Transcript ch 18 completed notes 2013x

Opening the West
Chapter 18
The Western Frontier
Why Move West?
Why Move West?
Manifest Destiny
• Manifest Destiny: the idea that the United
States must expand its boundaries to the
Pacific Ocean, popular in the 1800s
Westward Expansion
The Homestead Act of 1862
• The US government gave 160 acres of land to
anyone who paid a $10 filing fee and promised to
farm this land for five years
• Many could not afford to move West (remember
difficulty of movement during Reconstruction)
– Nevertheless, many people moved West, including:
• Men
• Single/widowed women
• African Americans (called themselves “Exodusters”)
From Boomtowns to Ghost Towns
Boomtowns – towns that developed rapidly as a result of gold mining and
expanding railroads
Ghost towns – towns that went “bust” when all the gold had been mined
and all residents left
Vigilante Justice
In boom towns, which often sprung up
overnight, the absence of laws and a
police force resulted in vigilante justice.
This meant that normal people would
take matters into their own hands and
“punish” criminals.
Buffalo*
• Native Americans:
– buffalo were a way of life
– used ALL of the animal
• Western Pioneers:
– concerned mainly with buffalo fur
– hunted the animals for sport
• Different views of buffalo led to clashes among
Native Americans and U.S. citizens
*NOT my hometown, the animal!
Railroads: The Lifeblood of the
Western Frontier
The Transcontinental Railroad
• Transcontinental Railroad – A railroad that spanned the United States.
The track was roughly 1,700 miles long when it was completed in 1869!
– Built by the Union Pacific in the East (from Omaha, Nebraska) and the Central
Pacific in the West (from Sacramento, California)
– Both tracks met at Promontory Summit, Utah
• Paid for with subsidies:
– Financial aid and land grants from the government
– The quicker they worked, the more money the company
made  a race to Utah!
• The Union Pacific won (1,038 miles of track versus the Central
Pacific’s 742 miles)
• Construction was very tough to complete because they
had to lay track across warm plains and through rugged
mountains.
The Transcontinental Railroad
Tough Travel
Chinese Labor in the Snow
The Last Spike Ceremony
May 10, 1869
Cattle Drives
-Cattle becomes a valued good for the newly settled West, as it was shipped by rail to the
East for food
-Cattle was herded by cowboys 1,000 miles from Texas to railroad lines in cities like
Abilene and Wichita for transport
-Cattle drives ended after the overproduction of cattle and the development of barbed
wire
-Cowboy culture is often romanticized, even today, because it represented a life of
freedom on the open range and the lawlessness of the West
Branding (copyright)
Rail Lines in 1895
Effects of the Transcontinental
Railroads
• Workers, ranchers, farmers, and manufactured
goods moved west
• Metals and produce moved east
• Steel industry, coal producers, railroad car
manufacturers, and construction companies all
profited
• New towns were set up along the tracks (ex.
Denver, Colorado)
• Train schedules led to the creation of our 4 time
zones
Native Americans
“If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for it he will find it, and
that is what the Indians are doing now when they ask to give them the things that
were promised to them in the past. And I do not think they should be treated like
beasts, and that is the reason I have grown up with the feelings I have.”
-Sitting Bull
• Reservation – plot of land set aside for Native
Americans by U.S. federal government
– The United States government forced Native Americans
onto reservations
– If and when gold was discovered on these plots of land,
the government forced Native Americans to leave
• Sitting Bull – 19th century Lakota Sioux chief who led
his people against U.S. government
Sioux War of 1876
• Clash between thousands of miners and
Lakota Sioux Indians led by Crazy Horse and
Sitting Bull in the Black Hills Lakota and Sioux
Reservations.
• 1876: Battle of Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last
Stand
– Few soldiers versus many Native Americans  US
loses battle
Custer’s Last Stand
Ghost Dance
Seen by U.S. government as threatening; led to
death of Sitting Bull
Massacre at Wounded Knee
• Reacting to Sitting Bull’s death, the Lakotas
fled their reservations, and were pursued by
the U.S. Army
• On December 29th, 1890, the Lakotas were
rounded up and preparing to surrender
• An accidental shot rang out, resulting in the
massacre of over 300 Native Americans and
25 soldiers
The Dawes Act
• 1887 – passed by Congress to encourage
Native Americans to become farmers and
eventually to become American citizens.
– Ended tribal affiliations
– Every Native American would be entitled to a plot
of land on the reservation
• -Solution was unsuccessful
Desperate times call for desperate measures
Farming on the Great Plains
• Farmers faced many problems:
– Cost of shipping crops and ordering goods was
high
– Crop prices were falling as more and more farms
were set up
• Farmers organized to try to come up with
solutions to their problems:
– The National Grange, Farmer’s Alliances
– Populists
The Populists
• Platform:
– U.S. government should own railroads and
telegraphs to regulate prices
– Free silver-based currency (nation was on gold
standard at this point)
– Graduated income tax
– Shorter work day
– Political changes: 1 term presidency, direct
election of senators, secret ballots