1. Settling the West
Chapter 13 Sections 1 & 2

2. Boomtown to Ghost Town People went west in hopes of striking it rich
They built towns around areas that had large deposits of gold, silver, and/or copper
Once the area was depleted of it’s gold, silver, and/or copper the townspeople moved on in search of new opportunities

3. Cattle Ranching
Many settlers began building cattle ranches on the Great Plains
Cattle ranching grew quickly in part b/c of the open range
Open range – a vast area of grassland owned by the government
The open range provided land where ranchers could graze their herds free of charge and unrestricted by private farms

4. The Long Drive After the Civil War beef prices soared
It was profitable to make longhorns available to the East
Ranchers drove the longhorns north several hundred miles to the railroad where they could be sold for a huge profit
They could be sold at the rail lines for 10 times what they were worth in Texas
They would then be shipped east to market

5. Ranching = Big Business
The settling of farmers and sheep herders in the open range blocked the trails which led to range wars
The range wars led to the fencing off of the open range with a new invention – barbed wire
Barbed wire is credited with ending the long cattle drives

6. Settling the Plains
The govt. supported settlement in the Great Plains region by passing the Homestead Act
The Homestead Act
For a $10 fee a person could file for a homestead
Homestead - a area of public land available for settlement
A homesteader could claim up to 160 acres of public land and could receive title to that land after living there for 5 years
The Homestead Act provided a legal method for settlers to acquire clear title to property in the West
This made people more willing to move west

7. Dry Farming Dry farming
Planting seeds deep in the ground where there was enough moisture for them to grow
Newly designed steel plows, seed drills, reapers and threshing machines made dry farming possible

8. The Wheat Belt The Great Plains b/c known as The Wheat Belt b/c…
Wheat can withstand drought better than other crops
Wheat b/c as important to the Great Plains as cotton was to the South

9. Closing the Frontier
On April 22, 1889 the govt. opened up one of the last territories for settlement
The Oklahoma Land Rush
W/i hours over 10,000 people raced to stake their claim on an area of land
People believe that the West had been settled so rapidly it was beginning to close