America Expands 1850-1900

Territorial Expansion

America Expands 1850-1900Chapter 17Western ExpansionRails to the WestWhat effect did the railroads have on the development of the American west?Railroads carried people west.Railroads carried goods back east.

TranscontinentalLand grants to railroad companies (20 million acres)Loans to railroad companies

Union Pacific: Omaha WestCentral Pacific: Sacramento East

Race to see who could lay the most track and make the most money.Labor supplyUnion Pacific IrishCentral Pacific ChineseCompleted at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869

Western ExpansionResources of the WestMiningCattleLandMiningCalifornia Gold Rush 1849Pikes Peak gold rush 1859Silver & leadZinc & copperComstock Lode, NV

Commercial mines require much capitalNo more pick and shovelBig business

CattleCattle driveCowboy cultureOpen ranges

Goodnight-Loving TrailChisholm Trail

End of the Cattle DrivesOvergrazingCold winters 1886 and 1887FencingRailroad expansionWestern ExpansionSettlers and Sodbusters

Acquiring LandHomestead Act 1862 160 acres, live on it 5 years, improve itOklahoma Land Rushes opened Indian Territory to white settlementGreat Plains - Great American DesertDry farming techniquesSod housesBarbed wire

Range WarsLincoln County War (New Mexico)Johnson County War (Wyoming)Western ExpansionLaw and Order

Criminals & LawmenWhy was lawlessness prevalent in the Wild West?Indian AffairsPlains Indians

Indian AffairsIndian Wars

Indian AffairsSioux War

Sioux War CouncilInternational Expansion

ImperialismThe extension of power by one people or country over another country or region.

Territory may be acquired byPurchaseAnnexationConquestCritics of Imperialism say:It is ruthless conquest and brutal exploitation of people and nations for the enrichment of the imperialist nation.Benefits of ImperialismBetter medical treatmentDevelopment of natural resourcesImprovements in educationPresentation of the Gospel to people who havent heardAlaskaExpansion by purchasePurchased from Russia in 1867Paid $7.2 million (