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Settling the West

Settling the West. Manifest Destiny. God-given right to expand west to the Pacific Ocean. The Coming of the Railroads. The Iron Colt Becomes the Iron Horse. Railroad building was costly and risky. But—it promised economic growth and national unity.

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Settling the West

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  1. Settling the West

  2. Manifest Destiny • God-given right to expand west to the Pacific Ocean.

  3. The Coming of the Railroads

  4. The Iron Colt Becomes the Iron Horse • Railroad building was costly and risky. • But—it promised economic growth and national unity. • Land grants were made to the railroads by the government. • 155,504,994 acres and 49 million more contributed by the Western states. • Land grants were made in belts along the proposed route in checkerboard fashion.

  5. FEDERAL LAND GRANTS TO RAILROADS

  6. The Transcontinental Railroad • The Union Pacific Railroad built westward from Omaha, Nebraska. • Mostly Irish immigrants worked on this end of the railroad. • The Central Pacific Railroad built eastward from California. • Mostly Chinese immigrants worked on this end of the railroad.

  7. Promontory Point, UT(May 10, 1869)

  8. Revolution by Railways • Benefits: • Unified nation • Spurred economic growth • Steel industry • Mining/agriculture • Cattle industry • Growth of new cities • Stimulated immigration • Maker of millionaires • Time zones

  9. The Mining Industry

  10. Prospecting

  11. Growth of the mining industry • Brought the first wave of settlers to the mountain states of the West. • From 1860-1890, more than $340 million was mined by the “Kings of the Comstock.” • Boomtowns developed due to mine strikes. • Ghost towns also developed once the miners left.

  12. Mining Centers: 1900

  13. Effects: • Amassing precious metals helped finance the Civil War • Facilitated the building of railroads • Intensified the tension between whites and natives • Led to equality for women

  14. Mining (“Boom”) Towns--Now Ghost Towns Calico, CA

  15. Create a graph. Population of Denver, Colorado • 1870 4,759 • 1880 35,629 • 1890 106, 713 • 1900 133,859

  16. The Long Drive Cattle and Cowboys

  17. Ranching and Cattle Drives • Texas Longhorn descended from Texas and Mexico • Could easily survive the harsh climate of the Plains • Open range—provided a vast area of grassland for the cattle to feed free of charge • Mexican cowhands developed the tools and techniques for rounding up and driving cattle • Two developments made cattle ranching profitable in the west • 1. The Civil War • 2. the railroad

  18. The Cattle Trails

  19. Cowboys • 25% of cowboys were African Americans • “range wars” broke out between sheepherders and cattle ranchers • Barbed wire—allowed hundreds of square miles to be fenced off cheaply and easily. • Used to shut out competitors • Kept animals closer to sources of food and water • Ended the long drive

  20. The Range Wars SheepHerders CattleRanchers

  21. Barbed Wire Joseph Glidden

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