Essential Question: What factors led to the settlement of the West during the Gilded Age (1870-1900)? Warm-Up Question: Let’s review the Unit 7 Organizer

The Gilded Age: 1870-1900 After the Civil War, the U.S. entered an era known as the Gilded Age when America experienced rapid changes

Overview of the West After the Civil War, the area west of the Mississippi River was settled: Miners, ranchers, farmers flooded into the “frontier” looking for economic opportunities Transcontinental railroads connected the country Plains Indians were forced to assimilate & move to reservations By 1890, the frontier was closed

The Mining Bonanza Mining was the 1st magnet to attract settlers to the West: Before the Civil War, miners discovered gold in California, Colorado, & Nevada After the Civil War, miners resumed their migration into the West to find more gold & silver

Mining Regions of the West John Mackay became the richest man in the world & earned $25 a minute from his “Big Bonanza” in Sierra Mountains Mining Regions of the West Silver miners in Leadville, CO $306 million in gold & silver was discovered at the Comstock Lode Mining towns were formed in the West; Needed gov’t, law enforcement, & businesses ;

Corporations had the expensive machinery (“hydraulic mining techniques”) to extract most of the gold in the West

Chinese & Latin American immigrants came to find gold Nativism led Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 which ended Chinese immigration

Ranchers & The Cattle Boom After the Civil War, the demand for beef skyrocketed To meet this demand, ranchers drove Texas longhorns across the open “range” to railroad towns: Cattle bought in Texas for $4 could be sold for $40 in Kansas Cattle drives created new towns After the Civil War, the demand for beef skyrocketed; To meet this demand, ranchers (cowboys) drove Texas longhorns from Mexico to

Ranchers & The Cattle Boom Ranchers used the “open range” to graze longhorns during the 3 month “long drive” By 1867, ranchers started using trains to ship cattle to meatpacking cities like Chicago

Ranchers & The Cattle Boom By the 1880s, cattle ranching was difficult because: The “open range” was closed as farmers used new barbed wire fencing to close off their farms Overgrazing & drought left little grasslands for grazing cattle Competition from sheep herding

Homesteads & Farmers The U.S. gov’t offered incentives for farmers to settle the West: Homestead Act (1862) gave 160 acres to citizens who pledged to “improve the land” for at least 5 years Other gov’t acts helped develop western lands by planting trees & building irrigation systems

By 1900, 600,000 Americans claimed homesteads

Homesteads & Farmers Used dry farming techniques Life in the Plains was difficult: There were few trees so homesteaders built sod houses 60% of homesteaders failed But many homesteaders adapted: Used dry farming techniques Planted tough varieties of wheat Used harvesting machinery

By 1890, the U.S. became a major crop exporter

Exodusters Exodusters were black farmers who moved West to escape crop liens & Jim Crow laws in the South

Exodusters

Homestead Sales, 1870-1940 In 1890, the western frontier “closed”: There were no more unorganized territories in the West

Rails Across the Continent In 1862, Congress authorized the first transcontinental railroad: Union Pacific worked westward from Nebraska (Irish laborers) Central Pacific worked eastward from CA (Chinese immigrants) On May 10, 1869 the 2 tracks met at Promontory Point in Utah 1869 is same year as Suez Canal completion—similar effects; both opened access & tie two worlds together 7

Irish workers made up a large percentage of laborers on the eastern section Chinese workers made up a large percentage of laborers on the western leg The 1st transcontinental railroad connected the west coast to eastern cities in 1869

Federal Land Grants to Railroads by 1871 The national gov’t gave out $65 million & millions of acres to railroad companies to connect the East & West coasts with railroads

The Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad Construction, 1830-1920

The Plains Indians In 1865, 2/3 of all Indians lived on the Great Plains Their culture was dependent upon the buffalo & the horse

The Importance of the Buffalo in Indian Culture

America’s Indian Policy America’s Indian policy changed: In the 1830s, Indians were moved across the Mississippi River into “one big reservation” In the 1850s, (due to Manifest Destiny), Indians were moved into concentrated reservations In the 1860s, reservations were violated by farmers & miners The Wagon trains to OR & CA, gold rush, transcontinental RR

Indians Wars In 1876, Americans flooded into Sioux territory in South Dakota when gold was discovered Little Big Horn (1876) Wounded Knee Massacre (1890) The Sioux, led by Sitting Bull, retaliated by ambushing Colonel Custer & all 197 soldiers in the Seventh Cavalry at Little Big Horn

Indians Wars When the U.S. army tried to stop Sioux “ghost dances,” 200 men, women, & children were slaughtered during the Battle of Wounded Knee The Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 was the last Indian war in American history Little Big Horn (1876) Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

The End of Tribal Life The final blow to Indian culture came with annihilation of buffalo: Began with the construction of the transcontinental RR in 1860s From 1872 to 1874, 3 million buffalo were killed each year

Lands Lost by Native Americans (1894) The Cession of Indian Territory

Conclusions By 1890, the frontier was closed: Miners, ranchers, & farmers flooded West at the expense of Indians But, Westerners began to grow frustrated due to their dependency on Eastern railroads, banks, & politicians

Closure Activity What was the American “West” in 1750? 1800? 1850? 1900? Now that the United States has acquired & occupied all lands between the Atlantic & Pacific, what’s next?