1. Westward Expansion Sol USII.4a

2. Essential Question Why did westward expansion occur after the civil war?

3. Reasons for increased westward expansion Opportunities for land ownership ◦ The Homestead Act of 1862 provided that any adult citizen (or person intending to become a citizen) who headed a family could qualify for a grant of 160 acres of public land by paying a small registration fee and living on the land continuously for five years.

4. Reasons for increased westward expansion Technological advances ◦ Transcontinental railroad ◦ Railroads could reach interior areas, including places where an inadequate water supply or rough terrain made canals impossible. By 1840, the United States had almost three thousand miles of track; by 1860, a network of thirty thousand miles linked most of the nation's major cities and towns.

6. Reasons for increased westward expansion Possibility of obtaining wealth ◦ California Gold rush of 1849 was followed by new discoveries of gold and silver between 1857 and 1890. Prospectors swarmed to the mines where gold and silver were found. Desire for adventure ◦ Some people thought that life in the West was filled with adventure. Young men were drawn to the cowboy life.

7. Reasons for increased westward expansion Desire for a new beginning for former enslaved African Americans ◦ Few of the freed slaves could afford to own land and most worked as sharecroppers, work not very different from what they did as slaves. Thousands of black families took advantage of the opportunity to become homesteaders on the Plains.

9. Essential Question How did the lives of American Indians change with western expansion?

10. Impact on American Indians Opposition by American Indians to westward expansion ◦ Battle of Little Bighorn  occurred in 1876 in Montana and the American Indians won the battle ◦ Sitting Bull  holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies ◦ Geronimo  fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades

11. Impact on American Indians Forced reservation relocation from traditional lands to reservations ◦ Chief Joseph  Instead of going to a reservation he lead 800 of his people to Canada. They fought with the Army as they crossed Idaho and Montana. They were trapped just forty miles from Canada. After a five- day fight, the remaining 431 remaining were beaten. It was then, on October 5, 1877 at Bears Paw, that Chief Joseph made his speech of “I WILL FIGHT NO MORE”  Nez Perce’

12. https://app.discoveryeducation.com/l earn/videos/25ED6AB4-5F11-43F9- 9222-32D8079C16F8 https://app.discoveryeducation.com/l earn/videos/25ED6AB4-5F11-43F9- 9222-32D8079C16F8

13. Impact on American Indians Reduced population through warfare and disease ◦ Battle of Wounded Knee ◦ http://www.history.com/shows/america-the- story-of-us/videos/the-last-of-the-sioux http://www.history.com/shows/america-the- story-of-us/videos/the-last-of-the-sioux

15. Impact on American Indians Assimilation attempts and lifestyle changes ◦ Reduction of buffalo population

16. Why was Buffalo important to the Native Americans? Meat: Roasted and boiled for food. Hides: Used for clothing and other accessories. Muscles: thread, bowstrings Bones: weapons and tools Horns: Utensils and toys Beard: decoration Tail: whips Brain: Used for soften the skin. Hoofs: Boiled for glue. Fat: candles and soap Teeth: necklaces Stomach and Bladders: containers Skull: ceremony masks.

17. Impact on American Indians Reduced their homelands through treaties that were broken

18. Essential Understanding New opportunities and technological advances led to westward migration following the Civil War.