TensionsTensionsTensionsTensions
Native Americans
Buffalo HuntersRailroadsU. S. Government
Cattlemen Sheep Herders
Ranchers Farmers
TensionsTensionsTensionsTensions
EthnicMinorities
Nativists
EnvironmentalistsBig Business Interests [mining, timber]Local Govt. OfficialsFarmersBuffalo Hunters
Lawlessness of the Frontier
“Civilizing” Forces
[The “Romance” of the West]
Start of Railroad Construction
1862: Pacific Railway Act: authorized the construction of a transcontinental railroad
Railroad ConstructionRailroad ConstructionRailroad ConstructionRailroad Construction
Transcontinental Railroads
• 1866-1869 Central Pacific Railroad Company
moving east from Sacramento, CAUnion Pacific Railroad moving west
from Omaha, Nebraska
How to build railroads?
• Very expensive• Federally funded • A) tax payer funded government
bonds• B) by sale of land given by
government to railroad companies
Ripe for massive corruption and fraud
• Publically funded railroad companies• A) bilked the government by not paying
back loans• B) lied to their investors about rates of
return• C) speculated on land (drove up price and
pocketed the difference)• D) bribed politicians with free stock and
favors for votes and a continuation of land subsidies
Fraud continued:• Union Pacific: formed a mining company
and mined coal for $2.00 per ton and sold it to the company for $6.00 per ton (pocketing the difference)
• Railroad companies paid per mile of track $16,000 for flat, $32,000 for hilly, and $48,000 for mountainous: tendency to go through more difficult terrain
• Used cheap materials that needed frequent repair
Private (Free Market) System better than
government • 1. Britain built entire railroad system privately (It could be done)
• 2. most of the U.S. publically funded companies went bankrupt
• 3. Only profitable railroad companies were privately held: Great Northern Railroad owned by James Hill
• 4. Congress enacted more legislation that hindered efficiency and prevented executives from making sound business decisions
Continued
• Federally subsidized railroads were mired in regulation and handicapped by inherent inefficiencies of government financed public works projects (Lorenzo, How Capitalism saved America, 2004.
““The Big Four” Railroad Magnates (Central The Big Four” Railroad Magnates (Central Pacific)Pacific)
““The Big Four” Railroad Magnates (Central The Big Four” Railroad Magnates (Central Pacific)Pacific)
Charles Charles CrockerCrockerCharles Charles CrockerCrocker
Mark HopkinsMark HopkinsMark HopkinsMark Hopkins Leland Leland Stanford Stanford
Leland Leland Stanford Stanford
Collis Collis HuntingtonHuntington
Collis Collis HuntingtonHuntington
Promontory Point, UTPromontory Point, UT(May 10, 1869) Travel time cut from 3 months to one week: (May 10, 1869) Travel time cut from 3 months to one week:
Ordered by the government to connect rail lines because Ordered by the government to connect rail lines because companies selfishly were trying to continue government subsides companies selfishly were trying to continue government subsides
by building parallel tracks that would not connect.by building parallel tracks that would not connect.
Promontory Point, UTPromontory Point, UT(May 10, 1869) Travel time cut from 3 months to one week: (May 10, 1869) Travel time cut from 3 months to one week:
Ordered by the government to connect rail lines because Ordered by the government to connect rail lines because companies selfishly were trying to continue government subsides companies selfishly were trying to continue government subsides
by building parallel tracks that would not connect.by building parallel tracks that would not connect.
The Bronc BusterThe Bronc BusterFrederick RemingtonFrederick Remington
Black CowboysBlack Cowboys
Colt .45 RevolverColt .45 RevolverColt .45 RevolverColt .45 Revolver
God didn’t make men equal.God didn’t make men equal.Colonel Colt did!Colonel Colt did!
Legendary Gunslingers & Train Legendary Gunslingers & Train RobbersRobbers
Legendary Gunslingers & Train Legendary Gunslingers & Train RobbersRobbers
Jesse JamesJesse James
Billy the KidBilly the Kid
Dodge City Peace Dodge City Peace Commission, 1890Commission, 1890Dodge City Peace Dodge City Peace Commission, 1890Commission, 1890
ProspectingProspectingProspectingProspecting
Mining
• Colorado gold rush in 1859• “Pikes Peak or Bust”• Leadville, Co. (silver, lead, zinc and
copper)• Comstock Lode in Nevada (gold and
silver)• Anaconda Mine, Montana (copper)
Pikes Peak or Bust
Mining Centers: Mining Centers: 19001900
Mining Centers: Mining Centers: 19001900
Anaconda Copper Mining Co. Anaconda Copper Mining Co. (MT)(MT)
Anaconda Copper Mining Co. Anaconda Copper Mining Co. (MT)(MT)
Mining (“Boom”) Towns--Mining (“Boom”) Towns--Now Ghost TownsNow Ghost Towns
Mining (“Boom”) Towns--Mining (“Boom”) Towns--Now Ghost TownsNow Ghost Towns
Calico, CACalico, CACalico, CACalico, CA
TheThe
CattleCattle
TrailsTrails
TheThe
CattleCattle
TrailsTrails
Cattle Drives
• Cattle driven to “railroad” terminals for train rides to the east
• Kansas City, MO• Dodge City, Kansas
• Meat packing industry developed in Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis, MN
Land Use: 1880sLand Use: 1880sLand Use: 1880sLand Use: 1880s
New New AgriculturalAgriculturalTechnologyTechnology
New New AgriculturalAgriculturalTechnologyTechnology
““Prairie Fan”Prairie Fan”Water PumpWater Pump
Steel Plow [“Sod Steel Plow [“Sod Buster”]Buster”]
Barbed Wire: Enclosed property Barbed Wire: Enclosed property much easier than split post rail much easier than split post rail
fencesfences
Barbed Wire: Enclosed property Barbed Wire: Enclosed property much easier than split post rail much easier than split post rail
fencesfences
Joseph Joseph GliddenGliddenJoseph Joseph GliddenGlidden
The Range Wars: The Range Wars: Cattlemen vs. Cattlemen vs.
FarmersFarmers
The Range Wars: The Range Wars: Cattlemen vs. Cattlemen vs.
FarmersFarmersSheepHerders
CattleRanchers