Chapter 5 THE WESTERN CROSSROADS

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Chapter 5 THE WESTERN CROSSROADS

• Section 1 War in the West
• Section 2 Western Farmers
• Section 3 The Cattle Boom
• Section 4 The Mining Boom

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Objectives
Section 1 War in the West

• Why did the U.S. government create the American
  Indian reservation system?
• What were the sources of conflict between the
  Plains Indians and the U.S. government?
• How did Chief Joseph, Geronimo, and Sarah
  Winnemucca respond to whites treatment of
  American Indians?
• How did the U.S. government try to assimilate
  American Indians?

3
The reservation system
Section 1 War in the West

• created to serve desire for farmland and gold
• gave government control of American Indians
• provided opportunity for assimilation of American
  Indians

4
The Plains Indians and the U.S. government
Section 1 War in the West

• conflicts over land and reservations
• conflicts over broken promises and treaties
• conflicts over the Ghost Dance

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Chief Josephs response
Section 1 War in the West

• agreed to move tribe to a reservation
• fled from the U.S. Army and eventually surrendered

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Geronimos response
Section 1 War in the West

• fled reservation with his tribe raided
  settlements
• eventually surrendered

7
Sarah Winnemuccas response
Section 1 War in the West

• called attention to problems
• made speeches participated in political
  activities

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Assimilation attempts
Section 1 War in the West

• establishment of reservations
• creation of Indian schools
• passage of the Dawes Act

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Objectives
Section 2 Western Farmers

• How did the U.S. government promote economic
  development in the West?
• Why did people migrate west?
• How did the environment influence farming
  practices and daily life in the West?
• What difficulties did farm families face on the
  Great Plains?

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Promotion of economic development
Section 2 Western Farmers

• Homestead Act permitted any citizen or intended
  citizen to have 160 acres of land.
• Pacific Railway Act gave lands to railroad
  companies to develop the transcontinental
  railroad.
• Morrill Act provided more than 17 million acres
  of land whose sale was to finance agricultural
  and engineering colleges.

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Migration west
Section 2 Western Farmers

• White Americans sought cheaper lands or wanted to
  make a new start.
• African Americans wanted to escape persecution in
  the South.
• Scandinavians had America Fever.
• Irish moved west after building railroads.
• Russian Mennonites moved after Russian czar ended
  their exemption from military service.
• Chinese came during Gold Rush and turned to
  farming.

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Environmental influence
Section 2 Western Farmers

• Lack of water and strong winds led to dry farming
  and irrigation.
• Lack of trees led to use of buffalo manure as
  fuel and building material.
• Harsh winters led to use of new varieties of
  wheat that withstood the weather.

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Difficulties for farm families
Section 2 Western Farmers

• poor housing
• blizzards and cold weather
• droughts
• insects
• prairie fires
• backbreaking work

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Objectives
Section 3 The Cattle Boom

• How did cattle and sheep ranching develop in the
  West?
• What was life like for cowboys and residents of
  cattle towns?
• What were ranches like?
• Why did the cattle boom on the open range end?

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Development of cattle ranching
Section 3 The Cattle Boom

• introduction of the Texas longhorn
• expansion of eastern beef market

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Development of sheep ranching
Section 3 The Cattle Boom

• introduced by Spanish
• also done by American Indians
• market expansion sparked by Gold Rush

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Cowboy life
Section 3 The Cattle Boom

• demanding working conditions
• isolation
• trail drives

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Town life
Section 3 The Cattle Boom

• busy from spring to fall from cattle drives
• businesses attracted by the money that cowboys
  received at end of drive
• families followed businesses

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Ranches
Section 3 The Cattle Boom

• hard work for both genders
• lonely
• centered around roundup

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End of the cattle boom
Section 3 The Cattle Boom

• cattle glut
• invention of barbed wire
• depletion of grass
• bad weather

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Objectives
Section 4 The Mining Boom

• What role did mining play in bringing more people
  west?
• How did the arrival of families change life in
  mining camps?
• Why did large companies take over most mining
  operations, and how did this change the lives of
  miners?

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Role of mining
Section 4 The Mining Boom

• Mining attracted people to the West by presenting
  the possibility of great wealth.

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Arrival of families
Section 4 The Mining Boom

• Families brought stability and transformed
  temporary towns into permanent ones.
• Families brought law and order.
• Families established churches, newspapers,
  schools, and cultural establishments.

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Takeover by large companies
Section 4 The Mining Boom

• It was expensive to mine the deep, less
  accessible deposits.
• Technology rather than luck required to locate
  deposits.
• Miners became laborers for corporations rather
  than self-employed individuals.
• Working conditions in mines were dangerous.
• Some miners formed unions to get better wages and
  working conditions.