1. What other factors might help the homesteaders?
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Enquiry Question: How did the Homesteaders learn to thrive on the Great Plains?
Think…
How far do you agree that the railroad was the most important reason for the settlement of the Great Plains?
(18 marks)
What other factors might help the homesteaders?

2. Aim to group the notes under the categories on the post it notes.
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Enquiry Question: How did the Homesteaders learn to thrive on the Great Plains?
Railroad
Government
Technology
On the next slides there is a gallery of information on the homesteaders. You will need to make brief notes about how they survived on the Great Plains.
Aim to group the notes under the categories on the post it notes.
Explain that the gallery will keep moving and it will be best to look out for the key dates and main parts and not to copy it all down.

3. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Enquiry Question: How did the Homesteaders learn to thrive on the Great Plains?
‘It is our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which providence has given us of the development of the great experiment of liberty.’
John O’Sullivan 1845
Key Quote

4. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Manifest Destiny
The US government decided that they needed to fill land with men and women who were loyal to the USA.
They could then develop the land, building towns, railways and roads while farming, mining and beginning trade. This would make the USA prosperous and capable of defending itself against any enemies, which is where the homesteaders began.

5. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
A homesteader is a person who settled on the Great Plains to farm the land. They are people who acquire land under acts (laws passed by government) or schemes to encourage them.

6. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
A lot of the first homesteaders were immigrants from Ireland and Scandinavia, and they were very poor
Many of these people, however, were drawn to the land because of the incentives that were offered to them by the US government.

7. The Homestead Act 1862 Key Date To settle ordinary families onto
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Key Date
The Homestead Act 1862
To settle ordinary families onto
the plains, the government
passed the Homestead Act.
This enabled settlers to claim a section of land and farm it for 5 years. After that, they would pay $30 and would be presented a certificate to show they officially own the land.

8. The Timber and Culture Act 1873
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Key Date
The Timber and Culture Act 1873
Homesteaders were originally granted 160 acres of land but under the Timber and Culture Act of 1873, a homesteader could claim another 160 acres of land, if he promised to plant trees on half of it.

9. The Desert Land Act 1877 Key Date
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Key Date
The Desert Land Act 1877
This act allowed settlers to buy another 640 acres of land
at a cheaper price. Although the land had to be improved, the settlers did not have to live on this bit of land.

10. Problems on the Great Plains
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Problems on the Great Plains
The soil and climate on the Great Plains were very different from what people had encountered before. As no-one had farmed on the Great Plains before no-one knew which crops to grow or how best to prepare the land.

11. Ploughing and sowing Problem
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Problem
Ploughing and sowing
Crops could not be grown until the land had been ploughed so the seeds could be planted. As the Great Plains had never been farmed before, some of the grasses that grew there had roots that formed a dense, tangled mass at least 10cm deep.
Some homesteaders had brought with them cast iron ploughs but even they bent and buckled under the strain and constantly needed repairing.

12. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Solution
Machinery
Factories in the east began to mass produce machinery. Things became cheaper and ploughs were built with steel ploughshares that could cut through the soil easily.
They also came with spare parts which meant that it could be easily repaired on the plains.

13. Water Problem Not enough water fell on the Great
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Problem
Water
Not enough water fell on the Great
Plains so crops either would not
grow well or not at all.
Irrigation was impossible as there were no lakes or rivers and wells were expensive and uncertain.

14. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Solution
Wind Pumps
The wind pumps that cattlemen and railroad builders used were quickly adapted to meet the needs of the
farmer.
A high powered drill would be used to get
down to the water, then a wind pump built to
raise the water to the surface.
From the mid 1880’s , a towering wind pump
dominated most of the homesteads on the
Great Plains.

15. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Problem
Crops
The homesteaders attempted to plant the crops they knew best, such as maize and spring wheat.
However, they did not do well on the plains with little rainfall and scorching hot summers.

16. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Solution
Dry Farming
Farmers would plough the land whenever it rained or snowed, which would create a film of dust that trapped the moisture. They could then conserve water and grow better crops.
When Russian migrants arrived on the Great Plains, they bought a variety of wheat that could grow in harsh climates.
The wind pump would also allow for better crops to be grown.

17. Solution: Timber Culture Act and Desert Land Act.
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Problems
Devastation
Fire was the most terrifying for homesteaders as the climate met the merest spark could set off a wild fire. Once a fire took hold, all the homesteaders could do was hide while their crops were destroyed and the animals burnt to death.
Land holdings
The size of a homesteaders land had to be enough to support his family, but also manageable. The government allocation of 160 acres could not yield enough to support the average homesteader and his family.
Solution: Timber Culture Act and Desert Land Act.
Solutions

18. Fencing Barbed Wire Problem Solution
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Problem
Fencing
Homesteaders needed a clear boundary between them and their neighbours to stop cattle straying onto the land and destroying any growing crops. They did not, however, have any timber to build fences and hedges and could not grow fast enough.
Solution
Barbed Wire
After Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire in 1874, homesteaders could fence their land quickly, efficiently and cheaply. They could plant crops without fearing they would be destroyed.

19. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
The Railroad
The construction of the railroad meant that the homesteaders could prosper and do well because it brought machinery, goods and materials. This also meant that produce could be sold in more and more distant markets.

20. The Railroad As well as improving farming, the railroad
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
The Railroad
As well as improving farming, the railroad
Brought furniture and fabrics, dresses and
trousers, boots and shoes, stoves, pots and pans and oil lamps into homes on the Great Plains.
The railroad also meant that homesteaders had the opportunity to move to more fertile land.

21. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Role of Women
Living in a sod house was difficult work and women had to keep their families warm, fed, clothed, clean and healthy.

22. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Fuel and Food
Without fuel, the homesteader would be cold and hungry and there were hardly any trees on the plains.
The sod-busters wife had to collect barrow loads of dried cow and buffalo dung. It burned well but quickly.
Meals were often the same and
boring.

23. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Dirt and disease
All kinds of insects lived in the floor and walls of sod houses and with an uncertain water supply, women had a never ending battle against dirt and disease.
When women gave birth, there was no medical help, they simply got on with it.

24. Teachers and teaching Not all women who travelled to the Great Plains
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Teachers and teaching
Not all women who travelled to the Great Plains
were married and in 1845 they were being recruited
as teachers for schools on the Great Plains. The pay
was usually low and most lived with the families of
the children they taught.
She would often be prejudiced against and face ignorance,
sometimes working in appalling conditions.
The ‘schoolmarms’ made the west a more civilised place as they insisted on certain standards of behaviour and speech.

25. Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Creating a community
Looking after husbands and children was often a lonely life for women so she would often have to make connections with the other homesteads. As the men were always out on the farm, it was the role of the woman to do this.

26. What other factors might help the homesteaders?
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Learning objective:
To understand how the homesteaders solved the problems of living on the Great Plains
Enquiry Question: How did the Homesteaders learn to thrive on the Great Plains?
Think…
How far do you agree that the railroad was the most important reason for the settlement of the Great Plains?
(18 marks)
What other factors might help the homesteaders?