1. Miners, Ranchers, & Native Americans
Chapter 8
Miners, Ranchers, &
Native Americans

2. Growth of the Mining Industry
Mining gold, silver, and copper brought the first wave of settlers to the West.
Placer Mining
Early prospectors would extract shallow deposits of ore.
Quartz Mining
After ore near the surface began to dwindle
Dug deep beneath the surface.

3. Growth of the Mining Industry
The Big Strike in Nevada
The Comstock Lode was a rich deposit of silver
A cycle of boomtown to ghost town was repeated throughout the West
Vigilance committees were self-appointed volunteers to track down and punish wrongdoers

4. Other Bonanzas
Leadville
Deep deposits of lead that contained large amounts of silver created this legendary boomtown
Spurred the building of railroads through the Rocky Mountains

5. Open Range
Vast grassland of the Great Plains where ranchers herds could graze free of charge.

6. Long Drive
Cattle taken north to railroad tracks & sold for 10 times more than the price in Texas.

7. The cowboy, the quintessential symbol of the American frontier, circa 1887

9. Turn to page 289, look at the paragraph under the picture/drawing “Cowhands on a Cattle Drive.”
Write the question below in your notebook,
Why was there a shortage of Cattle in the East and what did they do to fix the meat shortage?

11. The Texas Longhorn

14. Ranching and Cattle Drives
Ranching Becomes Big Business
Barbed Wire
At first, ranchers saw it as a threat because it kept their herds from roaming freely.
Caused a transition of cowboys to ranch hands.
Replaced longhorns with European breeds
End of long cattle drives.

15. Farming the Plains
Chapter 8
Section 2
Page 292

16. Frederick Jackson Turner
Historian Frederick Jackson Turner in his "Frontier Thesis" (1893) theorized that the frontier was a process that transformed Europeans into a new people, the Americans, whose values focused on equality, democracy, and optimism, as well as individualism, self-reliance, and even violence. Thus, Turner's Frontier Thesis proclaimed the westward frontier as the defining process of American history.

17. Geography of the Plains
Great Plains
Extends from the Mississippi River westward to the Rocky Mountains.
Stephen Long
One of the first explorers to call the Great Plains the “Great American Desert”

18. The Wheat Belt
Many inventions and new farming methods revolutionized agriculture.
Dry Farming
Farmers planted seeds deep in the ground where there was enough moisture for them
Wheat Belt
Productive farm area that began at the eastern edge of the Great Plains
Wheat had an advantage on the Great Plains because it could withstand drought better than other crops

19. The Wheat Belt Commercial Farming
New machines allowed a single family to bring in a substantial harvest of wheat
Bonanza farms
Often brought their owners huge profits
Farmers Fall on Hard Times
Prolonged drought began in the late 1880’s
Some homesteaders gave up and returned back east, but others arrived to take their place

20. Homestead Act
A Homesteader could claim up to 160 acres of land and the title if they lived on it for five years.

22. Why was the Homestead Act so important?
Many moved in hopes of riches, adventure, freedom, or a fresh start.

24. Many homesteaders were immigrants—right off the boat (from Europe).
Many of these settlement tried to hang on to their original cultures.

25. Closing the Frontier Important information to think about:
In 1890, settlement throughout the West was so rapid that there was no longer a frontier line
Some were concerned; they believed the frontier created a “safety-valve of social discontent”
The idea that Americans could always make a fresh start
Fredrick Jackson Turner
Believed that the opportunities and challenges of frontier life created a uniquely American lifestyle

26. Chapter 8 Section 3 Native Americans page 297

28. Culture of the Great Plains
The Sioux and Dakota were nomads:
The loss of hunting grounds, forced movement, & broken treaties resulted in a serious toll on Native Americans.
Many began to resist.

29. Nomads
Roaming vast distances, following their main source of food—the buffalo.

34. Cultures Under Pressure
The Dakota Sioux Uprising
The U.S. government issued annuities, or payments to reservation dwellers.
Chief Little Crow.
Led a resistance against the settlers because Congress was late with the annuity payments.
Lakota Sioux Defend Their Territory
Fought hard to defend their hunting grounds
Leading the were chiefs Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull.

35. Cultures Under Pressure
Sand Creek
Trade came to a standstill, dozens of ranches were burned, and over 200 settlers killed
The Cheyenne came to Camp Lyon to negotiate
Colonel Chivington attacked the Cheyenne at Sand creek
14 soldiers died and 6 to 600 Native Americans
A doomed Plan for Peace
Indian Peace Commission
Created two large reservations on the plains

36. Chief Little Crow
Dakota Sioux

37. The Black Hills, South Dakota

38. Chief Sitting Bull
Lakota Sioux

40. The Last Native American Wars
The Army encouraged white hunters to kill buffalo to force Native Americans on reservations.
Battle of the Little Bighorn:
George A. Custer
Sitting Bull
Tragedy at Wounded Knee:
Confrontation occurred because the Lakota chief’s followers continued to perform a ritual
Ghost dance.

42. Native American School Children c. 1900

43. Assimilate
To absorb (immigrants or a culturally separate group) into the prevailing culture.

44. Dawes Act of 1887
Gave each head of the household 160 acres of reservation land for farming.

46. Some people believed that relationships would improve if Native Americans began to assimilate.
The Dawes Act
Attempted to help Native Americans by selling land and building a trust of money for them.
160 acres of land to the head of household.
80 acres to a single adult
40 acres to each dependent child.
Assimilation

49. The Federal Government Forced Native Americans onto land “Reserved” for them, or we know it as Reservations.
Here’s a link about life on the reservation,

50. As a Result
Native Americans are today among the poorest and least educated groups in American Society.

51. Two monumental honors were bestowed unto Thorpe in 1950 when he was named "the greatest American football player" and the "greatest overall male athlete" by the Associated Press.