Miners, Ranchers, and Railroads

The Big Idea

As more settlers moved West, mining, ranching, and railroads soon transformed the western landscape.

Main Ideas

• A mining boom brought growth to the West.

• The demand for cattle created a short-lived Cattle Kingdom on the Great Plains.

• East and West were connected by the transcontinental railroad.

Main Idea 1: A mining boom brought

growth to the West.

• Americans continued to move west during the 1800s.

• The American frontier (undeveloped Area) reached the Pacific Ocean when California was added to the Union in 1850.

• Settlers built homes, ranches, and farms.

Main Idea 1: A mining boom brought

growth to the West.

• Railroads expanded west to bring western goods to eastern markets.

• Mining companies shipped gold and silver east from western mines.

Mining in the West

Mining became big business with discoveries of large deposits of precious metals, such as the Comstock Lode in Nevada.

Miners from all over the world came to work in the western mines.

Mining in the West

Boomtowns consist of general store, saloons, boarding houses.

Boomtowns grew quickly when a mine opened and often disappeared quickly when the mine closed.

Mining was dangerous. The equipment was unsafe and miners had to breathe hot, stuffy air that causes lung disease. Poorly planned explosions and cave-ins killed and injured miners. Fires were also a threat. Unions formed in 1860’s

From Boomtown to Ghost town

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=D991FEF3-9A78-4873-8611-D1E6BC507AC0&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

Main Idea 2: The demand for cattle created a short-lived

Cattle Kingdom on the Great Plains.

• The increasing demand for beef helped the cattle industry grow.

• Longhorn cattle needed little water and survive harsh weather.

• Joseph McCoy a Cattle rancher in Texas drove herds to Abilene, Kansas, to be shipped east.

• Cattle ranching spread across the Great Plains, creating the Cattle Kingdom that stretched from Texas to Canada.

Joseph

McCoy

Main Idea 2: The demand for cattle created a short-lived

Cattle Kingdom on the Great Plains.

• Ranchers grazed huge herds on public land called the open range.

• End of the Open Range was Competition, the invention of barbed wire, the loss of prairie grass brought an end to the Cattle Kingdom and severe weather.

• Cowboys were workers who took care of ranchers’ cattle.

• They borrowed many techniques from vaqueros, who were Mexican ranch hands.

• Western saddle, lariat and broad felt hats.

Cowboys

• One of their most important duties was the cattle drive.

• Drives would last several months.

– The Chisholm Trail was a popular route for cattle drives.

• Life in cattle towns was often rough and violent.

Cowboys

The Real American Cowboy

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=CEC1158B-127C-40C9-A01D-0C6670D983CA&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

Main Idea 3: East and West were connected by the

transcontinental railroad.

• The growth of the West created a need for communication across the country.

– The Pony Express carried messages on a route 2,000 miles long.

– Telegraph lines put the Pony Express out of business.

Main Idea 3: East and West were connected by the

transcontinental railroad.

• Demand for a transcontinental railroad grew.

– Congress passed the Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864, giving railroad companies loans and land grants.

– The railroads agreed to carry mail and troops at a lower cost.

Into the West Part I

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbtW78K8xLo&feature=related

The Great Race

• The Central Pacific started in San Francisco and worked east.

• 85% workforce were Chinese immigrants.

• Paid $30 a month.

The Great Race

• The Union Pacific started in Omaha and worked west.

• Large numbers of Irish immigrants worked on the railroads.

Into the West Part II

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIdEVBZT0RM&feature=related

The Great Race Dangers

• Central had to cross the mountains.

• Use blasting powder and nitroglycerin.

• Winter had to worry about snow drifts.

• Union-harsh weather.

• On May 10, 1869, the railroad lines met and joined the two tracks with a golden spike at Promontory, Utah.

Into the West Part III

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAY1HNIxA20&feature=related

Growth

• Economic growth and population in the West increased.

• Railroads provided better transportation for people and goods

• They also encouraged people to move west.

• Railroads became one of the country’s biggest industries.

• Standard time zones.

Results of the Railroad

Panic of 1873

• Railroad speculation increased.

• The collapse of railroad owner Jay Cooke’s banking firm helped start the Panic of 1873.

• Many small western railroads were deeply in debt by the 1880s.

Results of the Railroad

Click window above to start playing.