GO WEST!

Mrs. Brown6th Grade Social

Studies

Growth of the United States

• Territory Growth – New states added to the Union

• How did the unsettled land west of the Mississippi River contribute to the growth and development of the United States after 1865?

United States Territory Growth: 1810

United States Territory Growth: 1850

United States Territory Growth: 1880

United States Territory Growth: 1900

http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/1483/1518969/DIVI230.jpg

Territorial Expansion by the Mid-Nineteenth Century

THE GREAT PLAINS

• To Do: In your pods, brainstorm anything and everything you can remember about the physical characteristics of the Great Plains. – Rainfall– Climate– Vegetation– Physical Features

The Great Plains:“The Great American Desert”

• Physical Features & Climate of the Great Plains:

1. Land Eroded by Wind & Water

2. Low Rainfall3. Frequent Dust storms4. Flatlands that Rise

Gradually from East to West

How were the physical features and climate of the Great Plainsobstacles for Western settlers?

Lack of Water Supply for

Humans and Crops to Survive

Physical Characteristics: Obstacles for the Western Settlers

1. Little Rain, Rivers and Streams that only had seasonal flow…

Physical Characteristics:Obstacles for the Western Settlers

2. Treeless Flatlands –

No Materials to Use for Building a House or Barn, No Materials to

Use for Fuel

Physical Characteristics:Obstacles for the Western Settlers

3. Tough Prairie Soil Eroded by Wind and Water -

Land was Difficult to Cultivate

What does this painting represent?

• Manifest Destiny– “(It is)…our

manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty.”

– John O’Sullivan, 1845 “The Morning Post”http://www.historyonthenet.com/American_West/images/manifestdestinylarge.jpg

Manifest Destiny by John Gast, 1872

What is Manifest Destiny?

Before the Civil War, people considered the Great Plains, a

“treeless wasteland” and referred to it as “the Great

American Desert”.

WHY?

After the Civil War, people changed their minds about living in the Great Plains. Now people saw the Great

Plains as the territory full of opportunity.

WHY?

What changed?

NEWTECHNOLO

GIES!

Changes in the Great Plains…

“Hey…I hear the Great

Plains aren’t so bad

anymore…”

“Is it true they are

giving away FREE land?”

Inventions & Adaptations

New developments after the Civil War changed the perception of the Great Plains as a “treeless wasteland” into

a “vast new area” to be settled.

Inventions & Adaptations: Barbed Wire

• Barbed Wire– Became

commercially available in the 1880’s

– Solved the problem of lack of wood for fences

– Protected Farmer’s Land and Kept Cattle Enclosed

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/ba/250px-BarbedWirePatentGlidden.jpg

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• Steel Plows– Invented in 1837,

by John Deere– Enabled farmers to

cut through the thick, tangled roots of the tough prairie sod

– The Steel Plow allowed farmers to cultivate the land

Inventions & Adaptations: Steel Plows

http://www.retiredtractors.com/Plows/RepoPlow.jpg

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Inventions & Adaptations: Dry Farming

• Dry Farming– Technique developed to

cultivate the drier lands of the Great Plains…less than 20 inches of annual rainfall

– The soil is plowed deeply to allow for slow evaporation of ground moisture

– Loosen the ground soil to allow maximum water absorption

– Maintain excellent surface conditions so that moisture is better utilized

www.solpass.org

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Inventions & Adaptations: Sod Houses

• “Soddies”– Due to the lack of trees

in the Great Plains, there was no wood for houses

– There was plenty of Prairie Grass & Prairie Sod, so settlers learned to construct houses from bricks of Prairie Sod

– Sod Houses were enforced and/or replaced with lumber and other materials brought in on the railroads

www.sdhistory.org

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Inventions & Adaptations: Sod Houses

Inside a Sod House

http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndirs/exhibitions/pioneer/images/79.jpg

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Inventions & Adaptations: Sod Houses

Homesteaders and their Sod House

http://www.vw.vccs.edu/vwhansd/his122/Images/SodHouse.jpg

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Inventions & Adaptations: Beef Cattle Raising

• Beef Cattle Raising• Cattle ranching

originated in Spanish colonies (Mexico) and spread to the Great Plains via Texas – Open Range Era

• Early to Mid 1800’s• Raised on large areas

of open grassland unsuitable for growing crops

Kansas Cattle Market

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-kansas/Caldwell,%20Kansas,%201880s-500.jpg

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Inventions & Adaptations: Beef Cattle Raising

• Longhorns - hardy breed of cattle originally from Mexico, herded north to breed and stock new ranges

• Cowboys herded thousands of cattle across the Great Plains during the “Open Range” period

http://www.old-picture.com/old-west/pictures/Cowboy.jpg

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Inventions & Adaptations: Beef Cattle Raising

• Cattle Raising quickly spread across the Great Plains…all the way to Canada

• Starting in the 1860’s, cattle grazing on the open range of the western plains from Texas to Montana became the major industry

• The cattle industry provided food for the industrializing cities in the Northeast

• Railways provided transportation of goods between the Ranches in the Great Plains and cities such as Chicago and New York.

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/images/fig10-1.jpg

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Inventions &

Adaptations:

Beef Cattle

Raising

The Cattle Trails

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Inventions & Adaptations: Beef Cattle Raising

• The end of the “OPEN RANGE” era– The Homesteaders– Barbed Wire– Over Grazing caused by Cattle Industry Boom

• Peak of Open Range 1875• Competition between cattle barons and small ranchers• Over supply of beef caused prices to drop• Devastating Winter 1886-1887• Financial Ruin for many Cattle Ranches

• Helpful Websites:– http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/cattle+industry,+early+US

– http://www.answers.com/topic/homesteaders-and-the-cattle-industry– http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CLASS/am485_98/cook/form2.htm

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• Wheat Farming– Wheat is a hardy crop

that has adapted to dry growing conditions

Inventions & Adaptations: Wheat Farming

• Increase in Wheat Production in the Great Plains during the 1880’s - • 1879 = 12 million acres harvested• 1899 = 54 million acres harvested• 1919 = 103 million acres harvested

www.cowboyup.com/farming

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Inventions & Adaptations: Wheat Farming

http://www.winesnw.com/images/horseheaven_early_wheat_farming.jpg

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• Due to problems with overplanting:• Acreages of native

grasslands are greatly reduced

• Top Soil Erosion• Long Term

Ecological Damage

Inventions & Adaptations: Wheat Farming

• Direct cause of the Dust Bowl, 1934 -1939

• Additional Dust Bowl Pictures

http://www.buffalocommons.org/docs/smenu2/images2/dustbowl.jpg

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Why does dry wheat farming cause soil erosion?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/348200_dirt22.html

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• Windmills– Farmers used windmills

to mine groundwater for crop irrigation, livestock, & personal use.

– Acted as water pumps to bring water to the arid (dry) territory

– During the 1880’s, Ranchers had crisscrossed the open grasslands with windmills & barbed wire to “draw up” water and feed their livestock

Inventions & Adaptations: Windmills

http://telosnet.com/wind/images/fanmill.jpg

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Inventions & Adaptations: Railroads

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To be continued…

Look for Railroads Part II in the Growth of the United States!