Why West?
“A Trip to the Yo-Hamite Falls” 1855
Thomas Ayers
One man’s view… William Gilpin,
Governor of Colorado.
Feed a population of 1 billion.
Rains would turn it to a paradise (very low rainfall area)
Become the backbone of the country
John Wesley Powell: the head of the US Geologic survey viewed this as folly. The water out west is in such short supply that it would never support that.
Technology was needed to move water to the area.
Why West? Romantic image of
the “Frontier”. Rail Cattle Gold and mining Science Farming
(Homesteaders) Economic
Opportunity
Problems: Great Plains “Indian
Country” by the government in 1834…
Frontier life
