Boomtown Gold foundminers go west Merchants move west
Boomtown • Gold found>miners go west> Merchants move west> Stores open> Boomtowns created • Expensive-Money earned then lost to spending and gambling. • Violence, cheating, stealing, and crime common • Few law enforcement • Women opened schools and churches
Ghost Towns • • Gold and other ore runs out Miners leave Merchants close stores and leave Towns were abandoned
Homestead Act • 160 acres of land to farm for 5 years • 12% were single women • Unpredictable weather – No rain or too much rain – Brush fires – Fierce winds – Swarms of insects (i. e. grasshoppers)
Transcontinental Railroad • • Trans- meaning coast to coast Subsidy- gov’t loan to par for R. R. Creation of western towns>large cities Chinese, Irish, Mexican Immigrant workers African American workers Movement of people/goods coast to coast Creation of time zones
Native American Struggles • • Nomadic lifestyle Dependence on buffalo Moved onto reservations and “westernized” Buffalo killed off by R. R. and for sport – Blocked tracks/destroyed trains – Hides and fur sold in eastern cities – Meat fed R. R. workers
Wounded Knee • Dawes Act destroyed Nat. American culture and way of life • Thought to regain strength through Ghost Dance – Seen as threat to soldiers – 300 Native Americans Slaughtered – Only 25 soldiers killed
Battle of Little Big Horn • Lt. Custer orders men to attack Nat. Americans when they refused to move onto reservations • All soldiers are killed by Sioux Tribe
- Slides: 7