Growth of the Railroad Industry

1. Growth of the Railroad Industry Western Expansion Unit

2. New Technology • Bessemer Process • Reduced the impurities of steel • Made the production of steel cheaper and faster • Standard Gauge • Common distance b/w the rails of a railroad track • Steel allows the US to build bigger trains and lay more track

3. Transcontinental Railroad • Central Pacific Railroad (Chinese immigrants) and Union Pacific Railroad (Irish immigrants) • Meet at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869 • Casualties – 2,000 dead; 20,000 injured • Pay – Approx. $50.00/month (Irish); Approx. $ 35.00/month (Chinese) • Railroad lines now connect the Atlantic and Pacific

6. Effects of the Railroad • Creation of a standard time zone (1883) • Creation of the Pullman Car – Luxury sleeping car • Establish new markets and towns • 35,000 miles of track in 1835; 193,000 miles by 1900 • Support from the gov’t and corruption from the railroad industry • Railroads become the # 1 industry in America

7. The Rancher, Farmer and Miner Western Expansion Unit

8. National Identity In your notebook: Make a list of adjectives that describe the popular image of cowboys… Use any Hollywood or literary references you feel are pertinent. 1) Hardworking 2) individualistic 3) strong 4) quiet

9. “Sentinel” by Frederick Remington

10. Cattle Industry • Mexican roots • Vaqueros – cowboys • Many words are adopted from the Mexican ranchers • Adopted by Texans • Turn ranching into big business • Railheads • Idea from Joseph McCoy • Shipping stations in the Midwest (eg. Kansas City, Wichita) • Long Drive – Movement of cattle north from Texas to the railheads (romantic image of the cowboy begins)

11. The first American cowboys adopted a number of Mexican traditions and words, including chaps

12. End of the Cattle Industry • Economics • Cattle lose weight on the long drive • Overproduction brings down prices (Supply/Demand) • New Laws & barbed wire (Joseph Glidden) • Spread of disease only allows cattle to pass through certain states in Winter • Limit the amount of open land • Weather • Cold winter in 1885-86, followed by summer drought leads to death of thousands of cattle (as much as 90% of cattle)

13. “Utica”

14. “Buffalo Bill Duels with Yellowhand”

15. The New American Farmer • 3 Groups heading west • Whites from the east (middle-class) • African Americans from the south (Exodusters) • Immigrants from Europe and Asia (Irish, Chinese, Germans) • Motive- Possibility of land, opportunity, and profit • Oklahoma “Sooners” • 1889 in Oklahoma Territory • Pres. Harrison announces free land • 100,000 pioneers go west to claim territory

16. Innovation and the Farmer • Self-governing windwill • Daniel Halliday • Operates pumps to draw water to the surface • Dry Farming • Method of farming in areas w/ little rain • Deep plowing that allowed soil to stay moist and take advantage of rainfall • Plows • John Deere invents 1st steel plow • Lister – double plow to moves soil in both directions and plants the seeds

17. Corporate American vs. the Small Farmer • Big Business • John Deere and McCormick become major industries • Bonanza Farms • Large farms backed by financers • As large as 100,000 acres • Receive cheap rates for shipping, seed and equipment • Make it harder for individual farmers to make a profit

18. Early Mining Communities • 6 Stages of Development • 1) Every man is a lawman • 2) Organized Vigilantism – citizens become police • 3) Build churches and schools (social develoment) • 4) Organize a local gov’t • 5) Become a U.S. territory • 6) Become a state, create constitution

19. - Panning in the Klondike. - Few ever strike it rich - Corporations soon take over

20. Discovery of Gold • 49ers • Gold found in the Sierra Nevadas • Large companies make a profit • Pike’s Peak, Colorado • 1858-59 – prospectors move out west in large numbers • Comstock Lode • Carson River Valley (1859) • Discovery of silver ($500 million in 20 years) • Klondike Gold Rush • Canada’s Yukon Territory • More than $1 million in gold • More than 100,000 prospectors arrive

21. “Panning Gold”

22. Big Business of Mining • Why does Mining become such a Big Business? • 1) New methods of extracting ore • Placer mining  Hydraulic mining • 2) Mining/Engineering taught in schools • Technical schools (A & M) • 3) Corporations organized • Unions also organize • 4) Powerful machinery/Technology

23. Authors of the American West • Brett Harte • Vividly described life in the mining communities • “The Luck of Roaring Camp” (1917) • Mark Twain • Wrote about the mining camps • “Roughing It” • Made fun (satire) of everyone in the west • Description of the west from an original point of view

24. “Luck of Roaring Camp”

25. Logging Industry • Needed for all western development • Homes, towns, businesses • Log drive – timber floated downstream • Heavy machinery needed • Allows corporations to dominate • Types • Douglas Fir – 8-10 ft. thick • Redwoods – diameter of 20-30 ft.

26. Closing of the Frontier • Turner Thesis • Frederick Jackson Turner • Claimed the frontier was the distinguishing factor b/w U.S. and Europe • By 1890, U.S. Census claims frontier is closed • U.S. has a separate national identity

27. Frederick Jackson Turner, believed that the frontier epitomizes what it meant to be an American

28. Visions of the West • Dime Novels – Cheap popular fiction books • Cowboy and Indian stories • Western Novelists • Owen Wister, Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour • William F. Cody • Known as an Indian fighter • Wild West Shows  cowboys, lariats, and gun shows