Post on 26-Dec-2015
REASON FOR WESTWARD EXPANSION
• Opportunities for land ownership
• A new beginning for former slaves
• Technological advances
• Possibility of wealth created by the discovery of gold and silver
• Adventure
Before 1860, those who crossed the Mississippi
generally traveled all the way to the west coast. Few settled
in the Great Plains.
Physical features/climate of the Great Plains
• Flatlands that rise gradually from east to west• Land eroded by wind and water -
• Low rainfall• Frequent dust storms
Barbed Wire
• The invention of barbed wire allowed farmers to keep cattle from nearby ranches off their fields and away from their crops.
Beef Cattle Raising
• In the early 1800s, cattle ranches began appearing on the Great Plains, especially in Texas.
Wheat Farming
• Farmers adopted an improved strain of Russian wheat which required less water and grew well in the dryer soil of the Great Plains.
• Invention of Mechanical Reaper
Dry Farming
• Farmers learned they could grow crops on the dry soil if they plowed deeply, breaking up the tough sod with the new steel plows.
Sod houses
• Lacking trees and other materials, settlers on the Great Plains built their homes from sod
• a sort of packed dirt held together by roots and cut into squares.
Windmills
• New models of windmills were used throughout the Great Plains to pump water from the ground and to provide power.
Railroads• 1860-1890 The railroad network in the US
grew fast. • The railroad made trade between different
parts of the country easier, encouraging industrial and economic growth.
• Demand for beef was high, and as railroads developed, ranchers would drive their cattle north to meet up with the lines.
Which companies helped build the Transcontinental Railroad and what were their starting points?
• Union Pacific-built from Omaha, Nebraska west
• Central Pacific-built from Sacramento, California east
Who was hired to help with the construction of the railroad?
• Union Pacific-Irish, African-American, Germans
• Central Pacific-Chinese
Effects of the building of the TCR to the Native Americans
• Downfall of Native Americans• Native Americans were placed into
Reservations• “Dawes Act”• Battle and conflicts – Battle of Little Big
Horn, Battle of Wounded Knee• A lot of Buffalo was killed – Buffalo
Soldier William Cody
Why was the buffalo so important to the Native
Americans?
jerkyteepees (shelter)
clothesblankets
shoes
What were the benefits of the transcontinental railroad?
• carried metal, helped the steel industry, helped the west be settled, faster and easier travel to the west, created the time zones
• most important benefit-faster travel
Paved way for cities to progress
• New England – Textile Industries
• Pittsburgh – Steel
• Chicago – Meat Packaging
• Detroit – Car Manufacturing
What was a boomtown?
• A town that sprung up around the mining site; had saloons, funeral parlors, and casinos
What effect did women have on boomtowns?
• Women created schools, stores, hospitals and entertainment
Cowboy Life
• Some people thought that life in the West was filled with adventure. Young men were drawn to the cowboy life.