Settling the West By: Joanne Barkan
Introduction• The West has a huge
territory about 1.2 billion acres.
• During the 1840’s and 1850’s pioneers went to the West but didn’t settle.
• Before the Civil War the West didn’t seem very becoming, but now it does.
The Early Settlers
• Comstock Lode turned out to be the largest silver deposit in U.S.
• After California’s gold rush of 1849 many people didn’t expect to hear the word gold.
• Gold strikes produced gold rushes which had inspired towns to form.
The Early Settlers
• Mark Twain began his career as a writer in his 20’s.
• In 1862,President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act.
• Immigrants could claim 160 acres if they became citizens.
The Early Settlers
• On May 10,1869 the transcontinental railroad was complete.
• The cause of moving west,and the effect is that they had problems.
• The railroad companies encouraged people to settle in the west.
The Early Settlers
• In the West, railroad companies owned miles of land.
• Settlers rushed to get land in Kansas in 1893.
• In 1889 Oklahoma settlers went down in the great land rush.
The Early Settlers
• In 1900,7 million people owned farms in the West.
• 600,000 people benefited from the Homestead Act.
• Engineers plan a railroad line in 1888.
Living on the Great Plains
• There were many problems people had to experience in the West.
• Like prarie fires,no trees,rattlesnakes,or flash floods.
• Railroad agents told settlers about the positives about the West but no negatives.
Living on the Great Plains• Many droughts had
occurred to the settlers crop.
• Settlers found ways to meet the challenges of the Great Plains.
• Farmers built a new invention called barbed wire. They needed it for wild animals to keep them away.
Living on the Great Plains
• The Great Plains became a bread basket of the world.
• Many people in the Plains did have the things they needed.
• 1860-1900 land increased in the United States.
Living on the Great Plains
• Gro Svendsen a settler wrote about prairie fires in a 1863 letter.
• Settlers faced another challenge like prairie fires.
• One word that could describe prairie fires would be disaster.
Living on the Great Plains
• Between 1860-1800’s the cattle industry was “King of the West”
• The cattle industry stretched North into Kansas then to Colorado.
• Sometimes feuds between families turned into cattle sheep wars.
Living on the Great Plains
• Cattle died in a blizzard during 1886-1887.
• Fences contributed to the end of the open range for animals.
• Ranchers didn’t have enough land to feed the number of animals that they had.
Native Americans Betrayed
• Native Americans lived in the West when settlers lived in 1861.
• In 1865, 12 billion buffalos were on the Great Plains.
• Hunters killed buffalo for food in the U.S. army.
Native Americans Betrayed
• Year after year, the Plain Indians lost their buffalo.
• Plain Indians were forced to live on reservations.
• Many needs were needed from the buffalo.
Native Americans Betrayed
• The battle of Little Bighorn happened in June 25,1876.
• The Plain Indians were able to fight off the U.S. army.
• The Lakota and Cheyenne joined forces to fight back.
Native Americans Betrayed
• Plain Indians turned to a religious ritual called the Ghost Dance.
• The army captured and killed Sitting Bull from the Lakota Indians.
• The Native Americans got betrayed by the Indians.
Native Americans Betrayed
• 200 Lakota died at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
• Susan Picotte was the member of Omaha Nation.
• The last hope of the Plain Indians died at Wounded Knee.
Conclusion
• The period from 1862 to 1890 was a good time in the West.
• During the War at Wounded Knee many died.
• The legends of the West inspired many movies about it to be made.
Questions
• Ch1-1 What was Brigham’s purpose and what group did he organize?
• Ch1-2 Why did people need gold and what did people do when the gold ran out?
• Ch1-3 When was the railroad complete and what did people need it for?
• Ch1-4 Name 3 facts of how the Railroad was a matter of life and death.
Questions
• Ch2-1 What problems did people in the West have?
• Ch2-2 What did women do in the West and what would they do when problems occurred with the food.
• Ch2-3 What did everyone in the West need to know how to do? Explain why.
• Ch2-4 Who was a woman settler who wrote letters?
Questions
• Ch3-1 What settlers arrived in 1861? What war happened after they moved?
• Ch3-2 Name 7 reasons why Plain Indians need buffalo.
• Ch3-3 How many Lakota died & what war did they die in?
• Ch3-4 Who was Susan Piccotte & how did she make a difference in the world?
