Farming the plainsBY

Jade DownsMarline orelienTanner SchickelBrigit Lefever

FARMING THE PLAINS

Hardships for Homesteadersin Homesteaders: are people that farmed claims under the Homestead Act. In the early days ,wood framed homes were rare on the virtually treeless plains.Homesteaders used sod for there housing which was hard to use through ruff weather.Conditions were difficult, in the mid-1800s, after a series of drought hordes of prairie schooners took off to the east.About 18,000 wagons with returning homesteaders crossed over the MO. River from NE to Iowa 1891 alone

Families Pull TogetherOf the families who stayed the husbands and wives had well defined rollsMen: sodbusting, dragged the field, planted, hoed, and harvested.Women: taking care of/ raising and schooling children, cooked, cleaned, made and washed clothing, and preserved food.

Families Pull Together (cont.)Women also: raised food crops, made soap and butter, raised chickens, milked the cows, spun wool for sale, and managed the moneyOften, families would go hungry for days even weeks because the husbands could not find workUnder these conditions childrens labor was crucial to the familys survival

Families Pull Together (cont.)Boys and girls as young as four years old collected wood for fuel and carried water.Some parents were forced to hire out their older children for workIn this unforgiving land, settlers relied heavily on each other, raising houses and barns together, sewing quilts, husking corn, and providing each other forms of support

BIG QuestionHow did hardships effect the homesteaders?

The hardships effected the homesteaders. Building houses with wood-frame homes was rare on the virtually treeless plains. the earthen structure cost about $3