HISTORY OF THE WEST Unit 4 Notes Majors Changes in the Great Plains 1850-1880
Dec 19, 2015
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
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
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
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.
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