1. 1st Transcontinental Railroad

2. I. Railroads
1st Transcontinental RR ( 1869) – Union Pacific and Central Pacific united at Promontory Point, Utah – 4 more RR completed by 1890
Irish worked on the Union Pacific while the Chinese worked on the Central Pacific
(Government gave out land grants)

3. Inventions that aided the RR
Steel rails replaced iron
Standardized time zones
George Westinghouse invented the air brake
Granville Woods – Telegraph system
All made it easier to ship goods

4. II. Cattle Ranching
Railroads made it easier to ship cattle east but had to get cattle to major RR ( $4 TX v. $40 Chicago)
Long Drives – harsh conditions, stampedes, low wages
1/3 -1/5 of cowboys Hispanic or African American
Main type of cattle – Texas Longhorn

5. Problems (cattle ranching)
Had used open range but with the invention of barbed wire by Joseph Glidden ranges closed off
Natural disasters also hurt industry – 1880’s – 90% killed in blizzard – ranchers went bankrupt – big business took over

6. Barbed Wire

7. III. Strikes
1859- Comstock Lode – large silver strike – lured people out west
Problems:
Mining towns – bad reputation but helped in settlement
Most miners didn’t strike it rich – large corporations bought up ore deposits

8. IV. Homesteader
Homestead Act – gave 160 acres to anyone willing to farm it and make it productive w/in 5 years.
Inventions aided the homesteader:
1) barbed wire 2) windmill – provided need H20 3) steel plow 4) reaper
1889- Harrison’s Hoss Race in Oklahoma attempt to give 1.9 acres away
Frontier announce closed in 1890

9. V. Conflicts with the Plains Indians
Problems came from:
1) killing off of Buffalo by RR – Nat. Am. Relied on the buffalo for everything.
2) breaking treaties/ taking land
3) Concentration policy – tried to Americanize them by turning them into farmers – put them on reservations – face confinement or extermination

10. Major Confrontations
Chivington Massacre ( 1864) – killing of 450 Cheyenne
Little Big Horn ( 1876) 7th cavalry led by George Armstrong Custer wiped out by Sitting Bull and a mixture of Sioux and Cheyenne
Nez Perce – peaceful tribe attempted to escape to Canada – led by Chief Joseph – led his tribe on a 1,000 mile journey before surrendering “ I will fight no more forever”
Wounded Knee ( 1890) – last confrontation – death of 290 Native Americans

11. Native Americans
Many tribes turned to the Ghost Dance Religion – a mixture of Native American and Christian beliefs – focused on the return of the land – this was led by Sitting Bull
Dawes ( Act) 1887 – broke up tribes – not allowed to practice tribal customs
(Americanize)- Assimilation efforts by the Government

12. Frontier Thesis
Frederick Jackson Turner: Argued Frontier chief influence in shaping a distinctive American way of life
1) social equality 2) economic independence 3) political democracy

13. The West