Essential Questions

What was the long drive and Why did the long drive end?

What measures did the government take to support settlement of the

frontier? What were some of the challenges of

farmers living on the Great Plains?

Cattle Become Big Business• Ranchers learned from their Mexican neighbors

how to round up, rope, brand, and care for the animals

• The Texas longhorns was a sturdy and short-tempered breed accustomed to the dry grasslands of southern Spain

• The Spanish settlers raised them for food and brought horses to herd them

Spanish Influences the American Cowboys

• The American cowboy clothes, food, and vocabulary came from the Spanish ranchers:– Vaquero – a rancher who wore spurs attached with

straps to his bare feet and used to control his horse– Chaparreras – leather overalls, later called chaps– Charqui - jerky– Bronco caballo – rough horse that ran wild, later became

called broncos– Mestenos – stray horses that were caught and tamed– Rancho - ranch

Growing Demand for Beef• After the Civil War, the demand for beef

skyrocketed• The Chicago Union Stock Yards opened in 1865,

and by spring 1866, farmers could transport cattle to Missouri

• But there were some problems:– Thunderstorms – lightning could cause a stampede– Rain-swollen rivers that were impassable– Farmers putting up blockades preventing shipment

because they were sick of having their crops trampled

Four Things that Greatly Helped the Cowboys . . .

• The emergence of cattle towns• The development of the “long drive”• The establishment of the Railroad• The invention of the barbed wire

The Cow Tow• The Next year, more convenient routes were

created• Joseph McCoy approached several western

towns with plans to create a shipping yard where the trails and rail lines came together

• In Abilene, he built a three-story hotel, cattle pens, and helped survey the Chisholm Trail– Became the major cattle route from San Antonio,

Texas through Oklahoma to Kansas– 35,000 cattle were shipped along this route its first

year, the next year business doubled– As a result, cattle towns popped up providing much

needed rest and supplies for the cowboys

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The Heyday of the Cowboy

• The meeting of Chisholm Trail and the railroad in Abilene ushered in the heyday of the cowboy

• As many as 55,000 worked in the plains between 1866-1885

• Although folklore describes them as being Anglo-American, 25% were actually African American, 12 % were Mexican

A Day’s Work• Worked 10-14 hours a day on the ranch and up to 14

more hours on the trail• Some were as young as 15• They kept a gun to protect herd from wild animals • Season began with spring roundup

– The cattle were herded into a corral and kept there for days to starve them

– Once starving, they preferred grazing to running away making them more manageable

– Calves were then branded and the total counted

Driving the Cattle

• Long drive – overland transport of the cattle– Lasted about 3 months– Ratio: 1 cowboy per 250-300 cattle– Chuck wagon – the wagon carrying the food and

cooking utensils headed by a cook who set up camp

– Wrangler – person responsible for the extra horses

– Trail boss was in charge of everything and made up to $100 or more a month

Legends of the West

James Butler Hickok• aka Wild Bill• Served as a scout and spy

during the Civil War• Later served as a marshal in

Abilene• Was a violent man who was

shot playing poker• Was holding a pair of aces and

a pair of eights – became known as the “dead man’s hand”

Martha Jane Burke• Aka Calamity Jane• Was and expert

sharpshooter• Dressed as a man• She may have been a scout

for Colonel George Custer, but it is uncertain

The End of the Open Range

• Why did it end?– Overgrazing of the land– Extended bad weather

• Between 1883 and 1887 alternating patterns of dry summers and harsh winters wiped out whole herds

– Invention of barbed wire• Ranchers began fencing off land with barbed wire

invented by Illinois farmer Joseph F. Glidden• It was cheap and easy to use, and it helped to turn the

open range into a series of fenced-in ranches

Railroads Open the West

• From 1850- 1871 – the federal gov’t made huge land grants for the railroads– 170 million acres worth half a billion dollars– In one grant for both Union Pacific and Central

Pacific received 10 square miles of public land for every mile of track they laid in a state and 20 square miles of public land for every mile of track laid in a territory

– In the 1860’s – THE RACE WAS ON!

Two Rail Companies Fight for Land• Both employed Civil War vets, Irish and Chinese

immigrants, African-American, and Mexican-Americans• Central Pacific

– Moved eastward from Sacramento• Union Pacific

– Moved westward from Omaha– In 1868 workers cut their way through the solid rock of the

mountains laying up to eight miles of track a day• Both reached Utah in spring 1869• The Railroad companies began selling the land they

acquired• Agents were sent to Europe to advertise land

– By 1880, 44% of Nebraskans and 70% of Minnesotans and Wisconsins were immigrants

A National Network

• By 1856, the RRs extended west to the Mississippi R.

• 3 yrs later, they crossed through Missouri• In May 1869 people gathered to watch as the

Central Pacific and Union Pacific RRs met at Promontory, Utah

• A golden spike marked the spanning of the nation by the first Transcontinental RR

Central Pacific tracks – red

Union Pacific – blue tracks

Tragedy on the Tracks

• Accidents happened all the time and disease spread fast among the unclean close living conditions of the workers

• In 1888, the first RR statistics were released and the casualties totaled more than 2,000 employees killed and 20,000 injured

Trouble with Time

• Each group of workers in different areas along the tracks operated on their own time with noon occurring when the sun was directly overhead– Noon in Boston was 12 minutes later than in New

York– Travelers across the tracks had to reset their

watches several times

Railroad Time• In 1869, to remedy the time problem, Professor C.F. Dowd

proposed that the earth be separated into 24 time zones– The US contained 4 zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific

• On November 18, 1883 the country synchronized its watches

Checkpoint Question• Which of the following completes the organizer below? A. first use of iron tracks B. encouraged settlement in the Southeast C. advantage to the Northern states during the Civil War D. merged two railroad companies

Transcontinental Railroad

Improved trade and industry

Connected East and West

?

Completed at Promontory Point,

Utah

Checkpoint Question• Which of the following completes the organizer below? A. first use of iron tracks B. encouraged settlement in the Southeast C. advantage to the Northern states during the Civil War D. merged two railroad companies

Transcontinental Railroad

Improved trade and industry

Connected East and West

?

Completed at Promontory Point,

Utah

Homestead Act

• Passed in 1862 - offered 160 acres of land free to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of the household

• From 1862-1900 up to 600,000 families took advantage of the offer

• Several thousands were exodusters – African Americans who moved from the post-Reconstruction South to Kansas

Snakes in the Plains• Private speculators as well as railroad and

state gov’t agents sometimes used the laws for their own gain– Cattlemen fenced open land for their herds– Miners and woodcutters claimed land with natural

resources• Only about 10% of the land was actually

settled by families and not all plots of land were equal– Some land was fertile while other land was dry

and unusable

1889 Oklahoma Land Grab• The gov’t wanted to strengthen its Homestead Act

and actually give land to families• In 1889, a major land giveaway in what is now

Oklahoma attracted thousands of people• In less than a day, settlers claimed 2 million acres in a

massive land rush/grab• Scene from Far and Away about the Oklahoma Land

Grab

The Closing of the Frontier• As settlers kept pouring in to devour land in the west,

some worried about the wilderness– Henry D. Washburn and fellow explorer Nathaniel P.

Langford asked Congress to help protect the wilderness from settlement

• In 1872, the gov’t created Yellowstone National Park• 7 years later, the Department of the Interior forced

railroads to give up their claim in western land holdings

• But by 1880 individuals (not business) had bought more than 19 million acres of gov’t owned land

• 10 years later, the census declared their was no more frontier land

• Frederick Jackson Turner wrote an essay entitled “The Significance of the Frontier In American History” in 1893– American social development has been continually

beginning over again on the frontier. This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating American character.

• What do you think he is arguing?• Do you agree or disagree?

Problems Facing Settlers in the PlainsGuesses?

• Drought• Floods• Wild fires• Blizzards• Locust plagues• Occasional raids by outlaws or Native

Americans

Dugouts and Soddies

• There were not many trees in the Plains region so settlers had to dig into the sides of hills creating dugouts– Sometimes the only sign that their was a home

present was the stovepipe jutting out of the ground• Those who moved to more flat areas made

houses out of stacking blocks of prairie dirt called soddies

• Neither had light or air and were open to pest invasions

Women’s Work• Women worked beside the men in the fields

plowing the land and harvesting the predominant crop – wheat

• They sheared sheep and carded wool to make clothes for their families

• They hauled water from wells that they dug• They made soap and candles from tallow• They canned fruit and vegetables during harvest• They had to be skilled in medicine to treats minor

emergencies like snake bites or cut fingers• They also sponsored schools and churches in an

effort to build strong communities

Technical Support for Farmers• Major Inventions:

– In 1837, John Deere invented a steel plow that could slice through heavy soil

– In 1847, Cyrus McCormick began to mass-produce a reaping machine

• Other Inventions– 1869 – Spring-tooth harrow to prepare soil– 1841 – grain drill to plant the seed– 1874 – barbed wire– 1878 – corn binder

• Effects– By 1890, there were more than 900 manufacturers of

farm equipment– In 1830, producing a bushel of grain took about 183

minutes and by 1900, this took only 10 minutes

Agricultural Education • The Morrill Act of 1862 and 1890 gave federal

land to the states to help finance agriculture colleges

• The Hatch Act of 1887 established agricultural experiment stations to inform farmers of new developments

• Agriculture researchers developed grains for arid soil and techniques for dry farming– Helped the land retain moisture

• Thus the Plains region became known as The “Breadbasket” of America

New Towns and Markets• Towns that were now linked to others began specializing

in particular products– Chicago became known for its stockyards– Minneapolis for its grain– They sold to the entire country now because of the RR

• Other towns were built as pit stops for RR workers– Ex: George Pullman used European worker models to develop

a town that accommodated its workers• It offered stores, doctor offices, and areas for leisure

– George Pullman also built a factory for manufacturing sleeper cars for RR workers to have a car on which they could rest while working away from a town

Farmers in Debt

• Farmers had to borrow money to afford these new machines that would make their job easier and more profitable

• But they had to borrow money to make money• When crop prices were high, they could pay off

their debt• But. . . In times of drought or when prices fell,

they could not

Bonanza Farms• Railroad companies and investors created

bonanza farms which were enormous single-crop farms of 15,000 to 50,000 acres

• Example:– The Cass-Cheney-Dalrymple farm in ND covered 24

square miles.• By 1900 the average farmer had nearly 150 acres

under cultivation• Some farmers mortgaged their farm to buy more

land – this, of course, lead to more debt• Do you think these farms did better or worse

than small farms? Why?

The End Result• Between 1885 and 1890, much of the plains

experienced drought– the large single crop operations couldn’t compete

with smaller farms that were more flexible with the crops they grew

– The bonanza farms slowly folded into bankruptcy• Farmers also felt pressure from rising cost of

shipping grains• Railroads charged higher fees than they did

farmers in the east – and they charged more for shorter hauls

• But all of these challenges brought the farmers together for a common cause to improve their situation

Answer the Essential Questions

Essential Questions:What was the long drive and Why did the

long drive end?What measures did the government take

to support settlement of the frontier? What were some of the challenges of

farmers living on the Great Plains?

The Story of US - Heartland