Miners, Ranchers, Farmers, Cowboys, Workers Looking to the West (1860-1900) Miners, Ranchers, Farmers, Cowboys, Workers

The Spread of Western Mining

Mining Young, single men Desire to strike it rich Cherry Creek, CO Other CO places in the mountains Helena, MT Virginia City, NV Black Hills (South Dakota)

The Mining Frontier Some small prospectors made fortunes Most money made by large mining corporations. Mining towns had high populations of foreigners. Environmental destruction due to blasting, chemicals, and water pollution.

Mining’s Economic Impacts The added gold (and silver) Boosted U.S. economy Increased foreign investment Stimulated U.S. involvement in global economy

19_11.jpg Judge Roy Bean's Courthouse and Saloon

19_27.jpg Panning for gold in Montana Territory

19_29.jpg Mining camp in Colorado Territory

19_30.jpg Street scene in Utah, 1869

Ranching Fences Large tracts of land Huge herds of cattle Rise of the Cattle Barons

The Cattle Trails Chisholm Trail- led cattle from ranches to railroad

Texas Longhorn Cattle Tough Ornery Good sense of smell - could locate sources of groundwater

Longhorn Cattle

19_10.jpg Roundup on Sherman Ranch

The American Cowboy Romanticized Mythologized Lonely, rugged existence Necessary for Cattle business

The Cattle Drives Romanticized, difficult Spurred growth of RRs Food “on the hoof” fed growing demand in Eastern Markets and for Miners Depended on the Open Range

Farming as Business Improved farming technologies: Mechanical Reaper (Early Combine) Barbed wire Dry farming Steel Plow Windmills Hybridization Seed drills Led to Bonanza farms: Specialized in a single cash crop The rise of ‘agribusiness’.

New Technology Eases Farm Labor Reduced labor force needed for harvest. Allows farmers to maintain larger farms. Mechanized Reaper Keeps cattle from trampling crops and uses a minimal amount of lumber, which was scarce on the plains. Barbed Wire Allows cultivation of arid land by using drought-resistant crops and various techniques to minimize evaporation. Dry Farming Allows farmers to cut through dense, root-choked sod. Steel Plow Smoothes and levels ground for planting. Harrow Powers irrigation systems and pumps up ground water. Steel Windmill Cross-breeding of crop plants, which allows greater yields and uniformity. Hybridization Array of multiple drills used to carve small trenches in the ground and feed seed into the soil. Grain Drill Farms controlled by large businesses, managed by professionals, raised massive quantities of a single cash crop. Bonanza Farm

Farming Technologies and Innovations

Bonanza Farms 10,000 acre farms Wheat boom of the 1880s Population in Dakotas tripled Overproduction, high investment costs, droughts, and reliance on one-crop agriculture brought an end to the boom 1890 prices fell, some lost everything

The Wild West Gunfights Outlaws (Billy the Kid) Marshals and Sheriffs (Wyatt Earp) Mythical Dodge City, KS Tombstone, AZ

Myth vs. Reality Myth Reality Cowboys were romantic, self-sufficient, and virtuous All were white Ideal, garden of Eden Could make a fortune in the west Western towns were lawless Reality Cowboys were young, poorly paid, and did hard labor 20% were black or Mexican Harmonious race relations on the trail Harsh conditions Most made little, if any money There were police forces and order in the West

The Western Myth Some (Roosevelt) saw social Darwinism in the west. Perceived as the last chance to build a truly good society Novels and accounts glossed over hard labor and ethnic strife. Reality, western settlement depended more upon companies and railroads than individuals.

The Frontier Myth Still lives in the American imagination Depicted in movies TV shows (Frontier House, Little House on the Prairie, Gunsmoke, etc.)

19_24.jpg Dodge City Peace Commissioners (Wyatt Earp third from left)

Railroad Workers Mostly immigrants Also veterans and African Americans Chinese from the west Irish from the east Also veterans and African Americans Worked on Transcontinental Railroad Dangerous job; use dynamite to blast mountains

Homestead Act Passed in 1862 Government gave 160 acre farm plots to anyone willing to live on the land for 5 years, dig a well, and build a road

Exodusters Former slaves that fled the South after Reconstruction Took advantage of Homestead Act opportunities

Problems on the Great Plains Windstorms Droughts Plagues of locusts Loneliness No lumber

“Soddies” Sod houses Pioneers cut sections of sod and stacked them like bricks

The Best West Photo Ever

Morrill Act- 1862 Inventions created to make farming easier in the west Still needed education Morrill Act granted land to states to establish agricultural colleges

1890 Frontier closes Census concluded no square miles were left out west with no white inhabitants