1. FARMING THE FRONTIER 1. GOVERNMENT LAND POLICIES
A. Homestead Act of 1862
160 acres of land
Had to farm it for 5 years
Had to pay a small fee
B. Timber Culture Act
Additional 160 acres of land
Had to plant trees on at least 40 acres

2. Had to attempt to irrigate
C. DESERT LAND ACT
(to encourage settlement of the Southwest)
640 acres of land
Had to attempt to irrigate

3. II. LIFE ON THE PLAINS A. LACK OF TREES Could not build houses
Could not build fences
Could not keep fires for cooking and heat

4. C. Fuel B. HOUSES Made out of blocks of hardened soil (sod houses)
Dugouts- houses built into the soil--looked like caves
C. Fuel
Cow dung
Old grain

5. I'm tired! I've had it! D. ROLE OF THE PIONEER WOMAN
1. Use anything to fix up the house:
buffalo skins
bits of cloth to make:quilts,
rugs, wall paper, and curtains
I'm tired!
I've had it!
Collected cow chips for fuel
Drew water for bathing and cooking
Made and laundered clothes
Made meals
Took care of children
Helped husband in the field

6. III. FARMING ON THE PLAINS
CLIMATE
1. Freezing winters
2. Scorching summers
SOIL
1. Very hard
2. Difficult to plow

7. D. INVENTIONS C. LACK OF WATER E. IMPROVED TRANSPORTATION
By 1880s farmers used windmills
Dry farming-plow deep into the soil
Developed drought resistant crops
D. INVENTIONS
Steam powered machinery
Corn shell machine
Fertilizer spreader
E. IMPROVED TRANSPORTATION
Farmers could now sell worldwide
More products were needed

8. F. PROBLEMS
Grasshoppers in 1874 devoured everything from Texas to the Dakotas
Prairie fires
Starvation
Low prices for crops
High cost of transportation

9. TURKEY HILL GRANGE G. FARMERS STARTED THE GRANGE
Built grain storage centers
Did a number of things to help the farmer
TURKEY HILL GRANGE
Actual Grange name
Milstadt, Illinois

10. …in short, life on the prairie was not only harsh but dangerous.
Because of this, many farmers gave up and moved back to the cities.