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Expanding West
WARM-UP REVIEW
Why did YOU move?
Why do you think people moved West after the Civil
War?
What are the positive/negative effects of moving West?
Why did Westward Expansion occur?
•Opportunities to own land -Homestead Act•Government gave 160 acres of FREE land!•Had to stay for five years.•very few became successful
Why did Westward Expansion occur?
•Advances in technology – the new Transcontinental Railroad
Why did Westward Expansion occur?
•Possibility of wealth created by the discovery of gold and silver•Discovered by Henry Comstock in 1859 and sold to large mining corporations for just $11,000, the Comstock Lode was the largest vein of ore discovered in the West and eventually produced close to $300 Million in gold and silver. Virginia City, Nevada was established on the site by miners – who rarely became rich themselves – and businessmen to serve their needs – who often did get rich!
Why did Westward Expansion occur?
•A new beginning for former slaves
Why did Westward Expansion occur?
•AdvertisementsDO NOT WRITE
•Railroads used advertisements like this one in order to encourage Americans to settle on the Great Plains. •Some companies created advertisements in foreign languages to recruit more settlers and offered to build schools and churches for their clients.•The Railroad Companies realized that as soon as the settlers moved West, they had a new supply of customers – to purchase passenger tickets and to pay shipping costs. Every farmer had crops which needed to be sent to market.
Why did Westward Expansion occur?
•Adventure!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ycMhMM2UFs&feature=related
April 22, 1889 - an estimated 50,000 people lined up for their piece of the available two
million acres!
The Great Plains• “Great American Desert”• Fierce winds & dust storms• Tall prairie grasses• Low rainfall• Flat – no tress
• Before 1860, those who crossed the Mississippi River generally traveled all the way to the west coast. Few settled in the Great Plains.
New Inventions & Adaptations
Made farming on the Plains more successful
New Inventions & Adaptations
• Railroads:• Linked the Atlantic and Pacific Coast
New Inventions & Adaptations
Beef Cattle Raising:• ranchers would “drive” their cattle north to
the railroad – where they would head to the coasts for . . . Dinner!
New Inventions & AdaptationsBarbed Wire:
• Allowed farmers to keep cattle from their crops
New Inventions & AdaptationsWheat Farming:– Required less water and grew well in dryer soil
New Inventions & AdaptationsSteel Plow– Helped farmers break up tough soil
New Inventions & AdaptationsDry Farming– Plant seeds 10 inches in the ground - there is more
moisture for it to grow. • The idea was brought here by the Swedish
New Inventions & AdaptationsSod Houses– Settlers built homes from sod - packed dirt held
together by roots and cut into squares.• They had to do this because there was no trees or other resources
on the Plains
New Inventions & AdaptationsWindmills– Pump water from the ground to the surface– Provide power
