THE WEST 1860-1900

Why do people move?

Questions What conditions lured people to migrate

to the West? Where did the western settlers come

from? How did the American frontier shift

westward?

Push-Pull Factors

When geographers study reasons for major migrations, they look at what they call push-pull factors Push-Pull Factors-events and conditions

that either force (push) people to move elsewhere or strongly attract (pull) them to do so.

Push Factors Push factors are

conditions that drive people from their home lands

Push factors include: War/Conflict/Violence

(displacement) Famine Scarce land in home

country Political or religious

persecution Poverty

Pull Factors Pull factors are

conditions that attract people to a new country or area

Pull factors include: The promise of political

or religious freedom Hope for a new life Industry (i.e. the North

vs. South) Jobs Land Money

Push Factors After the Civil War The Civil War had displaced thousands of

farmers, former slaves, and other workers.

Eastern farmland was too costly. Failed entrepreneurs sought a second

chance in a new locations. Ethnic and religious repression caused

people to seek the freedom of the west. Including former slaves

Outlaws sought refuge.

Pull Factors After the Civil War

The Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864

Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862 Land speculation Homestead Act, 1862 Legally enforceable property rights Resource speculation

Immigrants from Other Countries

German Immigrants to the West German-speaking

immigrants arrived seeking farmland. They brought the Lutheran

religion with its emphasis on hard work and education.

Many moved to what is now the Midwest including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Nebraska

German Heritage 1990’s

Scandinavian Immigrants to the West

Lutherans from Scandinavia settled the northern plains from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas

Many pursuing dairy farming.

Other Immigrants to the West

Irish, Italians, European Jews, and Chinese settled in concentrated communities on the West coast

They took jobs in mining and railroad construction

This brought them to the American interior.

Chinese Immigrants Railroad companies

began hiring Chinese men as workers

The workers were punctual, willing and well-behaved

Also known as “Celestials” because of their religious beliefs

Experienced harassment from Caucasian workers

Chinese Immigrants Chinese teams were

organized into groups of 20

Each group had a white foreman

Each worker received $27/mo compared to $35/mo Irish workers made

Irish workers received housing but Chinese workers did not

African-American Immigrants to the West

After the Civil War, thousands of African Americans rode or walked westward, often fleeing violence and exploitation

Many African-Americans sought the opportunity to own and farm their own land

They also saw the west as a way to escape the discrimination and violence they experienced in the South

African-American Immigrants to the West

Benjamin “Pap” Singleton led groups of southern blacks on a mass “Exodus” a trek inspired by the

biblical account of the Israelites’ flight from Egypt to a prophesied homeland

Hence, the settlers called themselves Exodusters

Benjamin “Pap” Singleton Born a slave in 1809 but escaped to

freedom in Detroit in 1846 After the war he returned to Tennessee Even though former slaves had freedom

they were still terrorized by the KKK Sharecropping essentially re-enslaved

many former slaves by limiting profit Singleton decided he wanted to help

former slaves escape the violence and oppression of the south so………..

Benjamin “Pap” Singleton Singleton decided to lead his people to the

promised land (Kansas) Like a “Black Moses” he encouraged

people to make the exodus to Kansas for more opportunities This mirrored the story of Moses, the man who

led his people (the Jews), to the promised land in the Bible

In 1873 nearly 300 Blacks followed him to Cherokee County, Kansas and founded “Singleton’s Colony”

Singleton and the Exodusters

Between 1870 and 1881 the organized movement of African-Americans gave way to a larger “Exodus” Tens of thousands of Southern Blacks fled to

Kansas and other Northern states to flee oppression

Many came unprepared but most who remained ultimately improved their quality of life

Many also made important contributions to the state and their community

Singleton, the man known as the “Father of the Negro Exodus” died in 1892

Exodusters Some 50,000 or more Exodusters

migrated west.

Mormons