Farming in the West

Farming in the West

How did farmers on the Plains struggle to make a living?

The Homestead Act• Using the documents of Daniel

Freedman, figure out the purpose and requirements for the Homestead Act

Homesteading• The Homestead Act of 1862 motivated

many to move west because it offered 160 acre plot to anyone who lived on the land for 5 years.

• Thousands became homesteaders receiving free land from the government on the Great Plains. Dry conditions made it hard to grow enough grain for profit.

Frontier Settlements: 1870-1890

Homesteads From Public Lands

Homesteading• Farms meant more shipping for

railroads who began giving away 180 million acres of land to people from the U.S. Ireland, Germany and Scandinavia

A Hard Life• Land further west was dry, but the soil of the

Plains was fertile and covered with sod (surface layer of earth. Bricks were made once the material was hardened to build homes, which were cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

A Hard Life• In 1877, John Deere created the

steel plow. Sodbusters, as they were known used drills to bury seeds, reapers to harvest crops, and threshers to beat the grain.

• Farmers also used windmills to pump water.

New AgriculturalTechnology

“Prairie Fan”Water Pump

Steel Plow [“Sod Buster”]

Farm Families• Role of Men: labored

long hours• Role of Children:

tended animals and helped with chores

• Role of Women: kept house, helped plant and harvest, taught, sewed cooked etc

Exodusters• Thousands of

Exodusters came to the Plains.

• They were known as Exodusters because they felt they were like the Jews fleeing slavery in Egypt (Bible: Book of Exodus)

“Exoduster”Homesteaders

AF AM Moving West

Spanish Speaking Farmers

• Many had been there since before the Mexican-American War

• Mexican immigrants arrived with the coming of the railroads

• Large landowners were known as ricos

Sooners• The federal government opened up

what was once NA Territory in Oklahoma to homesteaders or “boomers” in April 1889.

• A few people known as sooners snuck onto the land early grabbing the best land.

Farmers• Granges were groups of farmers who

met for lectures, sewing bees, and other events. In 1867, local granges joined together to form the National Grange

• Grangers demanded the same low RR and warehouse rates that were given to large farmers

The NationalGrange

Farmers• Farm cooperatives were groups of

farmers who pooled their money to make large purchases of supplies

• Unhappy farmers joined with the labor unions to form the Populist Party, which pushed for social reform

Extra Credit Opportunity

1. Create a poster to lure people to the West.

2. You must choose ONE group from your Ch 17 notes: NOT NATIVES

3. Title4. Slogan to get them to go to the

West.5. Colorful, neat, easy to read!6. Due Wednesday before test +5