Living in the West

The Mining Boom  Often the first group of people to arrive in the west  Majority male- in 1860 the ratio was 9:1 in Colorado and Nevada  “Boom” towns- pop up almost overnight once precious metal was found  Violence controlled by citizen groups known as vigilantes

The Mining Boom  Big Business  After the rush of individual miners, the only groups able to mine were large companies who had enough money for large mining equipment  They needed A LOT of water to run the equipment and when they were down they would put dirty water back into the system which would anger the farmers  Ghost towns  If the precious metal ran out, the towns would empty out leaving all the shanty buildings and tents making it look like a ghost town

Cattle Kingdom  Open Range Ranching –until 1880s  Before farmers came west they were able to let the cows graze on the open range and then drive them to the closest railroad without running in to barbed wire fences  “Cowboys”- the people who would drive the cow to the railroad, trips would often take weeks, groups of cowboys were often integrated (mix of Mexican, white and African American men)  Long Drive- the final drive to take the cows to the railroad  End of open range ranching  Supply of beef was ore then the demand driving the price down  Extreme weather- brutal winters, droughts during summer

Cattle Kingdom  Closed Range Ranching- after 1880s  Once Farmers came out to the west they began building barbed wire fences to keep the cattle from grazing their crops  This made it almost impossible for cowboys to make the long drive  Due to other worsening factors ranchers began settling down on land tracts and growing hay to feed their cattle

Farming Frontier  Farmers faced many obstacles when moving west 1.Obstacle: Markets were far away. Solution: Railroads shipped produce to the east 2.Obstacle: Lack of wood, clay, or rock for homes. Solution: “sod-houses”- built out of grass and soil 3.Obstacle: Lack of wood for fencing. Solution: invention of barbed wire in Obstacle: Lack of rainfall. Solution: drilling equipment dug wells, and then windmills powered pumps that brought water to the surface 5.Obstacle: Tough, dry soil. Solution: used steel or iron plows and plowed deeper to save surface moisture in the soil. This became known as dry farming 6.Obstacle: Lack of fuel. Solution: burnt buffalo chips (dried manure) for fuel 7.Obstacle: lack of manpower. Solution: used machinery (horse drawn harvesters)

Conflicts in the west  Famers, Miners, Ranchers and sheepherders were all trying to use the land to benefit themselves and conflicts lead to violence and sabotage  Sheepherders vs. Ranchers  Sheep would graze the grass so low that cattle could not eat it=mad ranchers and starving cows  Ranchers vs. Farmers  Cattle would graze and trample farmers crops= mad farmers  Farmers vs. Miners  Miners would send dirty and polluted water back in to the system and farmers would not have clean water= mad farmers  Everyone vs. Native Americans= Native Americans dead or dying

Western Immigration  The west was the most diverse part of the country at this time (late 1800s)  Ethnic tensions were always lurking  Large cities or towns discrimination was openly displayed  Mostly towards Chinese and Mexican  In 1879 California barred cities from hiring Chinese  Eventually the government will pass the Chinese exclusion act stating Chinese could no longer come to the US

Closing the Frontier  Last land rush in 1889  Oklahoma- last territory to be open by gov for settlement  1890 census  Showed the west was no longer uninhabited and that the government no longer had land to give away  Conflicts continue  Native Americans  WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Discrimination against immigrants