1. Section 2 The Western Crossroads
U.S. History
Section 2
The Western Crossroads

2. Timeline

3. Timeline

4. Boomtowns

5. Boomtowns

6. Boomtowns
Refers to tiny frontier towns that would become small cities overnight
The rapid population growth was made up of prospectors looking for precious metals/minerals located nearby
No law enforcement
Vigilance committees – self-appointed volunteers who tracked down and punished criminals

7. Texas Longhorn

8. Texas Longhorn

9. Texas Longhorn

10. Texas Longhorn

11. Texas Longhorn
Cattle that were introduced to the Texas plains by the Spanish and eventually set free when they left
Cattle adapted to the plains by evolving longer horns to ward off predators

12. Long drives

13. Long drives

14. Long drives The movement of cattle from the ranch to the railheads
Done by herding the cattle north
Railroads transported the cattle to the east

15. Open range

16. Open range

17. Open range

18. Open range
Large pieces of open land where free grazing could take place

19. Barbed Wire

20. Barbed Wire

21. Barbed Wire

22. Barbed Wire

23. Barbed Wire
Cheap fencing material that kept cattle from pushing them over
Invented by Joseph Glidden

24. Haciendas

25. Haciendas

26. Haciendas
After the collapse of the old Spanish mission system, society in the Southwest became dominated by a landholding elite
They owned “haciendas” – vast ranches covering thousands of acres

27. The Great Plains

28. The Great Plains

29. The Great Plains
Dry grassland area that extends from Texas north into Canada
Covers the United States from (roughly) the Appalachian Mts. to the Rocky Mts.
The land is difficult
Trees only occur near rivers or streams
Hot summers w/temperatures above 100 degrees
Winters feature bitter cold temperatures and blizzards

30. Homestead Act

31. Homestead Act

32. Homestead Act

33. Homestead Act Video
Allowed any citizen to claim any surveyed land up to 160 acres
Would gain the title to the land after five years of residence
Established to speed up western expansion
Land thought previously worthless, like in the Great Plains, was transformed into America’s wheat belt

34. Sodbusters

35. Sodbusters

36. Sodbusters Name given to Great Plains farmers
Because wood was scarce, they built homes called “sod houses”
These houses were made of a mixture of mud and grass that formed into bricks

37. Advances in Agriculture

38. Advances in Agriculture

39. Advances in Agriculture
Advances include crop rotation, better irrigation methods, use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and use of mechanical farming equipment like the steel plow
Advances in transportation also helped farmers get their product to market

40. Morrill Act

41. Morrill Act

42. Morrill Act Granted 17 million acres to states
States must finance the construction of agriculture and engineering colleges
Led to the founding of more than 70 state universities

43. Bonanza farm

44. Bonanza farm

45. Bonanza farm Large scale farms
Created by more efficient technology and cheap, abundant land
By the end of the 1880s, the United States was the world’s leading exporter of wheat

46. Bureau of Indian Affairs

47. Bureau of Indian Affairs

48. Bureau of Indian Affairs
Government agency responsible for managing American Indian issues
BIA commissioner favored the reservation system

49. Sand Creek Massacre

50. Sand Creek Massacre

51. Sand Creek Massacre
Chief Black Kettle had brought several hundred Cheyenne to Fort Lyon, CO to negotiate a peace deal.
They were permitted by the fort’s commander to make camp at Sand Creek
Col. Chivington attacked with his forces
The exact number of Cheyenne casualties remains unknown

52. Reservation system

53. Reservation system

54. Reservation system
The increasing number of white settlers and conflicts like the Sand Creek Massacre forced the U.S. government to take action
They created reservations that would be run by federal agents
The U.S. Army would deal with Indians who refused to report to their appropriate reservations

55. George Armstrong Custer

56. George Armstrong Custer

57. George Armstrong Custer
U.S. Army General that was the leader of the 7th Cavalry
Sent to deal with the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne that had left their reservation

58. Battle of Little Big Horn

59. Battle of Little Big Horn

60. Battle of Little Big Horn

61. Battle of Little Big Horn Video
Sitting Bull was the leader of several Sioux groups containing about 2500 men
Custer and his force of more than 200 men were all killed

62. Dawes Act

63. Dawes Act

64. Dawes Act
Designed to help “Americanize” the Indian tribes by encouraging private land ownership
Each American Indian family to receive 160 acres for farming
Citizenship would be granted to those who stayed on their land for 25 years

65. Questions?

66. END OF CHAPTER 2 IN TEXTBOOK