1. CH 13
Settling the West

2. Topics that you must picture
Mississippi River
Cattle Trails (pg 417) (name each trail)
Oklahoma Land Rush
Transcontinental Railroad
Native American Battles– Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee

4. Map of the U.S. by 1850
By 1850 the outline of the United States was complete
People had already been moving west after the gold rush but now more than ever the push to go west engulfed the nation

5. Western Settlers 3 groups led the move west for different reasons
Miners came in search of gold, silver, and other metals for eastern industry
Ranchers brought vast herds of cattle and sheep
Farmers came looking for farm land on the Great plains

6. Miners Miners were the first large group to make the move west
When a mine strike was found people from all over would pour into the region and full towns would spring up almost overnight

7. Mineral Strikes Comstock Lode Leadville, CO
Huge silver deposit discovery
Virginia City, NV
Leadville, CO

8. Boomtowns These towns became known as “Boomtowns”
Once the minerals were gone the towns were deserted and called “Ghost towns”

9. Mining Placer Mining Quartz Mining Picks, Shovels, Pans
Dig deep beneath the surface
Corporations

10. Ranchers Longhorn Could survive in the harsh climate
Before the civil war beef in Texas was so numerous that the price fell to nothing
War demand drove up the price so moving the cattle became profitable.
So to make money ranchers started to round up their cattle and walk them over several states to railroad lines to sell in the East, this became the long cattle drives

11. Ranchers
The beef business became so profitable that Ranchers started buying land in the west closer to where the rail lines were coming and herding their cattle
As the business grew barbed wire fences and brandings were used to regulate the cattle

12. Farmers
The Homestead Act was passed in 1862 and offered land to those who were willing to cultivate that land for 5 years
$10 registration fee

13. The Great Plains Great American Desert “Rain Follows the Plow”
Hardship
Lack of trees/water
100 degree heat and blizzards
Swarms

14. Wheat Belt Wheat could hold up to drought better than corn
Dakotas, Western Nebraska, and Kansas
Dry Farming
New Technology
Mechanical Reapers, Mechanical Binders, Threshing Machines
Bonanza Farms

15. Hard Times 1890’s – Glut in market caused low prices Mortgages
Prolonged drought

16. April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush lined up thousands of settlers at noon to dash for free land and make their claims
Those who slipped passed and went early were called Sooners
End of an era, loss of safety valve

17. Indian Relations
Settlers saw the land that had long been occupied by Indians as open for settling
Mostly because Indians weren’t farmers who sectioned the land off like white settlers

18. Immigration
Settlement in the West and Midwest opened the door to a massive flux of immigration in to the U.S.
This led to Problems in relations with Native Americans

19. Indian Culture Nomads Extended family networks Gender defined roles
Dependent on buffalo
Extended family networks
Gender defined roles
Women – Cooking, Child Rearing, Hide Preparation
Men – Hunting, Trading, Fighting

20. Indian Uprisings Dakota Sioux Uprising
Sioux agreed to live on reservations in exchange for annuities (payments)
Payments were late and Sioux revolted
Lakota Sioux
Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull
Fetterman’s Massacre
Cheyenne and Arapaho
Tension with miners
Sand Creek Massacre

21. Indian Peace Commission
Two large reservations (Sioux and Southern Plains Indians)
Army could deal with any tribe that refused to go
Plan Failed

22. Little Big Horn 1876
Miners over ran the Sioux Reservation looking for gold and silver
So the Indians left the reservation to hunt in Montana

23. Little Big Horn
The U.S. army and George Custer were sent to confront the Sioux
Custer took his vastly out numbered men ( ) into battle against Sitting Bull and 2500 Sioux in broad daylight and was greatly defeated

24. Massacre at Wounded Knee
Lakota were performing Ghost Dance against orders of the government.
Sitting Bull killed when authorities tried to arrest him.
Ghost Dancers fled reservation with U.S. troops in pursuit.
Dec Battle of Wounded Knee
The Massacre at Wounded Knee was one of the last battles fought between the U.S. army and the Indians

25. Assimilation
Assimilating Native Americans became the cry of people in the East although most attempts failed
The Dawes Act in allowed for heads of household to have 160 acres of reservation land for farming

26. Excess Information
(Future Chapters)

27. Many new inventions made settling the West easier
Nothing aided the settlement of the west more than the Transcontinental Railroad

28. Transcontinental Railroad
Two railroad companies worked on the first Transcontinental Railroad…
The Union Pacific Company started in Omaha, Nebraska
The Central Pacific Company started in Sacramento, California

29. On May 10, 1869, the two companies joined the two railroad lines at Promontory Point, Utah
Many immigrants from China and Ireland were used to build the Railroad

30. Other inventions that aided the movement west were…
Windmill
Barbed Wire
Mechanized farm equipment
Steel Plow
Revolver

31. John Deere invented the steel plow in 1837

32. The first wireless form of long distance communication was invented in late 1800’s called the Telegraph

33. Farmer Grievances
In the late 1800’s farmers began to struggle with high tariffs
They were also being squeezed by bad weather and high priced machinery

34. The farmers first attempt to organize and fight was known as the Grange

35. The Farmer’s Alliance began in Texas in 1877 to address issues faced by farmers
In 1890 the group had over 3 million members

36. When neither political party helped the farmers they started their own 3rd party called the Populist Party

38. Essay Question
List and explain in detail the 3 main groups who led the movement West in the U.S. following Reconstruction. List specific motivations, problems, and circumstances that were involved.