1. SETTLING THE WEST Settlement of the Great Plains, 1860 to 1890
Homestead Act of 1862
Great Plains Indians
Conflicts with Indians
U.S. Indian Policy
Treaties and Reservations
Dawes Act of Americanize Indians
Indian Wars to 1890
1890, Census Bureau reported Great Plains was settled
2. The Cowboy tradition
3. Mining Industry
3. Life on the Plains
4. Facts, myths and legends

2. the
cowboys

3. The Bronc Buster Frederick Remington

5. Black Cowboys Exodusters
100,000 Exodusters leave the South and get involved with the ranching industry in Texas and Oklahoma.

11. Long Drives to Railheads
Cattle shipped to slaughter houses.
Rise of the beef and meatpacking industry.
Development of the “Cowboy Culture”

14. the
MINERS

15. Virginia City Comstock Lode
Mining Centers
Virginia City Comstock Lode

19. Prospecting

20. LIFE ON THE GREAT PLAINS
Settlers adapted to the difficult lifestyle of living on the Great Plains.
Newer advancements in agricultural technology helped settle the Plains.

21. LIFE ON THE GREAT PLAINS
Dry farming Allows cultivation of arid (dry) land by using drought-resistant crops and various techniques to minimize evaporation.
John Griffin, a three-year homesteader says, "Yalls idea of dry farming has led me and me family through these three years that we been homesteading."

22. Barbed Wire
Joseph Glidden

23. Barbed wire also solved the problems between farmers and ranchers.
LIFE ON THE GREAT PLAINS
Barbed wire fence was a lifesaver because of the lack of wood in the dry plains of America.
Barbed wire also solved the problems between farmers and ranchers.

24. Allowed farmers to cut through dense, root-choked sod.
Steel Plow

25. Reduced labor force needed for harvest
Reduced labor force needed for harvest. Allows farmers to maintain larger farms.
Mechanized Reaper

27. Powers irrigation systems and pumps up ground water.
Steel Windmill

28. Indian Assimilation Attempts
Native American children were taken to off-reservation Indian schools where they would be taught white man’s ways.

29. Carlisle Indian School, PA
Dawes Act (1887)
Carlisle Indian School, PA