Settling the West Causes and Effects of settling

Settling the West

Causes and Effects of settling Cause Effect Discovery of Gold in Discovery drew tens of CA & Colorado 1849 -1858 thousands of miners to the west and led to the growth of mining camps and frontier towns

Cause Effect Land grants given to Railroad companies the railroads sold frontier land to farmers at low prices Railroad companies recruited Europeans as well to buy and farm frontier land

Cause Effect Homestead Act & Homestead Act offered related laws passed in 1870’s 160 acres of land free to anyone who would cultivate it for five years Similar acts offered land cheaply or free in states such as Kansas and Oklahoma Also offered in AZ territory

Why would technology be important here?

Cause Effect Inventions & Increased farm improvements in farm technology productivity by decreasing the amount of effort and time required to produce farm goods

Cause Effect Morrill Land Grant Supported farmers by Acts & Hatch Acts financing agricultural education and research in farm technology and methodology

Causes Rapid population growth in the Great Plains (N. /S. Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska) Expansion of railroads, discoveries of gold, farming

Causes Constant displacement of Native Americans to reservations Increase in numbers of western settlers

What hardships can you think of?

Hardships faced by frontier farmers Obtaining enough good land to support family Bad weather (droughts, floods, blizzards) Raids by outlaws & Native Americans Self-sufficient for clothing and medical care Financial problems (debt, bankruptcy, fluctuating prices, rising costs of shipping & equipment)

Key Aspects Homesteader- Settler of the free land “Soddy”- Home settlers lived in; dugout sod homes made from grass/dirt Bonanza farm- Enormous single-crop spreads of 15, 000 -50, 000 acres. Populist Party- Political movement for “the people”, demanded reforms for farmers & workers. -Major feature of party platform: “the right to work”

Fort Laramie Treaty 1851 Treaty between the US Government and Plains tribes that agreed upon land in the Dakotas Did not last long and when government discovered gold and other valuable resources, wars ensued.

Sand Creek Massacre 1864, Cheyenne Tribe Disputes with government over land control over planes territory Military slaughter around 150 defenseless Native Americans in the Colorado Sand Creek Among killed were old men, women, and children

Little Bighorn 1876 Aka- Custer’s last stand Fight between Government and Sioux/Cheyenne forces Natives beat the US in one of the greatest victories for the Indians during the Indian Wars General Custer is killed along with many of his troops

Wounded Knee 1890 Between US and South Dakota Sioux 2 weeks after Sitting Bull was killed Final major battle ends Plains Indian culture in the name of gold, land, and resources

Soddy House

Bonanza Farm

Causes and Effects of Westward Expansion Causes Effects Gold, Homestead Act, Railroad, Railroads, Growing Cattle Industry, Farming, Economic Independence Displacement of Native Americans to reservations, barbed wire

What drew people to Arizona? Gold and Copper mining Ranching & Cattle Coal mining