TENSIONS IN THE WEST

Homestead Act Passed in 1861 What was it?

Offered farmers 160 acres of land in the West for free

Impact Promise of free land drew millions of people

to the West & would lead to eventual conflict with Native Americans

Pacific Railroad Act Law called for a transcontinental railroad

to be built to link the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

A transcontinental railroad is a railroad that crosses a continent

Union Pacific= Nebraska west Central Pacific= California east

Railroads eventually met at Promontory Point, UT

Transcontinental Railroad Who built railroads?

Immigrants (especially Irish and Chinese), Mexicans, freed slaves, ex-soldiers

Dangers of building railroads: Injuries & accidents Conflicts with Native Americans Building through mountains was risky Death

Impact: Allowed for further westward expansion and

faster transportation—connected the coasts and helped the economy grow

Miners Many moved West to mine gold, silver, and coal Boomtown: A fast growing settlement in the

West due to the discovery of gold or silver Problem: Instant towns had no government, no law,

and little order Murder and robbery were common= “Wild West”

Vigilante: A person hired to control crime in boom towns and give QUICK justice Arrest, trial, conviction, death sentence all in a day!

Ghost Town: A boom town after gold and silver was used up

Impact of Mining

Choose 3: Destroyed a lot of land Source of wealth and opportunity Helped many cities develop (like Reno &

Denver) Opened up settlement in the mountains

and deserts

Cowboys What did they do?

Tended herds of cattle to eventually sell beef What did they exterminate?

The buffalo population 1872-1874: Over 9 million were killed Now almost extinct

What was life like? Dangerous and low-paying, but adventurous

Impact: Opened Great Plains even further to settlement

& strengthened conflict with Native Americans

Homesteaders What did they do?

Farmed on the Great Plains What was life like?

Weather was unreliable and many struggled to survive until they perfected farming the area—lonely & hard work

Challenge: Turning grassland into grain field Hot, dry summers and freezing winters

Impact: Made the Great Plains the most productive wheat-growing region in the world

Native Americans REFRESHER: Indian Removal Act of 1830

forced Native Americans to move to regions in the West Until the 1860s and 1870s, most people living

in the West were the Indians Why was there conflict between whites and

Indians? Over land and resources

Reservation: An area of land set aside by the government for Native Americans

Battle of Little Bighorn Most famous battle between whites and Indians,

also known as “Custer’s Last Stand.” Indian fighter George Custer & his soldiers vs. Sioux

& Cheyenne Indians George Custer and all of his men were killed by

Indians--they were outnumbered and had bad leadership

Whites called it a massacre—led the army to track down Indian tribes and force them on reservations.

Impact: By 1887, most Native American people had been moved onto reservations