Transcript The West Transformed Chapter 17

The West Transformed
Chapter 17
Mining and Railroads
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Boom and bust
Before the Civil War,
prospectors found
gold in Nevada, which
was owned by Henry
Comstock.
The Comstock Lode
was filled with silver,
and made more
money in silver then
gold. About $300
Million in 20 years.
After the Civil War,
prospectors moved
west, they found ores
in Montana, Idaho,
Colorado and South
Dakota.
Mining and Railroads
Cities of tents grew
around these ore
mines, and were called
Boomtowns. Merchants
followed prospectors.
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Women opened
restaurants, washed
clothes, took in
borders.
About ½ of the miners
were foreign
To keep justice in these
towns there were
Vigilantes
Once the ore was
extracted, the miners
often moved away and
the towns died.
Mining and Railroads
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The Railroad Boom
Before 1860,
railroads ended at
the Mississippi River.
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The government
gave subsidies to
people.
Mining and Railroads
Transcontinental
Railroad
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One railway went
east from
Sacramento, CA
called the Central
Pacific Railroad
Another was built
west from Omaha,
Nebraska called the
Union Pacific
Railroad.
They met in the
middle
Mining and Railroads
Towns sprang up in the
west because of the
railroad.
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Gold and silver came
out of the mines.
The Transcontinental
Railroad
Finding gold and silver
ore in the land out to
the west was what
eventually inspired this
railroad which spanned
the continent.
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Native Americans struggle to
survive
People of the Plains
In 1865, about 360,000
Native Americans lived
in the Great Plains
Plains people lived by
gathering, hunting and
fishing.
When the Native
Americans traded with
the French and British
for guns, they could
travel faster and farther.
Native Americans
carried their belongings
in Travois and lived in
Tepees
Native Americans struggle to
survive
Plains people flowed
the buffalo herds,
which played a key
role in the Native
Americans survival.
Women managed the
village, cared for
children, made food.
Men were hunters
and warriors and
often led religious
life.
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Native Americans struggle to
survive
Broken Treaties
U.S. treaties promised
Native Americans land,
when miners and
railroad crews went
west, these treaties
were broken.
Fort Laramie Treaty-US
officials wanted Native
Americans to stop
following buffalo,
promising if they settled
down, and the
government would
protect their land.
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When this was signed,
Settlers moved onto
their land.
Native Americans struggle to
survive
Sand Creek MassacreAs a response by the
Native Americans to
give up their lands, they
attacked supply trains
and homes.
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The response to this
was that about 700
people attacked the
Cheyenne tribe. They
raised a white flag but
100 people from the
tribe were killed
anyway.
This massacre ignited
war.
Native Americans struggle to
survive
The giant herds of
buffalo began to die
out because of
railroad hunters and
the price of buffalo
robes.
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Last stand for
Custer and the
Sioux
Often times land on
the reservation was
bad and hard to farm
on.
Native Americans struggle to
survive
The Sioux and
Cheyenne lived on a
reservation in the Black
Hills.
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In 1874 there was a
gold rush and a flood
of miners
Sitting Bull and
Crazy Horse led
attacks to keep
out whites
Little Bighorn- A battle
between Colonel
George Custer and the
Sioux and Cheyenne to
force the Native
Americans onto a
reservation
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Custer and all of his
men died in this battle
Native Americans Struggle to
survive
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Other efforts of
resistance
When the Nez
Perces were being
forced onto a
reservation, their
Chief, Chief Joseph
fled toward Canada
with his people. The
US Army pursued
them, until their
capture near
Canada’s border.
Native Americans Struggle to
survive
Navajo Indians raided
settler’s farms for
livestock, to stop this,
the army was called in.
Eventually the Navajo
were defeated.
– The “Long Walk” was
made by the Navajos,
which was forced.
Many died of disease
and hunger.
Native Americans Struggle to
survive
The Ghost Dance
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The failure of reform
A Century of Dishonor
by Helen Hunt Jackson.
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A book that recorded
the many treaties that
were violated by the
government.
The Dawes Act
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Tried to end Native
American wandering
and turn them into
farmers.
Gave males 160 acres
each to farm.
They set up schools
This act failed.
The Cattle Kingdom
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Rise of the Cattle
Industry
For years wild cattle
wanted the Open
Range
When American settlers
moved to the west, they
did not round up the
stray herds.
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When the railroads
came, Texans could
now take the cattle to
markets
In spring there were
Cattle Drives- These
drives lasted months to
move the cattle north.
The Cattle Kingdom
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Life on the Trail
Cowhands-had to keep
the cattle in check.
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Herding cattle was
risky; they would
stampede and could
get taken away by a
river.
Cowhands worked 18
hours a day and got
paid less than $1.
People learned how to
be cowhands because
of the Vaquero
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Americans learned to
ride, rope and brand.
The Cattle Kingdom
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The Wild West
After months on the
trail, cowboys would
be ready for a bath, a
good meal and a soft
bed. This is why Cow
towns were formed.
Cow towns
These towns soon
became popular; they
had dance halls,
saloons, hotels and
restaurants.
The Cattle Kingdom
There were many
myths in the west.
Although there was
minimal violence,
people tried to
advertise for the west
by saying there was.
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Annie Oakley even
broke a stereotype
and could shoot a
gun as good as a
man.
The Cattle Kingdom
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Boom and bust of the
Cattle Kingdom
The cattle boom lasted
from the 1860’s to the
1880’s
Cattle Kingdom-The
region dominated by
the cattle industry and
its ranches, trails, and
cow towns.
The boom ended when
a cycle of scorching
summers and frigid
winters killed millions of
cattle.
Farming in the West
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Homesteading
HomesteadersPeople were given
160 acres for free if
they lived and farmed
on it for 5 years.
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Only 1 in 3 people
lasted the full 5
years
Railroads gave away
some of the 180
million acres it got
from the government
Farming in the West
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A hard life on the
plains
The land that people
were given was hard
to farm. It was fertile
but covered with Sod
Farmers broke
through the sod with
new plows made of
steel by John Deere.
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Sodbusters used
machines to plant
crops
Farmers used
windmills to pump
water out.
Farming in the West
Whole families worked
on farms.
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Men worked from
dusk until dawn
Children tended
animals and helped
with chores
Women kept the
house, planted and
harvested, educated
the children, made
clothes, preserved
food and made
basics like candles
and soap.
Farming in the West
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A last rush for land
The Oklahoma Land
Rush-people rushed
onto land near
Oklahoma City to
claim it for free.
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Sooners came out
and claimed the
best land
Farming in the West
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Farmers organize
Farm crisis
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There was a surplus of
food because too
many farmers were
taking grain to the
market.
Supply vs.
Demand
In many communities
there were Granges.
The Farmers Alliance
was organized in the
late 1870’s,
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It set up Farm
Cooperatives
Farming in the West
Populists (the political
party) wanted to use
silver as well as gold as
a basis for money
supply. They believed
that there would be
Inflation
In 1896, Democrat
William Jennings Bryan
ran against Republican
William McKinley.
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Bryan was known as
the “Great Commoner”
and wanted to use
silver as currency
McKinley won with his
gold alone standard.