HISTORY OF THE WEST

Unit 4 NotesMajors Changes in the Great Plains1850-1880

NEW AGRICULTURAL EMPIRE

Last heyday for the family farmer 1860—2 million farms

The 1862 Homestead Act encouraged people to leave the east for 160 acres of free land. Moved to Great American Desert

By 1872 farms were producing surplus—growing cash crops

Expenses $500 for land $785 for machinery

LAWS TO PROMOTE SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST

1862 Homestead Act offers 160 acres free to any head of household 1862–1900, up to 600,000 families settle

Exodusters — Southern African-American settlers in Kansas Railroad, state agents, speculators profit;

10% of land to families Government strengthens act, passes new

legislation for settlers

LAWS TO PROMOTE SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST (CON’T)

Examples: 1873—Timber Culture Act 1877—Desert Land Act 1878—Timber and Stone Act

Agricultural Education Morrill Act of 1862, 1890 finances

agricultural colleges 1887 Hatch Act creates agricultural

experiment stations

NEW TECHNOLOGY AND METHODS Mass market for farm machines

develops with migration to plains 1866—hay baler 1869—harrow 1874—barbed wire and grain drill 1876—hay loader 1877—chilled iron plow 1878—harvester and corn binder 1880—lister to plant corn

NEW TECHNOLOGY AND METHODS (CON’T)

The Farmers’ Alliances 1867, Oliver Hudson Kelley starts Patrons of

Husbandry or Grange Purpose is educational, social; by 1870s, Grange

fighting railroads Farmers’ Alliances — groups of farmers and

sympathizers lectures on interest rates, government control

of railroads, banks Better techniques Cooperative methods Social institution Political organization

gain over 4 million members

SOD BUSTERS OF THE PLAINS

Dugouts and Soddies Few trees, so many settlers dig homes into

sides of ravines or hills In plains, make soddy or sod home by

stacking blocks of turf Houses

18 x 24 Dripped mud or leaked when it rained

SOD HOMES, ETC. OF THE PLAINS

SOD HOTEL IN SOUTH DAKOTA

SODDIE

WOMEN’S WORK

Homesteaders virtually alone, must be self-sufficient

Women do men’s work—plowing, harvesting, shearing sheep

Do traditional work—carding wool, making soap, canning vegetables Weave cloth from animal hair Candles Soak ashes for lye to combine with grease for

soap Gather buffalo chips or corn husks for fuel

Work for communities—sponsor schools, churches

WOMEN’S WORK (CON’T)

Still legal barriers Wife could not sell property without

husband’s permission Could not sue for divorce Could not serve on juries, as lawyers, or as

witnesses Breaking of barriers

Wyoming Territory allowed women suffrage in 1868. Utah Territory followed suit in 1870 and also allowed

women to vote.

WOMEN’S WORK (CON’T)

Hazards Blizzards Drought Prairie fires insects

Religion provided escape Code of the West

Face any danger head on

POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT

• Officials merged public and private interests Railroad, lumber, and mining companies

and owners influenced government Donated to both parties Politicians received retainers from western

companies Lyman Trumbull was paid by the Illinois Central

Railroad Iowa Congressman Grenville Dodge was on the

Union Pacific Railroad payroll

POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT (CON’T)• Officials merged public and private interests

(Con’t) The shell company of Credit Mobilier was

established so that its stockholders could oversee government assistance and create contracts with themselves to build their own railroad lines at tremendous profits.

Shares were given to Congressmen to assure government assistance

Speaker of the House, James G. Blaine Grant’s Vice Presidents Schuyler Colfax and Henry

Wilson

POLITICS OF DEVELOPMENT (CON’T) Farmers and the Railroad Business

Railroads formed pools and set high rates for farmers to ship goods to market

Munn v. Illinois 1877 States could regulate common carriers to

prevent extremely high prices and pools

RAILROADS

Stimulated markets for industry Stimulated mining and agriculture

Boon for cities Immigration (railroads advertised land

for sale in Europe) Established time zones

RAILROADS (CON’T)

1869 First Transcontinental Railroad Central Pacific

Sacramento east Chinese Completed 689 miles

Union Pacific Omaha west Irish Completed 1086 miles

Federal loans to railroads $16,000 flat land $48,000 mountains

Land bonuses 200-400 square miles per mile of track Became the biggest land owners in the West

RAILROADS (CON’T)

Marred by corruption Fraudulent stock Corrupt accounting Wholesale bribery (75 western railroads

benefitted) Railroads Built Cities

RAILROADS OPEN THE WEST

1850–1871, huge land grants to railroads for laying track in West

1860s, Central Pacific goes east, Union Pacific west, meet in Utah By 1880s, 5 transcontinental railroads

completed Railroads sell land to farmers, attract

many European immigrants

PROBLEMS WITH THE RAILROADS Lack of competition lets railroads

overcharge to transport grain Farms mortgaged to buy supplies;

suppliers charge high interest

WHY DID AMERICA NEED RAILROADS? Communication from East to West was

not very good Travelling time from East to West took 6

months + It would help fulfil ‘Manifest Destiny’

The U.S. needed to keep up with other countries Trade links with China and Japan

Help to bring law and order to the West

EFFECT OF THE RAILROADS:

Quick and easy travel to the West Previous methods

Wagon Train Foot By boat Pony Express

The railroad turned a 6 month journey into a maximum of 8 days

EFFECT OF THE RAILROADS: (CON’T) Cheap land for people wanting to go West

Once the Railroads were built the Railroad companies had no use for the excess land

Sold land off cheap Benefitted Homesteaders and Ranchers who

came west. Destruction of the Indians

Hunters used the Railroad to go west to hunt the buffalo

Hunters were only interested in buffalo skin 1875 southern buffalo herds wiped out 1885 northern buffalo herds wiped out

Indians and Whites equally responsible for the devastation to the Buffalo population

WHO ACTUALLY BUILT THE RAILROADS? Coolies (Central Pacific) & European

immigrants (Union Pacfic) Chinese labourers

Brought into the United States by the Central Pacific After slavery was abolished, there was a severe

lack of labour in many European colonies Labourers were supposed to be recruited by voluntary

negotiation, and this was probably usually the case, though kidnapping and trickery were frequent

The treatment of coolies was often very harsh, and the government involved did little to remedy their plight

WHO ACTUALLY BUILT THE RAILROADS? (CON’T)

Use of Coolies during the railway boom Chinese coolies contributed to the building

of the Transcontinental Railroad in the United States (as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway in Western Canada)

But the Chinese labourers were not welcome to stay after its completion

1862: California's Anti-Coolie Act of 1862 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act

Both of these Acts contributed to the oppression of Chinese labourers in the United States

ANALYZE THE POLITICAL CARTOON

DRIVING THE LAST SPIKE:

Union of Central Pacific & Union Pacific May 10, 1869: two rail lines meet at

Promontory Point (mountains of Utah) Result of this union:

By the early 1900s: 4 transcontinental lines & the US had a vast railroad system

EFFECT OF THE RAILROADS: REVISITED

Helps develop the Cattle Industry Cattle were transported by the railroads

making it easier to move them from Texas to the East

Cow Towns grew up around these railroad stops

Sedalia, Missouri Cheyenne, Wyoming Abilene, Kansas Dodge City, Kansas Greeley, Colorado

CATTLE KINGDOM

Texas and high plains of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana

1860 – 5 million head west of Mississippi

Boom or Bust 25-40% Competition

Natural controls—not enough grass, blizzards, drought

CATTLE KINGDOM (CON’T)

Used Mexican methods (horses, branding irons, riata[ ropes], chaps, spurs, broad-brimmed hat, cowhands, cattle drives)

Trails Chisholm—to Ellsworth or Abilene Western—to Dodge City or Ogallala Sedalia-Baxter—to Sedalia or Baxter

Springs Goodnight-Loving—to Denver or Cheyenne

CHICAGO

1860—1870 population tripled Transportation center for resources

Iron Coal Timber

Processing center for raw materials Meat packing Flour mills Steel mills Agricultural equipment

Distribution center for manufactured goods from the North

RANGE WARS

Open range v. fences Feed cattle v. range cattle Sheep v. cattle Control of water

CATTLE BECOME BIG BUSINESS

Vaqueros and Cowboys American settlers learn to manage large herds

from Mexican vaqueros adopt way of life, clothing, vocabulary

Texas longhorns — sturdy, short-tempered breeds brought by Spanish

Cowboys not in demand until railroads reach Great Plains

Growing Demand for Beef After Civil War demand for meat increases in

rapidly growing cities

CATTLE BECOME BIG BUSINESS (CON’T)

The Cow Town Cattlemen establish shipping yards where trails and

rail lines meet Chisholm Trail becomes major cattle route from San

Antonio to Kansas A Day in the Life of a Cowboy

A Day’s Work 1866–1885, up to 55,000 cowboys on plains

25% African American, 12% Mexican Cowboy works 10–14 hours on ranch; 14 or more on trail Expert rider, roper; alert for dangers that may harm, upset

cattle

CATTLE BECOME BIG BUSINESS (CON’T) Roundup

During spring roundup, longhorns found, herded into corral

Separate cattle marked with own ranch’s brand; brand calves

The Long Drive Herding of animals or long drive lasts about 3

months Cowboy in saddle dawn to dusk; sleeps on ground;

bathes in rivers Legends of the West

Celebrities like “Wild Bill” Hickok, Calamity Jane never handled cows

THE END OF THE OPEN RANGE

Changes in Ranching Overgrazing, bad weather from 1883 to

1887 destroy whole herds Ranchers keep smaller herds that yield

more meat per animal Fence land with barbed wire; turn open

range into separate ranches

MINING

Spreads west to east Most made money supplying the miners

Boom or Bust Quick profits (individuals) Followed by consolidation and order (corporations,

machinery, paid labor) Mining areas grew large cities first

Attracted immigrants California passed Foreign Miners’ Tax Riots against Chinese 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act

DISCOVERING GOLD AND SILVER

After the California gold rush, Colorado was next. Most who went there were disappointed, but the silver in the Comstock Lode in Nevada lasted for more than 20 years.

The Klondike gold rush The Yukon Territory was the site of a huge gold

rush, but getting there was treacherous Canadians required miners to bring a year’s worth of

supplies with them, and that was a difficult task. Reports of “gold for the taking” were false.

DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITIES Mining camps and towns

Thousands of men poured into mining areas. Camps were hastily built and had no law enforcement.

Vigilante justice was used to combat theft and violence.

Camps become towns Some camps developed into towns, with hastily

constructed buildings of stores and saloons. As towns developed, women and children came to join the

men, making the towns more respectable. Townspeople established churches, newspapers, and schools.

1849 CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA, CONT.

1858 PIKE’S PEAK, COLORADO

DENVER, COLORADO 1870

1859 VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADACOMSTOCK LODE

1870 PARK CITY, UTAH

1876 BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

1880S ALTA, UTAH

THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH

The California gold rush began when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill January 24, 1848

As the news of discovery spread, some 300,000 people came to California from the rest of the United States and abroad These early gold seekers called “49ers”

traveled to California by sailing ships and covered wagons across the continent.

THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH (CON’T)

Techniques for retrieving gold At first a technique called panning was used to

retrieve gold from streams and riverbeds. Hydraulic mining was later invented in California.

This technique was created for larger scale gold mining

Samuel Brannan Samuel Brannan was the first millionaire because

of the California gold rush Brannan established the first newspaper in San

Francisco called the California Star and also established the first school in San Francisco

Brannan was elected to the California State Senate in 1853. He was also credited with developing banks, railroads, and telegraph companies.

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE GOLD RUSH

Native Americans became the victims of disease, starvation, and genocidal attacks. The Native American population in 1845 was

150,000 The Native American population in 1870 was

less than 30,000 Many people that journeyed to California

from around the world never made it The Donner party - A total of 87 people from

various families set out for California and became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada

Only 48 of the original 87 pioneers survived

THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE GOLD RUSH

Towns and cities were charted Roads, schools, and churches were formed Improved transportation between

California and the east coast All of these developments led to the

statehood of California on September 9th, 1850 as the 31st state.

TOMBSTONE

Settled by Ed Schieffelin when he sought to discover silver Named it Tombstone and rumors of rich strikes made a

boomtown of the settlement in Apache land Days of lawlessness and violence throughout the town’s history

climaxed with the infamous Earp-Clanton battle Previously President Chester A. Arthur almost declared martial law

By 1879 the town possessed nearly 100 permanent residents and thousands of campers

At the time it was equal in population to San Francisco By mid-1880’s population around 7,500

When counting women, children, Chinese, Mexicans, and “ladies of the evening” the number reaches 15,000-20,000

For 7 years the mines produced millions of dollars in silver and gold

Forced to shut down due to underground waters Multiple fires destroyed the city throughout its early years

Yet known as “The Town too Tough to Die”

TOMBSTONE (CON’T)

Famous gunfight between the Earp’s and the Cowboys on October 26, 1881 outside the OK Corral Fight took 24 seconds and 30 shots fired

Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury were all mortally wounded

Questions over the legality of the event Population dwindled throughout the

rest of the 19th and 20th Century

EARP GANG

Wyatt EarpVirgil Earp

Doc Holliday

Morgan Earp

CLANTON GANG

Billy Clanton

Tom McLaury

Frank McLaury

DEATHS OF THE OK CORRAL FIGHT

Ike Clanton