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Settling the West

Settling the West. 1865 - 1900. Westward Expansion. Manifest Destiny US should expand from Atlantic to Pacific First to go were miners, ranchers, and farmers At the expense of Native Americans. Expansion (cont). The Louisiana Purchase (1803) took America to the Rockies.

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Settling the West

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  1. Settling the West 1865 - 1900

  2. Westward Expansion • Manifest Destiny • US should expand from Atlantic to Pacific • First to go were miners, ranchers, and farmers • At the expense of Native Americans

  3. Expansion (cont) • The Louisiana Purchase (1803) took America to the Rockies

  4. Expansion (cont) • The Mexican American War (1846-48) took America from coast to coast

  5. Expansion (cont) • Alaska • Purchased from Russia for $7.2 million or 2.5 cents per acre • Became known as “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox” • Gold discovered in 1890s

  6. Railroads • Pacific Railway Act (1862) – construction of transcontinental railroad • Union Pacific • 10,000 workers – Civil War vets, Irish Immigrants, farmers, miners, ex-cons • Central Pacific • 10,000 Chinese workers • Met at Promontory, Utah

  7. Native Americans • Pushed off their lands in east to reservations on the Great Plains • Grassland extending through the west-central portion of U.S.

  8. Native Americans (cont) • 1834 – Congress declared Great Plains as one big reservation

  9. Native Americans (cont) • As Natives are pushed further, leads to fighting • Sand Creek Massacre, Fetterman’s Massacre, Little Big Horn (aka Custer’s Last Stand)

  10. Native Americans (cont) • Battle of Wounded Knee • After the death of Sitting Bull, army feared an uprising • Troops started rounding up and disarming Sioux • Over 300 unarmed Native Americans killed • Marked the end of the Indian Wars

  11. Opening the West • Dawes Act of 1877 • Natives assimilated – absorbed into society as landowners and citizens • Reservations broken into allotments or small plots

  12. Cattle Ranchers • Open Range – a vast area found in the Great Plains that was open to cattle grazing • Was perfect for the Texas Longhorn • A hardy descendent from Spanish cattle brought to Mexico

  13. Ranchers (cont) • To meet the demand for beef, cowboys began taking cattle on long drives • Cattle trails, such as the Chisholm Trail, opened up • Lasted about 3 months • 1 cowboy/250 head • Earned about $25/month

  14. Ranchers (cont) • Long Drives ended because of: • Barbed wire • Ranchers turned to high-grade cattle

  15. Beginnings of Settlement • Homestead Actof 1862 • Settler could file for atract of public land for $10

  16. Settlement (cont) • Life on the plains was difficult • Harsh environment • Summer over 100°F, little rain • Winter brought blizzards and extreme cold • Prairie fires and swarms of grasshoppers

  17. Settlement (cont) • Farmers calledsodbusters • No trees, houses called soddies • Many lost homes due to drought, wind erosion, overuse of the land

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