32.1 Mining, Railroads, and Cattle Rush

Main IdeaMining, railroads, and the cattle industry increased the population of the West, all seeking economic opportunities.

Why it Matters NowThese industries that developed then still contribute to the United States’ economy.

CA Standards• 8.12.1 Trace patterns of agricultural and industrial

development as they relate to climate, use of natural resources, markets, and trade and locate such development on a map.

• 8.12.3 Students explain how states and the federal government encouraged business expansion through tariffs, banking, land grants, and subsidies.

• 8.12.4 Students discuss entrepreneurs, industrialists, and bankers in politics, commerce, and industry (e.g. Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Leland Stanford).

Daily Guided Questions

1. What economic opportunities drew large numbers of people to the West?

2. Why was the building of a Transcontinental Railroad important?

3. What factors led to a boom of the cattle industry?

4. What factors ended the cattle boom?

Western Frontier

• Span from the Great Plains (Great American Desert) in the east to the Pacific Ocean.• Settlers head west for many different

reasons.• Home to native Americans and

Mexicans.

Mining• Gold Rush in California, 1849.• Mines spread from South Dakota to

California.• Comstock Lode, 1859.-One of the richest silver deposits.-Nevada, become a center for mining-Produced over $300 million.-Virginia City becomes boom town.

Booms Spread

• Few miners struck it rich.• Lack machinery to dig for the

deeper deposits of ore.• Big companies do and mining

becomes big business by the 1880’s.

Boomtowns

• Towns that spring up by mining.-Half of all miners are immigrants.• Lack organized law enforcement.-Vigilante groups develop.-Hunt down criminals and punish them.• Towns develop formal governments and

law enforcement.

Ghost Towns

• After ore deposits are depleted miners and businesses leave.• Empty town is

called a ghost town.

Railroad Booms

• Gov. wants to build railroad west.

-Offers subsidies (grants of land and money to railroad companies).-Receive federal loans.

Transcontinental Railroad • Railroad that stretches from one end of the

country to the other.• In 1862, Leland Stanford and partners’ Central

Pacific Railroad build railroad from CA. eastward.

-Hire Chinese immigrants.• Union Pacific Railroad build westward from

Omaha.• 1869, both railroads meet at Promontory,

Utah.

Effects of Railroads

• Railroads stops become towns.• Linked economies from different parts of

the country.• Growth of pop.-Eight territories become states between 1864-1890.• Standard Time created by 1883.-U.S. divided into four different time zones.

Cattle Boom, 1860• A lot of money being made

selling beef.• Once railroads were built,

beef could be shipped to both sides of the country.

• Cattle roamed the open range, unfenced lands of Texas.

-Longhorns, cattle with broad horns.-Spanish first start herding these cattle.

Cattle Drives• Ranchers needed to take cattle to

railroad stops in Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming.

-Chisholm Trail & Goodnight-Loving Trail.-Trails could take up to 1000 miles and 2-3 months.• Cowhands, Cowboys, Vaqueros hired to

move herds of cattle.

Life on the Trail• Dangerous-Predator animals, stampedes, extreme weather, fires, and rustlers.• Tiring-18 hour days (on saddle).• Low Pay-Dollar or less a day.

Vaquero

-Spanish or Mexican cowhands.-Americans learn to ride, rope, and brand from them.-Copied style of dress and equipment.• 1/3 were Mexican, another were A.A.,

and the other were white Civil War Vets.

Cow Towns• Towns where cattle drives travelled through or

ended at.• Railroad stops.-Abilene, KS.-Wichita, KS.-Dodge City, KS.• Dance halls, saloons, hotels, restaurants.-Drinking, gambling, and fighting was common.-Some towns ban the carrying of pistols.-Myth of the “Wild West”.

Myth of the “Wild West”

• Hard riding, heavy drinking, gun-slinging cowboys.

• Shoot-outs• Battles between

cowboys and Indians.• Buffalo Bill Wild West

Show.-Traveling circus/rodeo.

Cattle Boom Ends, 1890’s• Cattle Kingdom= region where the cattle

industry dominated.• High profits.-Eastern and European investors.• Decline.-Overpopulation-Drought and severe winters.-Depression, drop demand.• Settlers closed the open range.-Barbed wire.

Primary Sources

• Map of Railroads-Analyze the map.-Answer the three questions about the map.• Journal of a Cattle Driver-Read it carefully and answer all the three questions.