Goal 4: The West

1
Goal 4 The West Rise of the Debtor

• US 4.01 Compare and contrast the different
  groups of people who migrated to the West and
  describe the problems they experienced.
• US 4.02 Evaluate the impact that settlement in
  the West had upon different groups of people and
  the environment.
• US 4.03 Describe the causes and effects of the
  financial difficulties that plagued the American
  farmer and trace the rise and decline of
  Populism.
• US 4.04 Describe innovations in agricultural
  technology and business practices and assess
  their impact on the West.
• Student Objectives
• By the end of this chapter, students will be able
  to
• Identify explain the reasons for the population
  explosion in the West
• Identify explain the life of farmers miners
  new inventions that helped them cope on the Great
  Plains
• Create a geographical map of the USA
• Identify explain the reasons behind the
  tensions between settlers Native Americans
• Explain the economic problems facing farmers
• Identify the different political groups organized
  to fight for farmers
• Analyze the effectiveness of the Populist Movement

2
Introduction

• As more white settlers moved West, conflicts with
  Native Americans increased
• Settlers on the Great Plains made farming in the
  west profitable
• After decades of economic hardships, farmers
  unify create a political party.

3
Reasons for Western Population Explosion

• 2 main reasons for the population increase in the
  west
• Settlers began farming the Great Plains
• Discovery of gold/silver

4
Push Pull Factors

• Push Factors
• Cause people to leave their home
• Debt, overcrowded cities, war, etc
• Reasons people left

• Pull Factors
• Attract people to a certain place
• Cheap land, gold/silver, religious freedom

5
Mining Population

• The discovery of gold silver lodes in the Rocky
  Mountains Montana led to a huge population boom
  in the west
• Eventually lead to statehood
• More people began to move west due to the
  discovery of more gold silver
• Most heading to in California Colorado
• Immigrants, Civil War Vets
• As mining population grew, wealthy people bought
  out claims of individual miners, who then began
  to mine for the companies
• BAD WORKINGCONDITIONS/PAY!
• Boom Towns Cities that sprang up around
  gold/silver mines
• As word got out about a lode, more people came to
  mine it trying to get rich
• Originated as tent cities, eventually grew into
  towns

6
Farmer Population

• The Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres of land
  to those who promised to farm it
• Spreads Union influence
• The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 gave states
  land to create agricultural colleges to educate
  homesteaders (Farmer Education)
• Dry Farming Planting drought resistant crops
  using mulch to maintain moisture
• Learned from Mexican farmers

7
Life on the Great Plains

• Settlers lived in sod houses
• Houses made of sod prairie grasses
• Life revolved around the seasons
• Everyone worked in the fields during planting
  harvesting
• Sometimes, families joined together to complete
  this task
• Men worked the fields, women children did
  everything else!
• Cook, clean, tend livestock, schooling, etc.
• Often lived far from other neighbors
• Hard life for very little reward!

8
Role of Women in the West

• Could do her chores in the morning, give birth
  in the afternoon, get back to work in the
  evening to make diner
• Did many household tasks
• Civilized mining cattle towns
• Called for libraries, theaters, schools
• Became doctors, teachers, etc.
• Gained the right to vote in the mid-late 1800s
• Women in Montana began voting in 1869, most
  western women had earned the right to vote by
  1910
• Eastern women were still fighting for the right!

9
Longhorns

• Cattle with horns 5-6 ft. across
• Brought by Spanish settlers
• Could forage food, needed little water
  perfect for life on the Plains
• Raising longhorns provided a way of life for
  many Western settlers
• Beef was in high demand after the Civil War
  earned high prices
• Open range herding Cattle roam graze freely
  on open range
• Practiced by many cattle ranchers on the Great
  Plains
• Ended with the invention of barbed wire
  (FENCES)

10
Cattle Drive

• Route cowboys used to herd cattle to the major
  rail head in Dodge City, Kansas
• Main route was the Chisholm Trail
• Herds would be transported to the
  slaughterhouses
• In Texas, a steer 3 in Chicago, a steer
  40
• 10 cowboys to herd of 3,000 Very dangerous
  STAMPEDES!!
• Took 2-3 months

11
Mexican Influence

• American cowboys learned from Mexican cowboys
  (Vaqueros)
• Food, clothes vocab influenced

Cowboy Vocabulary!! Hot Rocks Biscuits Belly
Wash Coffee Axle Grease Butter Strawberries
Beans Hen Fruit Eggs Splatter Dabs Pancakes
12
Real Life Cowboys

• 25 African American
• 12 Mexican
• Up around 330AM worked until sundown
• Worked through Spring Summer, living off
  savings for winter
• Cowboys sang to the herds to calm them down
• Not like Hollywood

13
African-Americans in the West

• Freed slaves left violence in the South in hopes
  of a better life
• Own land, start fresh
• Have more freedoms in the west
• Buffalo Soldiers Army regiments of all black
  troops
• To protect border with Mexico the Western
  frontier
• Many also became cowboys

14
Problems in the West

• Many began to breed cattle due to bad winters
  droughts
• Overgrazing
• Drought
• High Heat
• Potatoes were baked in the ground!
• Prairie fires
• Blizzards
• Lost 40-90 of cattle
• Grasshopper Plagues
• 4 of 5 families moved back east.

15
Big Inventions to Help Farmers

• Hard sod made farming difficult
• Improved steel plow made in possible to break up
  tough ground
• Steel Windmill helped farmers bring water up from
  the ground
• Refrigerated Boxcar allowed products to be
  transported faster fresher than before
• Railroads transported goods across country
• Grain Drills allowed farmers to plant several
  rows at once efficient!
• Threshing machines removed wheat from plant
  easier
• Barbed Wire allowed for fences ends open range
  herding

16
The Railroads

• In order to get farmers supplies, the
  government expanded the railroads
• Railroads reached the new markets in the west
• Eminent Domain states that the government
  can/will take private land for public use, as
  long as it pays a fair price for it
• Used to expand the railroads west
• You cant say no, as its protected under the
  5th Amendment

17
The Transcontinental Railroad

• Companies Union Pacific Central Pacific
• Who Built It Immigrants were used to build the
  railroads
• Mainly Chinese Irish
• African Americans Mexicans, too.
• Dangerous working conditions

18
The Transcontinental Railroad

• Built Where through the middle of the country
• Purpose Transported goods to from farms on
  the Great Plains
• Impact
• Destroyed Native American culture
• Opened new markets in the west
• Promontory Point, UT Where the 2 railroads meet
  railroad complete
• The Golden Spike

19
Problems Causes by the Railroads

• Problems for Native Americans
• Killed off buffalo
• Took more land
• Destroyed the Plains Tribes

• Problems for Farmers
• Charged higher prices for settlers in the West!!