Chapter 14 The Wild West

Why move? Why would someone move to a new place? Push factors: Something “pushes” someone out of where they originally start. Ex: I moved from Naugatuck because I did not like the cold winters. Pull factors: Something “pulls” someone to come somewhere new. Ex: I moved to Orlando because of the warm weather.

Push or Pull Factor? Jimmy moved to Atlanta so he could watch the Falcons play Alex moved to Montana because she liked the weather. Robby got a job in Vermont so he moved there. Sal could not find a job so he had to move somewhere new.

Pull Factors To get people out west they needed an easier way to get there. The newest form of transportation was the railroads. To get the railroads to build out west the U.S passed the Pacific Railways Acts which gave large land grants to the railroads in exchange for building west.

Railroad Grants

Pull Factors To help settlers the U.S passed the Morrill Land-Grant Acts where the state government received land and they sold it to the settlers for cheap. Land speculators where people who hoped to buy land for cheap using this act and then selling it later for a profit.

Pull Factors The Homestead Act made it possible for people to get cheap land (160 Acres) if they met a few stipulations. They had to be at least 21 years old or the head of a family Had to build a house of the required size Had to be American or filing for American citizenship Had to farm the land for five years in a row before claiming ownership.

The Western Dream The West provided a new start. With land readily available it offered endless possibilities. People could choose from several types of jobs to take.

Western Roles Farmer: Rancher: Miner: Railroad Worker:

The Cowboy

The “Soddie”

The Indian Wars Beginning in 1862, the U.S. army began a series of violent conflicts with various Native American tribes. Together, these conflicts are known as the "Indian Wars." The goal of U.S. policy was to force uncooperative tribes onto reservations and to secure western lands for white owners.

The Buffalo Part of the problem was that the Americans were killing off buffalo. Buffalo were hunted for sport, for their valuable furs, and as an intentional way to hurt Indian tribes that relied on the animal for survival.

Two options for the Indians Indians were given two options. Option A: Move to a Reservation: land put aside by the U.S for Indians. Option B: Assimilate to American culture.

Assimilation: “Kill the Indian, Save the Man”

Push Factors Some settlers moved west not because they wanted to move west but because they wanted to get away. Immigrants from other countries moved to the west to escape the problems of their home countries. Many settlers where those that were poor in a devastated south after the civil war.

Push Factors After the Civil War all of the slaves were freed. However the South was still a racist and difficult place for many African Americans. More than 50,000 African Americans left the south for the west calling themselves the Exodusters.