Go West, Young Man!

Goals 4.01 - 4.04

Gold Rush

Comstock Lode

Homestead Act

Morrill Land Grant Act

(1862)

Oklahoma Land Rush

Sod houses

Irish immigrants

Chinese immigrants

Cattle drives

Buffalo

VocabularyUnique Experiences of:

• Women• African Americans• Chinese Immigrants• Irish ImmigrantsPromontory Point, UtahTranscontinentalRailroad

Reservation systemBuffalo soldiersSand Creek MassacreBattle of Little Big HornSitting BullDawes Severalty ActChief JosephNez PercéHelen Hunt Jackson’sA Century of DishonorWounded Knee

The Great West and the Rise of the Debtor (1860-1896) - The learner will evaluate the great westward movement and assess the impact of the agricultural revolution on the nation.

Generalizations:Industrialization can impact people, the

environment, and the economy.The government may create policies that

encourage economic growth.Different groups of people may be affected in

different ways by economic growth.

Goal 4:

“Manifest Destiny”Term coined by

magazine editor John Louis O’Sullivan in 1845

Idea that Americans had been given North America by God, who wanted them to settle it all and push out Indians, Mexicans

Trails WestOregon TrailCalifornia TrailSanta Fe TrailMormon TrailBozeman TrailFort Smith TrailGila Trail

Wagon TrainsSometimes employed

guides, sometimes followed guidebooks

Usually no more than 20-40 wagons per train

Covered about 15 miles/day for 5-6 months

Wagons were circled at night to corral animals, not for protection against Indian attacks

Attacks by Native Americans were rare; more trade took place than fighting

The Donner Party87 peopleTook a new,

untested route to California

Trapped by winter snows in the Sierra Nevada mountains

39 starved, rest resorted to cannibalism to survive

The Mormons (a review)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Started in NY, but were victims of persecution

Moved to Ohio, then Missouri, then Illinois

Founder Joseph Smith murdered in 1844

Mormons finally settled near the Great Salt Lake in Utah (which they called Deseret) in 1847

Joseph Smith1805 – 1844Recorder of The Book

of Mormon – received from an angel – which describes how Israelites arrived in America around 600 BC and were later visited by Jesus

Had numerous legal run-ins in Missouri and Illinois which eventually led to his arrest

Murdered by a mob in 1844 while awaiting trial

Brigham Young1801 – 1877President of Mormon

church from 1847 -1877

Founded Salt Lake City, Utah

1st Governor of UtahLed the Mormons west

to Utah to escape persecution

Practiced polygamy, had 55 wives

Oregon TerritoryFirst settlers arrived in

the 1830sOregon Trail well-

established by 18411846: Territory officially

became part of US after the Oregon Treaty ended the border dispute between US and Britain

1853: Territory split into the Oregon and Washington Territories

1859: Oregon admitted to Union as a free state

California John Sutter granted 50,000

acres by Mexican government in 1839, established settlement of Sutter’s Fort, the first American settlement in Spanish California

Purchased from Mexico at the end of the Mexican War (as part of the Mexican Cession) in 1848

Discovery of gold later that year would lead to a rush of American settlers

Became a state in 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850

Gold RushesCalifornia in 1849Pikes Peak in 1858Arizona, Idaho,

Montana, and Wyoming in 1860s

Triggered surges of settlers (mostly men) looking to get rich quick in these states

’49ers & Sutter’s MillAfter discovery of

gold at Sutter’s Mill, over 300,000 gold-seekers called “49ers” flooded into California

Led to rise of San Francisco as a major city, but also to tensions with Native Americans and environmental destruction

The Comstock LodeMajor silver vein

discovered by Henry Comstock in 1859

Virginia City, NV went from zero to pop of 30,000 then crashed when the lode ran out in 1898 (today, pop. = about 1500)

Comstock himself traded away his fortune and later committed suicide

Mining Lures Settlers

Colorado – Silver (over $1 billion, led to development of Denver)

Dakotas – gold in the Black Hills

Montana – copperCreated “boom and

bust” cycles where towns would be built in a short period of time and then abandoned (ghost towns) when the mines were exhausted

The Great PlainsExplored by Maj.

Stephen Long in 1819, who described the area as the “Great American Desert”

With no wood and no water, many believed that the area was useless for settlement and farming

Sod HousesLife was difficultNo trees for wood, so

houses were built from sod – bricks of tough grass; burned sod and dried dung

Little surface water, so settlers had to drill deep wells (300 ft+)

Summer = 100° +, winter = 0° or less

Prairie fires, swarms of grasshoppers, tornadoes, blizzards, thunderstorms

Pre-emption Acts of 1830 & 1841

Many settlers who went west just picked a spot and built a farm – they did not have any legal claim to the land; this is called “squatting”

The Pre-emption Acts protected squatters by guaranteeing them the right to claim land before it was surveyed by the US government (who technically owned all public land) and buy up to 160 acres for $1.25/acre

Homestead Act1862$10 fee laid claim to

160 acres of public land; occupant received title after living there for 5 years

Anyone could file a claim, except former Confederates!

1.6 million homesteads were awarded

Morrill Land-Grant Act1862States were awarded 30,000

acres of federal land for each member of the state’s Congressional delegation

States could use or sell that land to fund the creation of colleges which would teach agricultural and military skills

Colleges started under the Morrill Act include Auburn, UConn, Florida, Georgia, Purdue, Iowa St., Kansas St., Kentucky, LSU, Maryland, MIT, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio St., Penn St., Clemson, Tennessee, Va. Tech, & NCSU

Oklahoma Land RushAs available land in the

west began to disappear, pressure built to open the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to settlers

1889: Congress agreed to open the Territory to white settlers

April 22, 1889: Thousands gathered on the border to race to claim a share of 2 million acres; some (called “Sooners”) snuck into the territory early to claim the best lands

"Far & Away"

Ranching Spanish had introduced cattle to the

region in the 1600s; herds had been left to roam free and had evolved into the tough, lean Texas Longhorns

Most cattle ranching took place in New Mexico & Texas

Early ranchers took advantage of the Open Range , the vast open grasslands of the Great Plains owned by the government

During the Civil War, beef prices soared due to a kill off of Eastern cattle to feed troops

Railroads built in 1860s allowed western cattle to be moved east to meet beef demands

Cattle were driven north out of Texas to railheads in Abilene & Dodge City, KS and Sedalia, MO using routes such as the Chisholm Trail

Cowboys were a mix of former Confederate soldiers, Hispanics, and freed slaves

Women in the West Outnumbered by men, so

they had more opportunities

Could own property & businesses, became influential community leaders

Most were farmwives Some worked as cooks or

laundresses Some worked at “hurdy-

gurdy” houses A few were adventurers,

such as Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane Burke

Born as Libby Thompson in 1855 in Belton, Texas, Squirrel Tooth Alice received her name due to a gap between her front teeth and her penchant for keeping prairie dogs as pets. She was kidnapped as a young girl by the Comanche tribe. Kept for three years, she was shunned by society as a "marked" woman upon her release.

At the age of 14 years old, she ran away to Abilene, Kansas, and became a dance hall girl and prostitute. After marrying Billy Thompson in 1873, she moved from Kansas to Texas to Colorado.

In Sweetwater, she and her husband bought a ranch, and she opened a dance hall and successful brothel. She bore nine children (three of which were said to be her husband's), and retired successfully in 1921 at the age of 66.

Squirrel Tooth Alice

Immigrants in the WestThousands of Irish

immigrants flooded the Midwest in the 1840s through 1870s

Thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived in California to seek job opportunities

Both groups would play a key role in building the West’s railroads

African-Americans in the WestPlayed a major role

in the development of the West

Worked on the railroads

Worked as cowboysSettled in as

farmersServed as soldiers

in the Indian Wars

“Buffalo soldiers”4 all-black regiments

of the US Army created in 1866

Nicknamed “buffalo soldiers” by the Native Americans they fought against for their dark, curly hair and fierce fighting ability, both of which reminded Indians of the buffalo