Wild West

Miners big business with discoveries of large deposits of precious metals, such as the Comstock Lode in Nevada. Boomtowns grew quickly when a mine opened and disappeared quickly when the mine closed (Ghost towns). The equipment was unsafe and miners had to breathe hot, stuffy air that causes lung disease. Poorly planned explosions and cave-ins killed and injured miners. Fires were also a threat. Few prospectors achieved wealth while business owners made bank

Cattle Ranching The increasing demand for beef helped the cattle industry grow. Cattle ranchers in Texas drove herds to Abilene, Kansas, to be shipped east. Cattle ranching spread across the Great Plains, creating the Cattle Kingdom that stretched from Texas to Canada. Ranchers grazed huge herds on public land called the open range. Competition, the invention of barbed wire, and the loss of prairie grass brought an end to the Cattle Kingdom.

Cowboys Cowboys were workers who took care of ranchers’ cattle. They borrowed many techniques from vaqueros, who were Mexican ranch hands. One of their most important duties was the cattle drive. The Chisholm Trail was a popular route for cattle drives. Life in cattle towns was often rough and violent.

Farmers Two important land-grant acts helped open the West to settlers in 1862. The Homestead Act gave government land to farmers. The Morrill Act gave federal land to states to sell in order to fund colleges to teach agriculture and engineering. People who made new lives in the West included women, immigrants, and African Americans. Thousands of southern African Americans, known as Exodusters, moved to Kansas.

Farmers Breaking up tough grass on the Plains earned farmers the nickname “sodbusters.” 1880s—Mechanical farming was becoming common. 1890s—Farmers began dry farming, growing hardy crops such as red wheat. New technology allows them to grow crops 20 times faster but can lead to lower prices Crops were shipped east by train and then overseas; the Great Plains became known as the breadbasket of the world.

Conflict with Indians The Treaty of Fort Laramie recognized Native American claims to the Great Plains. The U.S. negotiated new treaties after gold was discovered sending Native Americans to live on reservations, areas of federal land set aside for them. The movement of pioneers and miners across the Great Plains and through Native American hunting grounds (buffalo) led to conflict with the Sioux, led by Crazy Horse. Most southern Plains Indians agreed to go to reservations under the 1867 Treaty of Medicine Lodge, but the Comanche continued to fight until 1875. Most Native Americans had stopped fighting by the 1880s, except the Apache, led by Geronimo, who fought until 1886.

Fighting on the Plains Northern Plains Southwest Far West Battles with the Sioux throughout the 1800s. In 1876 George Armstrong Custer’s troops were defeated by Sioux forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull at the Battle of Little Bighorn, the Sioux’s last major victory. U.S. troops killed about 150 Sioux in the Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. Southwest Navajo refused to settle on reservations. U.S. troops raided Navajo fields, homes, and livestock. Out of food and shelter, the Navajo surrendered. Navajo were forced on a 300-mile march, known as the Long Walk, to a reservation and countless died. Far West Initially, the United States promised to let the Nez Percé keep their Oregon land. Later, the government demanded land. Fighting broke out. U.S. troops forced the Nez Percé to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma where many died.

Efforts to reform views of N.A. Ghost Dance movement Predicted the arrival of paradise for Native Americans Misunderstood by U.S. officials, who feared it would lead to rebellion Gradually died out after the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 Sarah Winnemucca, a Paiute, lectured on problems of the reservation system and called for reform in the 1870s. Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887 Made land ownership among Native Americans private Tried to lessen traditional influences of Native American society so as to encourage them to adopt the ways of white people Ended up taking about two-thirds of Native American land

Role of Railroad RR = provide settlers, goods Miner = shipment of metals to east Ranchers = provided easy way to ship sheep/Cattle Farming = brought timber & coal to Great Plains advertised for settlers Native Americans = displace N.A. by moving settlers west, taking lands, & promoting buffalo slaughter