Transcript Settling the West - Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD

Settling the West
1865-1900
Section 1: Miners and Ranchers
Growth of Mining
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Task: How do people try to “get rich quick” today?
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Growth of the Mining Industry
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Placer mining + quartz mining were used.
Growth of Mining
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Comstock Lode
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Henry Comstock staked a claim in Virginia City, Nevada in
1859.
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Pure Silver Ore!
From frontier outpost to Boomtown of 30,000 people.
When the silver veins were exhausted, the mine closed.
Samuel Clemens [Mark Twain]
Task: What do you think happened to many of these
towns when the mines closed?
Growth of Mining
Growth of Mining
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Problems in Mining Communities:
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Prospectors fought over claims.
Thieves haunted the streets and trails.
People took the law into their own hands- Vigilance
Committees.
Women in a Mining Town:
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Some owned property
Some became community leaders.
Some worked as cooks or in laundries.
“hurdy-gurdy” houses – where they danced with men for a
drink!
Other Bonanzas
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“Pikes Peak or Bust!”, 1859
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Spurred the development of Colorado, the Dakota Territory,
and Montana. (became states in 1889)
Leadville, 1879 – deposits of lead found in Colorado
Mountains.
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Deposits had a lot of silver in them!
1,000 newcomers per week were pouring in!
Other Bonanzas
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Spurred the building of railroads through the mountains.
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Development of the Great Plains
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Denver was a supply point (2nd largest city after San Francisco)
Gold in the Black Hills and copper in Montana.
After the railroads were built, farmers and ranchers
moved into the territory.
Ranching
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Early 1800s many thought ranching was impractical on
the Great Plains.
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Texas Longhorn
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Arid
Cattle from the East Coast could not survive on prairie grass.
Better adapted for the harsh environment.
Mexicans had introduced cattle ranching.
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Open range- vast area owned by the government.
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Ranchers could graze their herds free of charge!
Ranching
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Before the Civil War there was little incentive to round
up longhorns.
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Beef prices were low,
Moving cattle to the east was not practical.
Turning Point:
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1. the Civil War
2. the Construction of Railroads
Ranching
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The Civil War
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After the war, beef prices soared, making it worthwhile.
The Railroads
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If the longhorns were rounded up and driven north several
hundred miles to the railroad, they could be sold for a huge
profit and shipped east to market.
Ranching
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”Come along boys and listen to my tale, I'll tell you of my
troubles on the old Chisholm Trail. Come a ti yi yippee, come a
ti, yi, yea.“, The Old Chisholm Trail
The Long Drive
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Cowboys collected their cattle from the open range.
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Mavericks: stray calves with no brand.
Took the cattle north
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Many cowboys were former Confederate soldiers.
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Some Hispanic, some African American.
Adventure books about cowboys were popular in U.S.
Ranching becomes Big Business
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“range wars”- sometimes cattle ranchers and sheep
herders would compete over the open range.
Why did the long drives end?
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Barbed Wire
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Allowed for ranchers to fence off the hundreds of square miles of the
range.
Ended the cattle drives since the cattle were prevented from
roaming.
Investors in the East poured so much
money into the cattle business that there
was an oversupply of animals and prices
dropped.