Living in the West

The Mining BoomOften the first group of people to arrive in the westMajority male- in 1860 the ratio was 9:1

in Colorado and Nevada

“Boom” towns- pop up almost overnight once precious metal was foundViolence controlled by citizen groups

known as vigilantes

The Mining BoomBig BusinessAfter the rush of individual miners, the only groups able to mine were large

companies who had enough money for large mining equipmentThey needed A LOT of water to run the equipment and when they were down

they would put dirty water back into the system which would anger the farmers

Ghost towns If the precious metal ran out, the towns would empty out leaving all the

shanty buildings and tents making it look like a ghost town

Cattle KingdomOpen Range Ranching –until 1880sBefore farmers came west they were able to let the cows graze on the open

range and then drive them to the closest railroad without running in to barbed wire fences

“Cowboys”- the people who would drive the cow to the railroad, trips would often take weeks, groups of cowboys were often integrated (mix of Mexican, white and African American men)

Long Drive- the final drive to take the cows to the railroadEnd of open range ranching

Supply of beef was ore then the demand driving the price down Extreme weather- brutal winters, droughts during summer

Cattle KingdomClosed Range Ranching- after 1880sOnce Farmers came out to the west they began

building barbed wire fences to keep the cattle from grazing their crops

This made it almost impossible for cowboys to make the long drive

Due to other worsening factors ranchers began settling down on land tracts and growing hay to feed their cattle

Farming FrontierFarmers faced many obstacles when moving west

1. Obstacle: Markets were far away. Solution: Railroads shipped produce to the east2. Obstacle: Lack of wood, clay, or rock for homes. Solution: “sod-houses”- built out of grass and soil3. Obstacle: Lack of wood for fencing. Solution: invention of barbed wire in 18744. Obstacle: Lack of rainfall. Solution: drilling equipment dug wells, and then windmills powered pumps

that brought water to the surface5. Obstacle: Tough, dry soil. Solution: used steel or iron plows and plowed deeper to save surface

moisture in the soil. This became known as dry farming6. Obstacle: Lack of fuel. Solution: burnt buffalo chips (dried manure) for fuel7. Obstacle: lack of manpower. Solution: used machinery (horse drawn harvesters)

Conflicts in the westFamers, Miners, Ranchers and sheepherders were all trying to use the land to benefit themselves and conflicts lead to violence and sabotage

Sheepherders vs. Ranchers Sheep would graze the grass so low that cattle could not eat it=mad ranchers and starving cows

Ranchers vs. Farmers Cattle would graze and trample farmers crops= mad farmers

Farmers vs. Miners Miners would send dirty and polluted water back in to the system and farmers would not have clean

water= mad farmers

Everyone vs. Native Americans= Native Americans dead or dying

Western ImmigrationThe west was the most diverse part of the country at this time (late 1800s)

Ethnic tensions were always lurking

Large cities or towns discrimination was openly displayed Mostly towards Chinese and Mexican In 1879 California barred cities from hiring Chinese Eventually the government will pass the Chinese

exclusion act stating Chinese could no longer come to the US

Closing the FrontierLast land rush in 1889

Oklahoma- last territory to be open by gov for settlement

1890 census Showed the west was no longer uninhabited and that the government no longer had land to give away

Conflicts continue Native Americans WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!! Discrimination against immigrants