1. Eliseo Lugo III

2.  Americans were interested in moving west for three primary reasons: 1. Many Americans had personal economic problems (panic of 1837) 2. Abundance of land in the West was enticing (attractive) to many who wanted a “fresh start” in life. 3. Land owning (for farming or speculation) was an important step towards prosperity (wealth).

3. OVERLAND IMMIGRATION TO THE WEST  Between 1840 and 1860, more than 250,000 people made the trek westward.

4. NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF FOLLOWING TRAILS WEST Westward movement of many U.S. settlers was:  Disastrous to many Americans, proving to be a perilous(dangerous) journey for both traders and settlers.  Settlers died from disease & famine  Animals lost due to lack of resources,  Attacks by wild animals, and Indian attacks,

6. THE SANTA FE TRAIL The Santa Fe trail was: one of the busiest trails Consisted of a 780 mile trail that led from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico Each Spring between 1821 & the 1860s, Missouri traders loaded their covered wagons with cloth, knives, and guns and set off toward Santa Fe.

7. PIONEERS FACE DIFFICULTIES ON THE OREGON TRAIL  Difficulties faced by many pioneers:  The trip took months  People traveled in covered Conestoga Wagons  Many walked, pushing heavy handcarts loaded with few precious possessions  Many people died from FEVER, DIARRHEA, and CHOLERA, and were BURIED alongside the trail  Caravans were often attacked by Native Americans  Many suffered from loneliness and despair

8.  In 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act. Under the act, the government gave 160 acres of land to anyone who farmed for 5 years.  The government wanted to encourage farmers to settle in the West. They also wanted to give poor people in the East a chance to own their  Many Easterners rushed to accept this offer for free land. These people who accepted the offer of land were called homesteaders. By 1900, half a million farmers have settled on the Great Plains under the Homestead Act. 8

9.  The Homestead Act had its problems.  Only about 20% of the homestead land originally went to small farmers.  Big land owning companies took large areas of land illegally. They divided the land and then resold it to farmer’s high price.  African Americans joined in the rush for land. In 1879, a group of African Americans decided to move to Kansas. They called themselves the Exodusters. They took their name from the Bible.  White Southerners did not want to lose a cheaper labor supplied by the African Americans. To prevent the African Americans from leaving, whites stopped the boats carrying the African Americans up the Mississippi. Despite the danger, between 40,000 and 70,000 African Americans moved to Kansas in 1881. 9

10.  Many farmers made their homes from soil because wood was rarely found on the plains. They called these homes sod homes.  Plows made of steel enabled farmers to break up the ground for planting. It enabled sodbusters, or the plains farmers, to cut through the sod and reach the soil below. 10

11. 11 In the 1860’s farmers began to work together. They believed if they worked together they could improve their farming conditions through economic cooperation and political action. They formed an organization called the National Grange. Grangers helped farmers set up cooperatives.National Grange In a cooperative, farmers pooled their money together to buy seed and other tools wholesale. Wholesale means buying or selling things in large quantities at lower prices.cooperativeWholesale

12.  Women made clothing, quilts, soap, candles, and other goods by hand.  They also have to cook and preserve all food needed through the long winter.  They had to educate the children.  They also treated the sick and injured because there were no doctor’s nearby.

13.  The Homestead act of 1862 provided free land for settlers willing to live there for a minimum of five years  The name given to these settlers were Homesteaders  Life on the farm in the Great Plains was difficult  Most farmers worked from dawn till dusk  Women played multiple roles on the Great Plains  African-Americans who moved into the Great Plains were known as Exodusters  Farmers later organized to form cooperatives, alliances and granges.  Farmers formed the Populist Party to have their needs heard and demand reforms  These reforms included and eight hour workday, public ownership of railroads, and income taxes among others.