Bell Ringer – 3/7/08Bell Ringer – 3/7/081. What did the Homestead Act mean

for Americans looking to move West?

2. How did the government acquire land to be issued through the Homestead Act?

3. Why did many African Americans move West? In what state did most Af-Ams settle?

WaterWater

• Short supply throughout the West• New settlers tried to adopt American

Indian practices of building canals, dams, and sloping fields to control water flow

• Some farmers traveled several miles each day to get water for drinking, cooking, washing, & bathing

Water WellsWater Wells• Digging wells was

difficult and time-consuming

• A Nebraska farmer took 2 years digging to reach water 300 feet underground

• Some windmills were used to draw water from the wells

Sod HousesSod Houses• Because trees were scarce in the West,

people built sod houses • They were buildings made from chunks

cut from the heavy topsoil that were stacked like bricks

• Sod was heavy and difficult to work with

WeatherWeather• Climate of the Great Plains caused

hardships for farming families

• Summer heat, droughts, swarms of insects, winter blizzards

• Raging prairie fires were always a fear

HomeworkHomework

• Page 448, #1, 2, & 4a