LAND - A

Guiding Questions

• What words do you see and recognize on this advertisement?

• What is this advertisement selling? • Where is the land? • SPICY: What type of company made this

advertisement? (Hint: How will settlers get to the land?)

LAND - A

Homestead Act Land37th Congress Session II 1862Chapter LXXV. - An Act to secure Homesteads to actual Settlers on the Public Domain.

Original Modernized

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the person applying for the benefit of this act shall, upon application to the register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said register or receiver that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age, or shall have performed service in the army or navy of the United States, and that he has never borne arms against the Government of the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies,and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either directly or indirectly for the use of benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever; and upon filing the said affidavit with the register or receiver, and on payment of ten dollars, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the quantity of land specified: Provided, however, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefore until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry;

The two houses of the U.S. Congress have decided that one person per family who is at least 21 years old and a citizen of the United States (AND who has never fought against the U.S. in a war) . . . will have the right, after January 1st, 1863, to have up to 160 acres of government land.

This person will have to swear that they are going to use it for “actual settlement and cultivation” themselves and their families. They must: -Pay a $10 paperwork fee-Live on the land for 5 years-Use the land for farmingThen, they will own the land.

LAND - B

Guiding Questions

• Focus on the “Modernized” wording.• What is this act (law) about? • How much land does each family get? • What do they have to do or pay to get it?

LAND - B

LAND - CHomestead Act Land Certificate

Guiding Questions

• This is a picture of a Homestead Land Certificate. It is the piece of paper that said settlers owned the land they lived on for 5 years as part of the Homestead Act.

• What do you notice about it? • What words or numbers do you recognize? • What can you learn about the Homestead Act

from this image?

LAND - C

An Article in Harper's Weekly 33 about the Oklahoma Land Act

(May 18, 1889) by William Willard Howard • In 1889 the opening to white settlement of a choice portion of Indian Territory in Oklahoma set

off one of the most bizarre and chaotic episodes of town founding in world history. A railroad line crossed the territory, and water towers and other requirements for steam rail operation were located at intervals along the tracks that connected Arkansas and Texas. Two places--Oklahoma Station and Guthrie Station--seemed particularly well located for eventual urban development. In the months before the territory was opened, individuals and groups representing townsite companies scouted these locations and prepared town plans for these sites. Congress had failed to provide for any form of civil government.

LAND - D

Although the area had been surveyed into the standard system of 6-mile square townships and mile-square sections of 640 acres each, no sites for towns had been designated let alone laid out in streets and lots. The rules simply provided that at noon on April 22 persons gathered at the Arkansas or Texas borders would be permitted to enter, seek a parcel of unclaimed land, and file a claim of ownership in accordance with the applicable Federal laws governing the disposal of the public domain.

Guiding Questions

• This is an article about the Oklahoma Land Rush. Pay attention to the parts in bold.

• When did the Oklahoma Land Rush happen? (What year?)

• What did people have to do to get the land in Oklahoma?

• Who lived on the land before the settlers rushed in to claim it?

LAND - D

ADVENTURE - A

Guiding Questions

• Theodore Roosevelt (a future president) is describing his adventures in the West to his friends. He says he was so excited about riding the horses and sitting around campfires at night that he almost felt drunk and in love.

• If you lived in the east and heard about these adventures, what would you think?

• What would you want to do?

ADVENTURE - A

Source: Cowboy at work, TX, c. 1905. Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Erwin Smith photo. http://historyproject.ucdavis.edu/khapp.php?SlideNum=2721

ADVENTURE - B

Guiding Questions

• This is a picture of a cowboy at work. • Where was this picture taken? • What kind of work did a cowboy do? • Why might someone want to be a cowboy?

ADVENTURE - B

ADVENTURE - C

Guiding Questions

• This is a circus poster showing cowboys rounding up cattle.

• Buffalo Bill was a famous performer who would do cowboy tricks and share stories of the west.

• Does this show look interesting to you? • If you lived in the east and saw this show,

what might you think about the west?

ADVENTURE - C

RAILROAD - AMap of the Transcontinental Railroad

Guiding Questions

• This is a map of which railroad?• Look very carefully:– In what state does it end (in the West)? – In what state does it start (in the Midwest)?

RAILROAD - A

RAILROAD - B

Guiding Questions

• This is an advertisement for the Central Pacific Railway Company.

• Look at the words on the right hand side: – What two city names do you see? Where did the

transcontinental railroad start and end? – Why was taking the train better than going by sea

or by wagon?

RAILROAD - B

RAILROAD - C

Guiding Questions

• This is a picture of railway workers. • What state were they working in? • What do you notice about them? • SPICY: What country do you guess these

workers came from?

RAILROAD - C

GOLD ($) - A

Three men in gulch with a sluice. Source: Jackson, William Henry, photographer. ca. 1872. http://memory.loc.gov

Miners pose near the entrance to a silver mine tunnel near Eureka, San Juan County, Colorado. (1904)

Guiding Questions

• What do you notice about the environment in these pictures?

• How would you describe mining? – Was it safe or dangerous? – Easy or difficult?

GOLD ($) - A

GOLD ($) - B

Gold is discovered in North and South Dakota! Read all about it!

Guiding Questions

• How much money did Placer Mine No. 6 make after just one week?

• If you were in the east and you read this story, what would you think? What would you want to do?

GOLD ($) - B

EXODUSTERS - A

Many Black Townships were established as a result of the Exodusters Movement. The town of Nicodemus, KS is the most well known, most successful, and only remaining planned community devoted to African-American settlement. At its peak in 1880, the population of Nicodemus was around 600. It was founded in 1877 by a white town planner and an African-American minister and populated primarily by freed slaves from Kentucky. The harsh living conditions and climate were difficult to adjust to, but after a short time the settlement grew to include two newspapers, three general stores, at least three churches, a number of small hotels, one school, literary society, ice cream parlor, a bank, a livery, numerous homes and more.

The first document shows the original plans for the Nicodemus Township.

Guiding Questions

• What challenges were African Americans facing in the Southeast after Reconstruction ended?

• Why would they want to move West?

EXODUSTERS - A

EXODUSTERS - B

Guiding Questions

• Look carefully at the people in the picture. What do they all have in common?

• What types of buildings did Exoduster towns have?

EXODUSTERS - B

EXODUSTERS - B

Guiding Questions

• Notice their clothes: do these Exodusters look rich or poor?

• Who do you think owns this home?

EXODUSTERS - C