1. Journey West Continued
Watch School House Rock intro video found at:

2. Cattle Becomes Big Business
Ranching became a profitable investment in the Great Plains.
Vaqueros taught white settlers how to care for the cattle, brand them, and round them up.
After the Civil War – the demand for beef skyrocketed.
Chisolm Trail – major cattle route from Texas to Kansas.
Also used trains to ship cattle.

3. A Day In The Life of a Cowboy

4. A Day In The Life of a Cowboy

5. A Day in The Life of a Cowboy

6. End of the Open Range
Overgrazing of land, extended bad weather, and the invention of barbed wire led to the end of the open range.

7. Settlers Move West From 1870 – 1900, 400 million acres was settled.
Main reason – completion of the transcontinental railroad

10. The Lure of Gold and Silver
1858 – Gold was discovered in Colorado
Drew tens of thousands of miners to the region
Mining towns and tiny frontier towns began to boom.

12. Homestead Act
Federal government offered 160 acres of land free to any citizen who promised to settle the land.
1862 – 1900 – over 600,000 families took advantage of this offer
1889 – Oklahoma Land Rush – over 2 million acres of land was settled in less than a day.

13. Oklahoma Land Rush
Far and Away clip:

15. Life on the Plains

17. Farmers Problems Continue…
New farm machinery was expensive – had to borrow money to buy it – crop prices fell and many could not repay their loans.
Trapped in a vicious economic cycle – prices of crops were falling, farmers mortgaged their farms to buy more land to produce more crops.
Railroads were taking advantage of farmers by charging excessive prices for shipping and storage.

18. “American Progress” In groups of 2 analyze the following cartoon.
Be prepared for a group discussion in minutes.