The Frontier Influences Development of the U.S.

I. Def. – farthest region of settlement – dividing line bt. civilization & wildernessII. Westward Migration

A. Seek economic opportunityB. Social and political democracyC. Adventure & excitement

III. Peaks of migrationA. after Am. Revo.B. Manifest Destiny 1840s and 1850sC. after Civil War

IV. Mining – series of gold & silver strikes flow of prospectors moving west

1. placer mining – “panning”

2. deep shaft mining – required large amts. of $ mining companies

3. development of boom towns – “here today, gone tomorrow”

4. Major discoveriesa. Comstock Lode, Nevadab. Pikes Peak, Coloradoc. Black Hills, South Dakotad. Klondike, Yukon in Alaska

5. Lifestyle – rugged, lawless

6. jobs – timber, farming, ranching (cattle & sheep)

V. RanchingA. Began in TexasB. longhorn cattle introduced by

SpanishC. shipping east main problemD. thousands roamed free

E.Cattle drives – cattle rounded up and driven north to railheads in Kansas where they loaded onto trains and shipped east to Chicago

F. ended due to:1. overgrazing of plains by end

of 1880s2. blizzard of 1885-86 killed 90% of cattle in U.S.3. introduction of barbed wire

VI. FarmingA. Wheat belt – eastern grt. plains

1. Homestead – tract of public land available for settlement

2. Sod Busters – name given to those who settled on grt. plains

B. Factors encouraging settlement1. military outposts/forts – protect settlers from Inds.

2. Homestead Act of 1862 – 160 acres of free land to who could live on it and develop it for five years

3. Timber Culture Act – additional land to plant trees

4. Desert Land Act – additional land to build irrigation

5. Dept. of Agriculture est. to promote farming issues

6. Hatch Act – est. experimental stations to research grains that could survive the grt. plains

C. Technological Advances1. windmills – H20 scarce; uses wind to pump water from beneath the

earth’s surface2. dry farming techniques – keep moisture in ground3. barbed wire – fence in land w/o wood; keep out wild animals &

Inds.4. improved machinery a. John Deere – 1st steel plow b. Gang Plow – connected 3 plows together

c. steam operated seeders, reapers5. Russian wheat survived the extreme draught and temps on the plains

D. Frontier Life1. Housing – no wood;

a. used sod bricks to build homesb. dugouts – dug out parts of hills

2. Hardshipsa. isolation, weather, hard labor, insectsb. fuel – corn cob, husks, & animal wastec. Indian threat