Chapter 13Settling the West 1865-

1900

Miners

Placer mining-used simple equipment like picks, shovels and pans

Quartz mining-dug deep beneath earths surface..usually done by corporate mining companies

Mining led to the expansion of the West

Nevada, Colorado, Montana and the Dakota territory

“English” land ownership

Native Americans had no formal “land ownership”

When Europeans arrived this posed a problem between the two cultures

The “English” land ownership model was as follows:

• Crown (King-Queen)• Feudal Lords• Lesser Lords• Commoners and peasants

American Land ownership

In the United States we use a type of English format with the Western Territories

•Government•Land companies/Railroads•Homesteaders-ranchers

Ranching

Great Plains became areas for grazing cattle

Longhorn cattle handled the environment

Hispanic cowhands taught many cowboys techniques and showed them tools for ranching

Open range-land owned by the govt. that could be used for grazing

Long drive-process of taking cattle from TX to Kansas for shipment east

Ranch wars

Different groups of cowboys fought over trail routes

Mavericks—stray calves with no brand

Barbed wire-material that allowed hundreds of square miles to be fenced off cheaply and easily

Settling the Great American Desert

Homesteads—land given by the govt for settlement after 5 years title would be given to the Homesteader

Dry farming—planting deep enough for moisture

Homesteaders fought against many odds: Nature Lack of resources Hard economic times

Native AmericansMost were nomads following buffalo

Later many were restricted to reservationsAnnuities were supposed to be paid

by the govt for land take from the Native Americans

Lack of these led to uprisings

Little Bighorn

Dawes ActTried to Assimilate Native

Americans

Reasons for Failure of Native Americans and reservation life

Most Native Americans had very little training in farming or ranching

The allotments they were given were too small to be profitable

They were dependent on buffalo for their life

Many struggled with their new ways of life and wished to remain in their traditional life