WESTWARD EXPANSION Beyond the Mississippi River 1850 1890

WESTWARD EXPANSION: Beyond the Mississippi River 1850 - 1890

SETTLERS MOVE WEST • Fueled by Manifest Destiny, Fertile land, desire for a new life/adventure, lure of silver/gold • Homestead Act – 1862 – Gov. offered 160 acres of free land to any citizen who was head of household • Oklahoma Land Grab – 1889 = gov. sponsored race for land plots; 2 mil. acres of land in 1 day – Some settlers claimed land sooner than allowed = Oklahoma known as “Sooner State”

RRs OPEN THE WEST • Gov. gives land to RR – 1850 -1871 • Union Pacific & Central Pacific – U. P. - moved west from Nebraska – C. P. – moved east from Cali. – 1860 s – 2 companies began a race to lay track • Tracks met in Utah – 1869 = 1 st transcontinental RR; commeratored w/a golden spike

Communication & Transportation Helped the West • Along w/RRs, steamboats transported materials, goods & people for cheaper rates & shorter times – Robert Fulton = designed 1 st steamboat • Samuel Morse = created 1 st telegraph coded message system • Advancements helped U. S. to stay connected as it expanded

Journey Out West • Watch the video clip and take bullet point notes about the difficulties and challenges Pioneers faced on their journey out West.

SETTLERS FACE CHALLENGES • Major hardships & dangers = droughts, floods, fires, blizzards, tornadoes, N. A. raids • Loneliness • Large debts – crop prices, loans from banks for supplies trap farmers in neg. econ. cycle • RRs take advantage – No competition; ↑ prices • Had to be selfsufficient • Women played key role – Plowed, planted & harvested – Made clothes, soap & candles; canned foods – Treated wounds – Educated the children • Form the Grange as a social gathering center

NEW TECHNOLOGY HELPS ON THE RANGE • Steel Plow – John Deere – sliced thru heavy soil • Reaper – Cyrus Mc. Cormick – cut & harvested wheat quicker • Grain Drill – planted seeds in prairie soil • Barbed Wire – prevented animals from trampling crops & wandering off

Activity: Pioneer/Homesteader 1. Trace the gingerbread figure onto your blank spiral page. 2. Make your figure look like a homesteader (westward expansion farmer/pioneer) by drawing COLORED items onto the homesteader like clothes, etc. AS WELL AS, items in the background scene that would reflect the journey and settlement experience of westward expansion.

3. Write out & finish the following statements from the perspective of the homesteader. Statements must be historically accurate, specific & descriptive about the settlers’ experience. Use the “Westward Expansion” PP notes to assist w/statements. The statements are placed around the outside of the homesteader figure. These are a mixture, not just focusing on one aspect of the westward expansion experience. Perspective statements are not elementary level statements. • • • I hope. . . I see. . . I fear. . . * I believe. . . * I don’t like. . .

SETTLERS UNITE • Common problems = – RRs charge ↑ $$ (lack of competition to keep prices low) – Mortgage farms to buy supplies – Suppliers & banks charge ↑ interest rates

cont. • Solutions = – The Grange – 1867 = turns into a political center to fight RRs & price corruption – Populist Party formed – 1892 (a branch off of the Democratic Party) • Wanted gov. to help w/debt burden & to regulate RRs • Only lasted 4 years • Legacy – 1. a message that the downtrodden could organize & have a political impact; 2. Reforms will be enacted in the 20 th century through the Democratic party

CULTURES COLLIDE • White settlers vs. N. A. • Gov. got involved – Revised N. A. open reservation policy – New treaties w/specific boundaries for tribes – N. A. resisted new restrictions = bloody battles between U. S. Army & N. A. – 1864 – 1890 • Dawes Plan 1887 = broke up open reservation system & sold land to settlers

SUMMARIZE & HIGHLIGHT • Recap what you have learned about this settlement phase (1850 – 1890) of westward expansion.