splash screen contents chapter introduction section 1miners and ranchers section 2farming the plains...

Chapter Introduction

Section 1 Miners and Ranchers

Section 2 Farming the Plains

Section 3 Native Americans

Chapter Summary

Chapter Assessment

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Chapter Objectives

• Trace the growth of the mining industry in the West.

• Describe the ways that new technology changed open-range ranching.

Section 1: Miners and Ranchers



Chapter ObjectivesSection 2: Farming the Plains• Explain why and how people began settling

the Plains.

• Trace the growth of commercial farming on the Plains.



Chapter ObjectivesSection 3: Native Americans• Discuss conflicts that arose between the

Plains Indians and American settlers.

• Summarize problems caused by attempts to assimilate Native Americans.


Why It MattersAfter the Civil War, a dynamic period in American history opened–the settlement of the West. The lives of Western miners, farmers, and ranchers were often filled with great hardships, but the wave of American settlers continued. Railroads hastened this migration. During this period, many Native Americans lost their homelands and their way of life.


The Impact TodayDevelopments of this period are still evident today.

• Native American reservations still exist in the United States.

• The myth of the Western hero is prominent in popular culture.



continued on next slide

Guide to Reading

Miners and ranchers settled large areas of the West.

• placer mining

Main Idea


Key Terms and Names

• quartz mining • Henry Comstock • vigilance committee • open range

• long drive • Chisholm Trail • maverick • barbed wire


Guide to Reading (cont.)

Reading Strategy


Organizing As you read about the development of the mining industry, complete a graphic organizer like the one on page 286 of your textbook, listing the locations of mining booms and the discoveries made there.

• Trace the growth of the mining industry in the West.

Reading Objectives

• Describe the ways that new technology changed open-range ranching.



Section Theme

Economic Factors People migrated to the West in search of economic opportunity.


(pages 286–288)(pages 286–288)

Growth of the Mining Industry


• The growing industries in the East needed the West’s rich deposits of gold, silver, and copper.

• These deposits brought settlers to the West’s mountain states.

• Prospectors used simple equipment like picks, shovels, and pans to mine the shallow deposits of ore by hand.

• This process is known as placer mining.


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• Corporations dug deep beneath the surface to mine the deposits of ore in a process known as quartz mining.

• In 1859 prospector Henry Comstock staked a claim for a silver mine in Six-Mile Canyon, Nevada.

• This caused Virginia City, Nevada, to go from an outpost to a boomtown almost overnight.

(pages 286–288)(pages 286–288)

Growth of the Mining Industry(cont.)



• Several years later, the mines ran out of silver and the boomtown became a ghost town.

• The cycle of boom and bust was repeated throughout the mountainous West.

• During boom times, crime was a serious problem.

• Vigilance committees formed to track down and punish wrongdoers.

(pages 286–288)(pages 286–288)




• Mining helped the growth of Colorado, the Dakota Territory, and Montana.

• Mining in Colorado spurred the building of railroads through the Rocky Mountains.

• Denver became the supply point for the mining areas and the second largest city in the West after San Francisco.

(pages 286–288)(pages 286–288)



How did the mining industry affect towns and cities in the West?

Mining caused a cycle of boom and bust–from boomtown to ghost town. During booms, crime was a serious problem. Vigilance committees formed to track down and punish wrongdoers. The mining industry in Colorado led to the building of railroads through the Rocky Mountains. Denver became the supply point for the mining areas and the second largest city in the West.

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.


(pages 286–288)(pages 286–288)




(pages 288–291)(pages 288–291)

Ranching and Cattle Drives• After the Civil War, many Americans

began building large cattle ranches on the Great Plains.

• The Texas longhorn was a breed of cattle that could survive the harsh climate of the plains.

• The cattle ranching industry grew in part because of the open range–vast areas of grasslands owned by the federal government.

• Cattle raisers could graze their herds free of charge and without boundaries.



• During the Civil War, large numbers of eastern cattle were slaughtered to feed the Union and Confederate armies.

• After the war, beef prices soared. • This made it worthwhile to round up the

longhorns. • The first long drive in 1866 across the

Great Plains to the railroad in Sedalia, Missouri, proved that cattle could be driven north to the rail lines and sold for 10 times the price they could get in Texas.

Ranching and Cattle Drives (cont.)

(pages 288–291)(pages 288–291)



• The major route for moving cattle was the Chisholm Trail that went from Texas to Abilene, Kansas.

• A long drive began with the spring roundup to collect cattle from the open range.

• The cattle were divided and branded. • Then cowboys moved the herds of cattle

along the trails to the rail lines.


(pages 288–291)(pages 288–291)



• Most cowboys were former Confederate army soldiers, a few were Hispanic, and many were African American.

• The long cattle drives ended, in part, when the open range was largely fenced off with barbed wire.

• Investors from the East and from Britain put money into the cattle business, causing an oversupply of animals on the market.


(pages 288–291)(pages 288–291)



• Prices for cattle greatly dropped.

• Many ranchers went bankrupt. • Also, the harsh winters of 1886–1887

killed many cattle.


(pages 288–291)(pages 288–291)




How did the invention and use of barbed wire affect the cattle industry?

The long cattle drives and open grazing ended when the open range was largely fenced off with barbed wire.


(pages 288–291)(pages 288–291)


Checking for Understanding

__ 1. a stray calf with no identifying symbol

__ 2. method of extracting minerals involving digging beneath the surface

__ 3. method of extracting mineral ore by hand using simple tools, like picks, shovels, and pans

__ 4. driving cattle long distances to a railroad depot for fast transport and great profit

__ 5. vast areas of grassland owned by the federal government

A. placer mining

B. quartz mining

C. open range

D. long drive

E. maverick

Define Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left.

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answers.


B

A

E

D

C


Checking for Understanding (cont.)

List the factors that contributed to the rise of the cattle industry.

Factors include emergence of the longhorn breed, higher beef prices, and railroad transportation.





Explain how cattle ranching shifted from open range to an organized business operation.

Barbed wire eliminated long drives, and the cowboy became a ranch hand.




Reviewing Themes



Economic Factors What two developments in the late 1800s led to the decline of the cattle business?

An oversupply of cattle drove down prices, and the winter of 1886 to 1887 killed a large number of cattle.


Critical Thinking



Evaluating How did the mining industry contribute to the development of the West?

People moved west, towns sprung up, and railroads expanded.


Analyzing Visuals



Examining Maps Study the map detailing the western mining country and cattle trails on page 289 of your textbook. Then create your own thematic map detailing either the cattle country or the mining country.

Maps will vary.


CloseDescribe the ways new technology changed open-range ranching.



Guide to Reading

After 1865, settlers staked out homesteads and began farming the Great Plains.

• Great Plains

Main Idea

Key Terms and Names

• Stephen Long • Homestead Act • homestead

• dry farming • sodbuster • Wheat Belt• bonanza farm




Reading Strategy

Organizing As you read about the settlement of the Great Plains, complete a graphic organizer similar to the one on page 292 of your textbook listing the ways the government encouraged settlement.

• Explain why and how people began settling the Plains.

Reading Objectives

• Trace the growth of commercial farming on the Plains.



Section Theme

Science and Technology The need for new farming techniques in the West led to several technological innovations.



(pages 292–293)(pages 292–293)

Geography of the Plains


• The Great Plains region extends westward to the Rocky Mountains from around the 100th meridian–an imaginary line running north and south from the central Dakotas through western Texas.

• Rainfall on the Great Plains averages less than 20 inches per year.

• Trees only grow naturally along rivers and streams and on hilltops.

• Huge herds of buffalo once grazed on the prairie grasses of the Great Plains.


• Major Stephen Long explored the Great Plains with an army expedition in 1819.

• He called it the “Great American Desert” and said it was almost entirely unfit for farming.

Geography of the Plains (cont.)


(pages 292–293)(pages 292–293)


What is the geography of the Great Plains?

The Great Plains region extends westward to the Rocky Mountains from around the 100th meridian–an imaginary line running north and south from the central Dakotas through western Texas. Rainfall averages less than 20 inches per year. Trees only grow naturally along rivers and streams and on hilltops.



Geography of the Plains (cont.)

(pages 292–293)(pages 292–293)


(page 293)(page 293)

The Beginnings of Settlement


• Railroads provided easy access to the Great Plains.

• Railroad companies sold land along the rail lines at low prices and provided credit.

• The federal government helped settle the Great Plains by passing the Homestead Act in 1862.

• For $10, a settler could file for a homestead, or a tract of public land available for settlement.


• The homesteader could get up to 160 acres of public land and could receive title of it after living there five years.

• Settlers on the Plains found life very difficult.

• The environment was harsh, with summer temperatures soaring over 100°F and winter bringing blizzards and extreme cold.

• Prairie fires and swarms of grasshoppers were a danger and a threat.

The Beginnings of Settlement (cont.)




How did the railroads and the federal government help settle the Great Plains?

Railroads provided easy access to the Great Plains. Railroad companies sold land along the rail lines at low prices and provided credit. The federal government passed the Homestead Act in 1862. For $10, a settler could file for a homestead. The homesteader could get up to 160 acres of public land and could receive title of it after living there five years.



The Beginnings of Settlement (cont.)



(pages 294–295)(pages 294–295)

The Wheat Belt


• Many inventions and new farming methods made farming on the Great Plains very profitable.

• Farmers on the Great Plains used the dry farming method–planting seeds deep in the ground where there was enough moisture for them to grow.

• By the 1860s, farmers on the Great Plains were using newly designed steel plows, seed drills, reapers, and threshing machines.


• These machines made dry farming possible.

• Farmers could work large tracts of land with the machines.

• Farmers who plowed the soil on the Great Plains were called sodbusters.

• Many of them lost their homesteads because of drought, wind erosion, and overuse of the land.

The Wheat Belt (cont.)


(pages 294–295)(pages 294–295)


• During the 1860s and 1870s, new technology, such as the mechanical reapers and binders and threshing machines, made farming more profitable.

• The innovations were also well suited for harvesting wheat.

• Wheat withstood drought better than other crops, so it became the most important crop on the Great Plains.



(pages 294–295)(pages 294–295)


• Wheat farmers from Minnesota and other Midwestern states moved to the Great Plains in large numbers to take advantage of the inexpensive land and the new farming technology.

• The Wheat Belt began at the eastern edge of the Great Plains and included much of the Dakotas and the western parts of Nebraska and Kansas.



(pages 294–295)(pages 294–295)


• Some wheat farms, called bonanza farms, were much larger than single-family farms and covered up to 50,000 acres.

• These farms often brought the owners large profits.

• Several events caused Great Plains farmers to fall on hard times.

• In the 1890s, a glut of wheat caused prices to drop.



(pages 294–295)(pages 294–295)


• Some farmers lost their land because they could not repay bank loans they had taken out.

• A prolonged drought that began in the 1880s forced many farmers to return to the East.



(pages 294–295)(pages 294–295)


Why did much of the Great Plains region become the Wheat Belt?

Wheat withstood drought better than other crops, so it became the most important crop on the Great Plains. Wheat farmers from Minnesota and other Midwestern states moved to the Great Plains in large numbers to take advantage of the inexpensive land and the new farming technology.




(pages 294–295)(pages 294–295)



Closing the Frontier


• In the Oklahoma Land Rush on April 22, 1889, over 10,000 people raced to stake claims in new territory that later became Oklahoma.

• In 1890 the Census Bureau reported that the frontier was closing.

• This news concerned those who believed that land at the frontier provided a place for Americans to make a fresh start.



Closing the Frontier


• Many settlers in the Great Plains did make a fresh start.

• They adapted to the environment by getting water from deep wells and getting supplies and building materials that the railroads had shipped.


Why was the Census Bureau’s report of 1890 disturbing to some people?

The news that the frontier was closing concerned those who believed that the frontier offered a place for Americans to make a fresh start.



Closing the Frontier (cont.)




__ 1. method of acquiring a piece of U.S. public land by living on and cultivating it

__ 2. a name given to Great Plains farmers

__ 3. a large, highly-profitable wheat farm

__ 4. a way of farming dry land in which seeds are planted deep in the ground where there is some moisture

A. homestead

B. dry farming

C. sodbuster

D. bonanza farm




C

D

A

B





Explain why the Great Plains was not suitable for homesteading.

Geography and climate made the Great Plains not suitable for homesteading.


Reviewing Themes



Science and Technology How did the need for new farming techniques on the Great Plains result in technological innovations in agriculture?

Mechanical reapers, binders, and threshing machines were all created to help farmers harvest large tracts of farmland quickly.


Critical Thinking



Analyzing What factors contributed to the making of the Wheat Belt in the Great Plains and then to troubled times for wheat farmers in the 1890s?

The Homestead Act and new farming techniques and equipment helped develop the Wheat Belt. Good harvests and world competition caused a glut that caused prices to drop.


Analyzing Visuals



Examining Photographs Study the photograph of farmers using binding machines in western Wisconsin on page 293 of your textbook. Based on the terrain and the type of work they needed to do, what other types of technology would have helped farmers on the Plains?

Possible answer: Windmills would have helped by supplying power and irrigation.


CloseStudy commercial farming in the Plains.



Guide to Reading

The settlement of the West dramatically changed the way of life of the Plains Indians.

• nomad

Main Idea

Key Terms and Names

• annuity • Little Crow • Indian Peace

Commission • George A. Custer

• Ghost Dance • assimilate • allotment • Dawes Act




Reading Strategy

Sequencing As you read about the crisis facing Native Americans during the late 1800s, complete a time line similar to the one on page 297 of your textbook to record the battles between Native Americans and the U.S. government and the results of each.

• Discuss conflicts that arose between the Plains Indians and American settlers.

Reading Objectives

• Summarize problems caused by attempts to assimilate Native Americans.



Section Theme

Individual Action Some Native American groups fought the federal government in an attempt to keep their ancestral homelands.


(pages 297–298)(pages 297–298)

Culture of the Plains Indians


• Some Native American nations of the Great Plains lived in communities and farmed and hunted.

• Most Native Americans of the Great Plains were nomads who moved from place to place in search of food.

• They followed the herds of buffalo. • Native American groups of the Great

Plains had several things in common. • They lived in extended family networks

and had a close relationship with nature.


• They were divided into bands with a governing council.

• Most Native American groups practiced a religion based on a belief in the spiritual power of the natural world.

Culture of the Plains Indians (cont.)


(pages 297–298)(pages 297–298)


What was the culture of the Great Plains Indians?

Some Native Americans of the Great Plains lived in communities and farmed and hunted. Most Native Americans of the Great Plains were nomads who followed herds of buffalo. Native American groups lived in extended family networks and had a close relationship with nature. They were divided into bands with a governing council. They practiced a religion based on a belief in the spiritual power of the natural world.



Culture of the Plains Indians (cont.)

(pages 297–298)(pages 297–298)


• In 1862 the Sioux in Minnesota launched a major uprising.

• The Dakota Sioux agreed to live on a small reservation in Minnesota, in exchange for annuities paid by the federal government to the reservation dwellers.

• The annuities were very small and often taken from them by American traders.

(pages 298–300)(pages 298–300)

Cultures Under Pressure


• Native Americans had been under pressure for years from advancing white settlement.


• In 1862 Congress delayed payments of the annuities.

• Some Sioux began starving. • Chief Little Crow asked traders to

give his people food on credit. • His request was denied. • The Dakota began an uprising that led

to the deaths of hundreds of settlers.

Cultures Under Pressure (cont.)


(pages 298–300)(pages 298–300)


• The U.S. army sent patrols into the northern Great Plains to prevent further uprisings among the Sioux there.

• The Lakota Sioux were nomads who feared losing their hunting grounds.

• In December 1866, Chief Red Cloud’s forces defeated a U.S. army detachment in Montana in what is called Fetterman’s Massacre.



(pages 298–300)(pages 298–300)


• In the 1860s, tensions between the Cheyenne and Arapaho Native Americans and the miners in Colorado increased.

• Bands of Native Americans attacked wagon trains and ranches in Colorado.

• The territorial governor ordered the Native Americans to peacefully surrender at Fort Lyon.



(pages 298–300)(pages 298–300)


• Chief Black Kettle brought hundreds of Cheyenne to the fort to negotiate.

• Instead of negotiating peace with the Cheyenne, the U.S. army attacked them in what has become known as the Sand Creek Massacre.

• In 1867 Congress formed an Indian Peace Commission, which proposed creating two large reservations on the Plains.

• The Bureau of Indian Affairs would run the reservations.



(pages 298–300)(pages 298–300)


• The U.S. army would deal with any groups that did not report to or remain on the reservations.

• This plan was doomed to failure. • Signing treaties did not ensure that

the government or Native Americans would abide by their terms.



(pages 298–300)(pages 298–300)


What events led to the formation of the Indian Peace Commission?

Fetterman’s Massacre, the Sand Creek Massacre, and several other conflicts between Native Americans of the Plains and white settlers and the U.S. army convinced Congress to create the Indian Peace Commission.




(pages 298–300)(pages 298–300)


(pages 301–302)(pages 301–302)

The Last Native American Wars


• By the 1870s, buffalo were rapidly disappearing.

• By 1889 very few buffalo remained. • The buffalo were killed by migrants

crossing the Great Plains, professional buffalo hunters who wanted their hides, sharpshooters hired by railroads, and hunters who killed them for sport.


• Many Native Americans left their reservations to hunt buffalo on the open plains.

• In addition, when American settlers violated the treaties, the Native Americans saw no reason to abide by them.

• In 1876 the Lakota left their reservation to hunt near the Bighorn Mountains in southeastern Montana.

• The U.S. government sent army troops after the Lakota.


The Last Native American Wars (cont.)

(pages 301–302)(pages 301–302)


• George A. Custer, commander of the Seventh Cavalry, divided his forces and attacked the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors camped at the Little Bighorn River.

• The Native Americans killed all the soldiers.

• Sitting Bull and his followers fled to Canada.

• Other Lakotas were forced to return to the reservation.



(pages 301–302)(pages 301–302)


• The Nez Perce, led by Chief Joseph, refused to move to a reservation in Idaho in 1877.

• They fled, but later were forced to surrender and move to Oklahoma.

• At the Lakota Sioux reservation in 1890, the Lakota were ordered by a government agent to stop the Ghost Dance–a ritual that was celebrating the hope that the whites would disappear, the buffalo would return, and Native Americans would reunite with their ancestors.



(pages 301–302)(pages 301–302)


• The dancers fled the reservation and were chased by the U.S. troops to Wounded Knee Creek.

• Many Lakota were killed. • This was the final Native American

resistance to federal authority.



(pages 301–302)(pages 301–302)


Why did many Native Americans leave their reservations?

They preferred hunting buffalo on the open Plains, so they joined others who had left the reservations. Many Native Americans saw no reason to abide by treaties that were violated by the whites.




(pages 301–302)(pages 301–302)



Assimilation


• Some Americans had opposed the treatment of Native Americans.

• Some people thought that the situation between whites and Native Americans could be improved if Native Americans could assimilate, or be absorbed into American society as landowners and citizens.


• This included breaking up reservations into individual allotments, where Native Americans would live in families and support themselves.

• This became the policy when Congress passed the Dawes Act in 1887.

• The Dawes Act was a failure. • Few Native Americans had the training

or enthusiasm for farming or ranching. • They found the allotments too small to

be profitable.

Assimilation (cont.)




• Few Native Americans were willing or able to adopt the American settlers’ lifestyles in place of their own culture.




Why was the idea of assimilation of the Native Americans a failure?

Few Native Americans had the training or enthusiasm for farming or ranching. They found the allotments too small to be profitable. Few Native Americans were willing or able to adopt the American settlers’ lifestyles in place of their own culture.







__ 1. a person who moves from place to place, usually in search of food or grazing land

__ 2. to absorb a group into the culture of a larger population

__ 3. a plot of land assigned to an individual or family for cultivation

__ 4. money paid by contract on regular intervals

A. nomad

B. annuity

C. assimilate

D. allotment




C

D

A

B





Analyze how Native Americans responded to land lost due to white settlement of the Great Plains.

Native Americans attacked wagon trains and ranches, and they killed settlers and soldiers.


Reviewing Themes



Individual Action How did Chief Joseph resist the government’s attempts to move the Nez Perce to reservations?

Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce fled 1,300 miles before surrendering.


Critical Thinking



Analyzing Why do you think the government’s policy of assimilation of Native Americans was a failure?

After the buffalo herds were wiped out, Native Americans were unwilling or unable to live like American settlers.


Analyzing Visuals



Analyzing Maps Examine the map of battle sites and reservations on page 300 of your textbook. Then, from the point of view of a historian, explain the actions taken against Native Americans within the historical context of the time.

Answers will vary.


CloseSummarize problems caused by attempts to assimilate Native Americans.




Reviewing Key TermsDefine Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left.

__ 1. money paid by contract on regular intervals

__ 2. method of extracting minerals involving digging beneath the surface

__ 3. a stray calf with no identifying symbol

__ 4. to absorb a group into the culture of a larger population

__ 5. a way of farming dry land in which seeds are planted deep in the ground where there is some moisture

A. placer mining

B. quartz mining

C. open range

D. maverick

E. dry farming

F. sodbuster

G. bonanza farm

H. annuity

I. assimilate

J. allotment

B

D

H

I

E




Reviewing Key Terms (cont.)


__ 6. a name given to Great Plains farmers

__ 7. method of extracting mineral ore by hand using simple tools, like picks, shovels, and pans

__ 8. a large, highly-profitable wheat farm

__ 9. a plot of land assigned to an individual family for cultivation

__ 10. vast areas of grassland owned by the federal government

A

G

F

J

C

A. placer mining

B. quartz mining

C. open range

D. maverick

E. dry farming

F. sodbuster

G. bonanza farm

H. annuity

I. assimilate

J. allotment




Reviewing Key Facts

What led to the start of boomtowns, and what caused their decline?

The discovery of copper, gold, or silver led to the start of boomtowns. When a lode played out, mines closed and the towns’ economies collapsed.




Reviewing Key Facts (cont.)

What new invention finally brought an end to the open range on the Great Plains?

Barbed wire brought an end to the open range.





How did the railroads boost the settlement of the West?

Railroad companies sold land along rail lines at low prices, provided credit to prospective settlers, and advertised the benefits of booking passage to the Plains.





Why was wheat a suitable crop to grow on the Great Plains?

Wheat could be cultivated using dry farming.





What events brought the way of life of the Plains Indians to an end?

White settlers moving west, railroad construction, the widespread slaughter of buffalo, and wars brought the Plains Indians’ way of life to an end.




Critical Thinking

Analyzing Themes: Economic Factors Do you think that people moved to and settled in the West primarily for economic reasons? Why or why not?

Many did move for the hope of riches; others for adventure, freedom, or a fresh start.




Critical Thinking (cont.)

Drawing Conclusions Why do you think that so many people were willing to give up their homes and move to mining towns and homesteads in the West?

Many settlers thought that they could prosper in the West.


Geography and HistoryThe graph below shows Native American population from1850 to 1900. Study the graph and answer the questions on the following slides.


Interpreting Graphs What does the graph indicate about Native American populations between 1850 and 1900?

The populations declined steadily.

Geography and History (cont.)




Geography and History (cont.)



Understanding Cause and Effect What factor caused the Native American populations to decline sharply between 1880 and 1890?

Native Americans suffered high casualty rates in conflicts with white settlers.




Directions: Choose the best answer to the following question.

Which of the following factors provided an incentive for people to try to farm the Great Plains?A Long cattle drivesB Barbed wireC The Homestead ActD Placer mining

Test-Taking Tip When you are not sure of an answer, it can be helpful to use the process of elimination. Eliminate the answers that you know are incorrect. For instance, long cattle drives had to do with ranching, not farming. Therefore, you can eliminate answer A.




How did dry farming damage the ecology of the prairie?

Dry farming contributed to soil erosion and massive dust storms.


Language Arts Hamlin Garland vividly recorded the hard life of the Plains farmers. In books such as Main-Travelled Roads (1891) and A Son of the Middle Border (1917), Garland told “a tale of toil that’s never done.” Although his stories included many moments of joy, such as harvest time, and of great beauty, such as the arrival of spring, Garland refused to paint life on the Plains as always perfect. “I will not lie,” he wrote. “A proper portion of the sweat, flies, heat, dirt, and drudgery shall go in.”

When ranchers and farmers settled the Southwest, they displaced many of the Mexican Americans who had lived there for generations. Land Acts passed by Congress required these earlier settlers to provide detailed legal proof. However, most titles were either not specific, were recorded in Mexico, or became lost.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show Many Americans who never set foot on the Great Plains enjoyed a make-believe excursion there through a Wild West show. Various promoters staged these popular extravaganzas, but the most famous was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Members of the cast performed a mock buffalo hunt with real buffalo, and they reenacted Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn. Among the stars of the show was Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter from Ohio who appeared in Western outfit and dazzled both the audience and her fellow performers.Annie Get Your Gun, a musical interpretation of Annie Oakley’s exploits, opened on Broadway in 1946 with Ethel Merman starring as Oakley. Irving Berlin wrote the music and lyrics based on the book written by Herbert and Dorothy Fields. The musical had a long run on Broadway, was made into a movie, and is a favorite for school and community productions. Perhaps the most recognizable songs from the show are “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”

Interpreting Statistics

Often presented in graphs and tables, statistics are collections of data that are used to support a claim or an opinion. The ability to interpret statistics allows us to understand probable effects and to make predictions.



Learning the Skill

Use the following steps to help you interpret statistical information.



• Scan the graph or table, reading the title and labels to get an idea of what is being shown.

• Examine the statistics shown, looking for increases and decreases, similarities and differences.

Learning the Skill (cont.)

• Look for a correlation in the statistics. Two sets of data may be related or unrelated. If they are related, we say that there is a correlation between them. In a positive correlation, as one number rises, so does the other number. In a negative correlation, as one number rises, the other number falls. For example, there is a positive correlation between academic achievement and wages, and there is a negative correlation between smoking and life expectancy. Sometimes, statistics may try to show a correlation when none exists. For example, a report that “people who go fishing are less likely to get cancer” may be statistically true but lack any real correlation.


Learning the Skill (cont.)


• Determine the conclusions you can draw from the statistics.

Practicing the Skill

Study the table below and answer the questions on the following slide.


1. What claim does this set of statistics seem to support?

2. Is there a correlation between miles of railroad tracks and the Native American population? Is the correlation positive or negative? Explain.

As the number of miles of track increased, the Native American population declined.



You may see a negative correlation, but other data would be needed to support the conclusion that an increase in railroad track caused a reduction in Native American population.


Practicing the Skill (cont.)

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splash screen contents chapter introduction section 1miners and ranchers section 2farming the plains...

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