1860 - 1900...great plains not as a “treeless wasteland” but as a vast area to be settled. 1.dry...
TRANSCRIPT
1860 - 1900
• Following the Civil War, many Americans and
Europeans continued to move into the WEST
• “as far as the eye can see… millions of
acres of treeless grassland.”
• Between the Mississippi River and
the Rocky Mountains
• Flatlands that rise gradually from east to west
• Land eroded by wind and water
• Low rainfall
•Frequent dust storms
• Only 20 inches of rain per year • Home to the buffalo – can
survive in dry climate (sacred to the Native Americans)
• High winds stir up dust and create dust storms
1. New beginning for freedmen
2. Opportunities to own land
3. Treasure – discovery of gold
and silver
4. Desire for adventure
5. New Technology –people could
live in challenging
environments
Opportunities for Land
1. 21 years old, or head of family
2. US citizens or filing for
3. Build a certain size home and live for 6 months
4. Farm the land for five consecutive years
Homestead Act (1862) – government incentive that
gave 160 acres (1/4 sq. mi.) if met certain
requirements:
• Towns called
BOOMTOWNS grew
over night
• Miners came from all
over
• Town life was expensive
• Violence was part of
BOOMTOWN life
BOOM!!
• No more gold!!
• A lot of people moved to new sites or back
home
• Now called ghost towns
BUST!!
• Who likes adventure??? The West was exciting
and new - People flocked to the West for
adventure
• Because of new inventions, people saw the
Great Plains not as a “treeless wasteland” but
as a vast area to be settled.
1.Dry Farming
2. Wheat Farming
3. Steel Plow
4. Windmills
5. Mechanical Reaper
6. Beef Cattle Raising
7. Barbed Wire
8. Railroads
9. Sod Houses
• Type of farming that allows farmers to farm
without much water.
• Plant the seeds deeper to get more water
• Popular crops = wheat, corn, and watermelon
• Wheat doesn’t need
much water
• Wheat can be made into
flour which is non-
perishable and can be
used to make bread and
cereal
• Great Plain soil was
rocky
• Wooden plows weren’t
strong enough
• Harder steel made the
plow work
Water-pumping Windmills:
Provided water for people and
animals due to little rainfall
1. Wind turns the blades of the
windmill
2. A long rod that runs down
the tower moves the handle
of a pump up and down
3. The water flows into an
open wooden box called a
trough
• Mechanical Reaper
(mower) reduced farm
labor needs and
increased production
• Some areas good for
cow (cattle)
• Texas became the
center of cattle
ranching
• People in the East
wanted to eat beef
• Barbed wire was used
for fencing large
ranches and farms
• Built quickly and was
cheap
• Wood fences were
expensive and hard to
get (few trees for
wood)
• Sod = the top layer of soil and grass
• Houses made out of sod (dirt)
• Sod was used on the walls and roof (placed over wood
beams)
• Made it easier to go west • Farmers could ship their crop to
the east Transcontinental Railroad – linked the East to the West (from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean) • Transported people and goods • Made trade easier • Started building factories in the
West
• Two Railroads: Union Pacific and Central
Pacific
-Union Pacific: began in Omaha, Nebraska (blue) - Central Pacific: began in Sacramento, California (red)
-“Meet me in the Middle”
• May 10, 1869: UP and CP met at Promontory Point, Utah…Leland Stanford, gov. of California, drove the last spike.
WHO BUILT THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD?
Union Pacific – 8,000 Irish and African Americans Central Pacific – 10,000 Chinese
Invented by Samuel Morse
THINK MORSE CODE
1. Allowed people to
communicate across long
distances.
2. Messages could travel
across the country in a
matter of minutes.