3

Miners

Gold Miners California gold rush, 1849 (49ers) near Pike’s Peak, 1859 (59ers) Comstock Lode $400 million in gold and silver by 1890 Responsible for Nevada’s statehood

Finding Gold Individual prospectors look for traces of gold in mountain streams (placer mining) When found, deep-shaft mining begins. Expensive equipment required Wealthy investors required

Boom Towns Rich strikes created boom towns saloons, dance-hall girls, vigilantes Many became ghost towns just a few years later. Other towns that served the mines became important commercial centers. San Francisco, Sacramento, Denver

Mining Towns Similar to industrial cities Workers were also from Europe, Latin America, and China. ½ the population was often foreign born Greatly increased Western population

Foreign Backlash Resentment among whites Miner’s Tax ($20 / month) in CA Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) prohibited further Chinese immigration

Ranchers

Ranching Civil War – TX is cut off from CSA 5 million heads of cattle roam freely TX cattle business – easy to enter FREE CATTLE! Ranchers Kill off the buffalo

Railroads RR starts in Kansas (Cow towns) RR goes to KC, St. Louis, Chicago Steers bought for $5 / head and sold for up to $80 / head Refrigerated railcars made it even cheaper.

Cattle Drives RR didn’t go into TX Cowboys drove cattle to Kansas 1 cowboy per 300-500 cattle up to 1,500 miles to Kansas $30 per month, paid in 1 lump sum (for quick spending)

End of Cattle Drives 1880s overgrazing destroyed the grass 1885-1886 blizzard and drought (90% of cattle die)

Farmers

Farming Homestead Act of 1862 160 acres is yours after 5 years 500,000 Homestead families 2.5 million families had to buy land from the RR

Housing Made of sod strips of grass with thick roots and earth attached No trees to make houses No trees to make fences Joseph Glidden invents barbed wire to fence GP land.

Hard Times Many discover that 160 acres is not enough to survive. 2 of 3 farms fail by 1900

The Family Everyone had to work in order to survive Men did heavy manual labor Children collected wood & carried water Women did chores around the house, managed the money, raised the children, provided food (crops, butter, chickens, milk)

Bonanza Farms Run like big business High volume Drove down prices Squeezed out the small farmers

Dry Farming The only way to farm successfully in the GP Crops that don’t require much water Keeping fields free of weeds Digging deep furrows to reach the water New plows developed to make several furrows at once.

Frontier Myths

Not as wild as you thought…

The Closing of the Frontier The move westward began in the 1860’s In 1890, the Department of the Interior declared the that the frontier was settled. Government begins to reserve land. The West opened and closed in a generation…