Americans move west

1. Americans move west

2. What’s the big idea??? • With more settlers moving west, mining, ranching and railroads transformed the western landscape • Mining boom brought growth to the west • Demand for cattle created “Cattle Kingdom” on the Great Plains • East and West were connected by the transcontinental railroad

3. After the civil war… • U.S. population grew rapidly • Spread of settlements throughout the West • California expanded western boundary of our country to the Pacific Ocean (California admitted in 1850) • Frontier: undeveloped area • Now reaching the Pacific Ocean

4. A changing frontier • Settlers built homes • Fenced off land • Laid out ranches and farms • Landscape of the west changed with the expansion of the railroads • Moved west’s natural resources to markets in the east

5. Gold & silver bring riches • Mostly located in western Nevada • 1859, miner Henry Comstock discovered gold and silver in Nevada , was later called Comstock Lode • In the first year, it drew thousands of California miners to Nevada • Over 20 years, produced more than $500 million worth of gold and silver • Equipment to remove gold and silver from within quartz rock was expensive…..individual miners could not afford

6. Gold & silver • Large companies purchased land claims • Mining was a big business in the west • Companies dug deeper, work became more dangerous • Unsafe equipment, worked underground breathing in hot stuffy air, lung disease, injuries, poorly planned explosions, fires • Mining was one of the most dangerous jobs in the country • Worries about safety and pay led to formation of union in 1860s

7. People moving to the west • From all over the world came to work in the western mines • Eastern United States • Europe • Central America • South America • Asia

8. boomtowns • Boomtowns: communities that grew suddenly when a mine opened • As soon as mine closed, towns disappeared • General stores, saloons, boardinghouses • Few women/families lived in boomtowns • Established for the workers who worked in the mines

9. Boomtown to ghost town Boomtown Ghost Town

10. Importance of cattle • Cattle industry saw rapid growth following the war • Growing economy, growing population, created a greater demand for beef • Sodl for $3-$6 in Texas, could be sold for $38 in Kansas and $80 in NY • Longhorn most popular breed of cattle • Needed very little water, suited to surviving in a dry and hot climate • Western Texas • Looking for a way to move cattle from Texas to the East???

11. Joseph McCoy • 1867, discovered solution on how to move cattle from Kansas to the East • Built pens for cattle in Abilene, Kansas • Pacific Railroad line went through • Cattle could be penned and shipped by train • Texas ranchers making trip north to sell herds of cattle

12. Cattle kingdom • Area from the Great Plains from Texas to Canada • Area where ranchers raised cattle • Huge herds grazed on public land (open range)

13. cowboys • Cowboys: workers who took care of the ranchers’ cattle • Vaqueros: Mexican ranch hands who cared for cattle and horses • Vaqueros taught cowboys techniques on how to corral the cattle • Other things cowboys got from vaqueros: • Saddle • Lariat: rope used for lassoing cattle • Hat, which later became the high-peaked cowboy hat

14. Cattle drive • Long journey where cowboys herded cattle to the market or to the Plains or grazing • Dangerous • Trip lasted several months • Hundreds of miles • Chisholm Trail: ran from San Antonio, TX to Abilene, Kansas • One of the earliest and most popular routes for cattle drives

15. A Wild way of life • Cowboys were rowdy • Life in cattle towns were often rough and violent • Disorderly behavior • Wyatt Earp, law official that became famous for keeping peace in cattle town

16. Competing for land • Cattle business boomed, ranchers face more competition for use of the open range • Began to buy range land on the Great Plains • Land where cattle once grazed freely • Small ranchers competing with large ranchers for land • An invention would cause drastic changes to life in the west and eventually the entire United Staes

17. Barbed wire • 1874 barbed wire was invented • Allowed westerners to fence off large amount of land cheaply • Increased competition between farmers, large ranchers and small ranchers • Led to fights for access to the land • Would keep your own cattle in, and keep other animals off your land • Harder for cowboys to allow the cattle to roam and eat freely along their journeys

18. Cattle kingdom comes to an end • 1885 and 1886 unusually severe winters • Huge cattle herds on the Plains had eaten most of the prairie grass • Worsened the ranching situation • Thousands of cattle died • Many ranchers ruined financially • Cattle Kingdom had come to an end

19. Transportation between east and west • With more people moving west, the need increased for the transporting of goods and information to from East to West • 1860, Pony Express, system of messengers on horseback • Carried mail between stations on a 2,000 mile long route • Telegraph lines allowed for messages to be sent faster • Americans wanted to build a transcontinental railroad (would cross the continent and connect the East to the West)

20. Transcontinental rr • Federal government passed Pacific Railway Acts • Gave RR companies loans and large land grants that could be sold to pay for construction costs • 131 million acres of public land to RR companies • In exchange, RR had to carry U.S. mail and troops at a lower cost • 2 Companies led the way • Central Pacific began building east from Sacramento, California • Union Pacific started building west from Omaha, Nebraska

21. Transcontinental rr

22. Workers • Union Pacific hired RR workers, mostly Irish Immigrants • Central Pacific were mostly made up of Chinese Immigrants (85%) • Paid less than other laborers • Chinese crews given the most dangerous tasks, worked longer hours • Central Pacific paid $30/month, more 10x more than they could earn in China

23. Central pacific Challenges to building rr • Geographic challenges • Cross Sierra Nevada mountain range in California • Blasting through the rock • Weather Elements • 60 ft. snowdrifts trapped and killed workers • These challenges caused Central Pacific to take 4 years to lay the first 115 miles of track

24. Union pacific challenges to building rr • Harsh weather on Great Plains • Company pressured workers to work at a rapid pace • Expected to lay 250 miles of track in 6 months

25. Providing for survival • Provided food and supplies for workers was vital for both companies • Difficult in remote areas • Relied on local resources • Professional hunters, “Buffalo Bill” shot thousands of Buffalo to feed workers

26. Golden spike • Congress required 2 completed railroad lines to connect at Promontory, Utah • May 10, 1869 golden spike used to connect RR tie joining the two tracks • RR companies continued to build RR lines throughout the west until lines crisscrossed

27. Golden spike ceremony

28. Rr brings about change and growth • Increased both economic growth and population growth in the West • Better transportation for people and goods • RR sold land to settlers which encouraged people to move west • New RR’s helped businesses • Goods could be shipped to the east to be sold to the larger populations and industrial sectors of the country • Eastern businesses shipped goods to the West

29. Rr brings about change and growth • Idea that the U.S. economy was interdependent between regions became more widespread • Time zones were established 1883 • Encouraged people to put their money into the RR • Americans remained interested in RR investments • By 1890 about 164,000 more miles of track in operation than in 1865 • RR had become one of the biggest industries in the U.S.

30. project • You and a partner can complete this project by creating anything that can display what you have learned in regards to the information that was covered • If you choose to work alone, you can either create something or you can represent what you have learned in an essay • You can use any method that you would like to present the information besides POWER POINT • ThingLink, Timeline JS, Scrapbook, Flip Chart, Information Box, News Broadcast using Green Screen, Poster Presentation, and anything that you might think of • Whatever method you choose, it needs to be approved by me • Your finished product is due no later than AT THE END OF CLASS ON WEDNESDAY MAY 14th, NO EXCEPTIONS

31. Oil, cattle, railroad booms…..you pick 1 to tell us about • Where was this boom located • What impact did it have on the immediate location in regards to… • Jobs • Housing • Natural resources • Women • Jobs • Economy/growth • What impact did it have on the entire United States? • How long did the boom last? • Did the boom come to an end or drastic decrease? • What caused it • What happened to the surrounding area, did it continue to grow or did it turn into a ghost town • What has it become today?