Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Chapter 15

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Chapter 15 Section 3: Transforming the West The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Objectives • Analyze the impact of mining and railroads on the settlement of the West. • Explain how ranching affected western development. • Discuss the ways various peoples lived in the West and their impact on the environment. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Terms and People • vigilante – self-appointed law enforcer • transcontinental railroad – rail link between the eastern and western United States • land grant – land given by the federal government for building railroads • open-range system – system in which ranchers did not fence in their property, allowing cattle to roam and graze freely The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Terms and People (continued) • Homestead Act – 1862 law in which the government offered farm plots of 160 acres to anyone willing to live on the land for five years, dig a well, and build a road • Exodusters –African Americans who migrated from the South to the West after the Civil War The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 What economic and social factors changed the West after the Civil War? In the late 1800 s, miners, rail workers, ranchers, and farmers moved to the frontier to build better lives. The industrial and agricultural booms they created helped transform the West. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 The discovery of gold and silver created the first great boom in the West—mining. • Prospectors rushed to the site, hoping to strike it rich. Mining camps quickly sprang up. Many camps grew into thriving communities. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 There were no judges or jails, so miners often set their own laws • In the early days, vigilantes took the law into their own hands. • As towns grew, they hired marshals and sheriffs. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Some towns, however, disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Boomtowns turned to ghost towns when the gold and silver ran out. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Large companies soon took over the mining business from individual prospectors. • Could afford the heavy equipment needed to bring mineral ores out from deep underground • Were supported by the government with cheap land The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 As industries grew in the West, so did the need for railroads to transport goods and people. The railroads soon began work to fulfill a longtime goal—to build a transcontinental railroad linking the East and the West. The government supported this goal through: • loans • land grants The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 In 1863, the Central Pacific headed eastward from Sacramento. The Union Pacific headed westward from Omaha. They finally met at Promontory, Utah, in 1869. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Work on the railroad was difficult and dangerous. But it brought changes to the country. • Tied the nation together • Moved products and people • Industrial • Growth development of towns and cities • Encouraged settlers to move west The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 The railroad boom encouraged another western boom—the cattle boom. For years, ranchers had used an openrange system for raising livestock. • Property not fenced in • Cattle were branded, then grazed freely • Cowboys rounded up the cattle each spring The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Cowboys then drove cattle north to the rail lines, so they could be transported to market. The long, hard cattle drives could last for months. They ended at railroad towns, called cow towns. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 By the mid-1880 s, however, the cattle boom was coming to an end. Reasons the openrange system ended The invention of barbed wire made fencing cheap. The supply of beef exceeded demand prices dropped. Extreme weather led to the death of herds. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Farmers also moved west looking for a better life. Railroad companies and the government encouraged pioneer settlement. Under the 1862 Homestead Act, the government gave land to farmers willing to tend it. Easterners, Exodusters, and immigrants soon poured onto the Great Plains. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Life on the Plains was difficult and lonely. With little wood available, homesteaders made houses from sod. Storms, droughts, and locusts ruined crops. The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 New inventions and farming methods, however, made life easier. • Barbed wire • Stronger • Grain plow drill • Windmill • Dry-farming techniques The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Economic rivalries • Cattle destroyed crops • Sheep ruined grasses • Mining water runoff polluted • Control of resources disputed • Prejudice Social conflicts • Discrimination • Ethnic The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West tensions

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 The last land rush took place in 1889, when the government opened the Oklahoma Territory to homesteaders. “sooners” “boomers” sneaked in early lined up to to take stake claims the best ones The frontier closed in 1890 when there was no more land The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 Section 3 Assessment 1. How did the government encourage the transcontinental railroad? (Pg. 508) 2. How did the railroads affect the cattle industry? (Pg. 509) 3. What were some problems farmers faced on the Plains? (Pg. 511) 4. What was the impact of the last land rush? (Pg. 511) The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West

Chapter Section 3 25 Section 1 1. They provided loans and grants so the railroads could help move the economy more efficiently 2. The railroads helped move the cattle more efficiently 3. Drought, dust storms, insects eating crops, etc. 4. It allowed people to claim land before the frontier closed The Cold. Transforming War Begins the West