Today’s Benchmark – ss. 912. a. 3 Today’s Benchmark – ss.912.a.3.1 Analyze the economic challenges to American farmers and farmers’ responses to these challenges in the mid to late 1800’s Essential Question Why would people take on challenges of life in the West? Pioneers in the West

Homestead, Morrill, and dawes acts

Farming Frontier Homestead Act of 1862 160 acres free to any family Settled on it for 5 years & improved on it What challenges did homesteaders face as they moved and settled in the West? How did they combat these problems? Homestead Act Video Farming Frontier Slide 8: promise of free land combined with the promotions of railroads and land speculators induced hundreds of thousands of native-born & immigrant families to attempt to farm the Great Plains between 1870-1900 About 500,000 families took advantage of the Homestead Act but 2,500,000 had to purchase their land because the best public lands ended up in the hands of railroad companies & speculators Sodbusters: homes built of sod bricks; Dugouts: cut into the hill side or river bank Sod houses, while inexpensive to construct, are difficult to maintain. The sod would be cut from the prairie into slabs approximately 2 feet long, one foot wide, and 6 inches thick, which would be stacked grass side down to form the walls. The roof would generally be made of boards covered with sod. In some instances, the window "glass" would be made of paper soaked in lard. Generally, on the roof, the sod would be placed grass side up, thus precluding erosion of the roof. However, if the sod was placed grass side down on the roof, there would be less problems with a constant drip of dirt and mud from the ceiling. In some instances, to catch the dirt dripping through the ceiling, muslin would be suspended to catch the dirt. In more modern versions of the sod house, this problem was solved, as noted below, by the use of either a conventional roof or placing of tar paper beneath the sod. Because of the weight of the sod, particularly after a rain, a center post was normally needed to help support the roof. The packed dirt floors would have to be watered down regularly. Beds would have to be placed on boards in order to prevent the legs from sinking into the dirt floor. In the spring, the sod roof, six to eight inches thick, would have to be replaced. Without constant maintenance, one's house was apt to erode away in the rain at a fairly rapid rate. The weight of the sod on the roof always presented a danger of roof collapse and the walls made a convenient place for vermin to den. The owner of one Colorado soddie complained of "mouse season," and others complained of rattlesnakes denning in the walls. The roofs would leak. Heavy rains caused a drip of mud from the ceiling. Indeed, it has been said that if it rained outside for one day, it would rain inside for two. A few soddies, however, were improved and made permanent by plastering of outer walls and the addition of shingle roofs, thus, protecting the house from melting away. Others had the interiors improved, again by plastering, wall paper and wooden floors. An example of an easily accessible reconstructed soddie is located on U.S. Highway 26 near Lewellen, Neb. It is fairly accurate except for the roof. A variation on the soddie was the dugout. The dugout would be excavated out of the side of a hill and would, thus, only require that a front wall be built. The primary advantage of the soddie or dugout was the cost. One Nebraskan estimated that his 1872 dugout cost $2.78, which included lumber, $1.79; latch and hinges, $.50; stovepipe, $.30; and nails, $.39. Other advantages included the fact that it was cool in the summer and easier to heat in the winter. On the Great Plains it also provided protection from cyclones and prairie fires. Due, however, to the disadvantages, the structures were generally intended strictly as temporary quarters until after the farm or ranch could be established and a conventional home afforded. In the instance of the dugout, another disadvantage was that being underground, cattle might wander on to the roof, or a passing traveler might pass right over it. One Vernon, Texas livery owner told a writer for Scribner's that he drove over one, wondering why the ground was so uneven, until the owner confronted him with a Winchester.

Homestead Act of 1862 The Homestead Act began in order to populate frontier land that was very under populated and was signed into law by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The idea of the Homestead Act was to grant land for agriculture. Negative Reaction: Railroad Companies, along With other industries, Began abusing this Act in the late 1800s

The Morrill Act of 1862 Created in the belief that American social and economic development was best served if higher education was made broadly available to all The first social contract between this nation and its citizens, creating the “Peoples Colleges” Established a public, federally assisted system of higher education How is society still being impacted by the Morrill Act? Morrill Act Video

Morrill Land Grant Colleges (76 in total)

the Dawes Act The Dawes Act, also known as the General Allotment Act, was created by and named after Henry Dawes, a Massachusetts congressman. The act was approved on February 8, 1887. The Dawes Act was the major Indian Policy up until the 1930s. Assimilation- The Americanizing of Native Americans

Effect of The Dawes Act Before the Dawes Act, Native Americans owned about 150 million acres of land. After the Dawes Act, the land was divided up, and the Native Americans lost about 2/3 of the land. The land was then given to Natives who could use the land for either farming or grazing. The rest of the land was divided up between white settlers.

Impact of the Dawes Act questions Why does pioneer ethnologist Alice Fletcher see the Dawes Act as the “Magna Carta” for Native Americans? According to the video how do Native Americans accept the Dawes Act? What was the final impact of the Dawes Act on Native American populations in the Western United States? Dawes Act video

Quick Write Imagine you are a settler on the Great Plains. Write a letter to your relatives back home , describing the conditions around you. At least 7 sentences in length Exit Slip Which act of legislation (Dawes, Morrill, or Homestead Act) do you think had the greatest impact on settlers traveling west. Why?