Looking Into the West Moving West Frontier the

Looking Into the West

Moving West • Frontier “the land or territory that forms the furthest extent of a country's settled or inhabited regions • Harsh weather • Vast area • Native Americans

Transcontinental Railroad • Railway extending from coast to coast • Most of the workers were immigrants • Railroads played a key role in revolutionizing business and industry in the United States: – – Faster means of transporting goods Lower costs of production Creation of national markets Growth of railroads encouraged innovation in other industries

Homestead Act • Signed by president Lincoln • Settlers could receive 160 acres for a fee of $10 • Settlers must meet Special Conditions • The act created more than 372, 000 farms • By 1900, there were 600, 000 claims covering more than 80 million acres

Special Conditions • Had to be 21 years old or head of family • American citizen or immigrants filing for citizenship • Built a house at least 12’X 14’ • Lived on the land for six months out of a year • Farmed the land five years in a row before claiming ownership

Private property • Key incentive to western settlement was the availability of legally enforceable and transferable property rights • The Homestead Act and state and local laws helped limit settlers risks • Land was measured – Registered – Deeded • Cattle branding established ownership

Closing the West Farmers fought hostility from both the cattlemen and Native Americans. Farmers won this battle by enclosing their farms with barbed wire.

Causes Effects Homestead Act of 1862 allowed citizens to claim 160 acres for $10. 00 filing fee and a pledge to live on and farm the land for five years. Between 1862 and 1900 nearly 600, 000 families claimed homesteads The government encouraged completion of the transcontinental railroads by providing land money. The building of the transcontinental rail roads became a race between the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads. The more track each company built, the more land loans it would get. The transcontinental railroads helped speed the settling of the West. They gave hopeful settlers quicker routes to homesteads in the West. The transcontinental railroads helped tie the East and West together. Raw materials from mines, ranches, and (arms could be shipped to the East, while finished goods from the Eastern factories could be more easily shipped to settlers in the West.