A Growing AmericaUnit 6

America Moves WestChapter 18

Miners, Ranchers, and Railroads

The Big Idea

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

Key Terms

frontier

Comstock Lode

Boomtowns

Cattle Kingdom

Cattle drive

Chisholm Trail

Pony Express

Transcontinental railroad

Section 1

Mining Boom Brings Growth

After the war, population

increases and moves west

California added in 1850

Frontier spreads to the

Pacific Ocean

The western landscape

changes

Settlement

Technology

Natural Resources

Mining: Big Business

Comstock Lode

1859, Henry Comstock

discovers gold and silver in

Nevada

Caused thousands of

Californians to move to

Nevada

Big Business

Equipment is expensive, so

large companies buy land

and run the mining business

Mining: Danger! Mines become bigger and deeper

Work is dangerous!

Unsafe equipment

Elevator platforms w/o walls

Environment

Dark tunnels

Hot and stuffy air

Explosions & cave-ins

Fires

Health

Lung disease

Injury & death

Mining: Settlers

Came from all over the

world

Eastern U.S.

Europe

Central & South America

Asia

Many Mexican immigrants

were experienced miners

Mining: New Towns

Boomtowns

Communities that grew

suddenly (“BOOM”ed)

when a mine opened

General store

Saloon

Boardinghouse

Few women or families

Women that did move

there helped to make

them into permanent

towns

The Cattle Kingdom

Growing economy +

population = give us the

beef!

Texas $3-6

Kansas $38

New York $80

Most popular breed was the

longhorn

Needed little water

Survive harsh weather

How do you move them from

Texas to the east coast?

The Cattle Kingdom

1867 – Joseph McCoy

builds a cattle pen

Abiliene, Kansas

Kansas Pacific

Railroad line

Ranching expanded

to the Midwest

Cattle Kingdom –Great Plains from Texas

to Canada in the late

1800s

The Cattle Kingdom –

Importance of Cowboys

Cowhands/cowboys –

Workers who took care of the ranchers’ cattle

Borrowed techniques from vaqueros

Western saddle and lasso

Cattle Drive

Important and dangerous duty

Long journey to herd cattle to market or grazing

The Cattle Kingdom –

Importance of Cowboys

Chisholm Trail

San Antonio, TX to

Abilene, KS is one of the

first and most popular

routes

Cowboy Life

Can be rowdy, rough,

and violent

Disorderly behavior

The Cattle Kingdom –

End of the Open Range

Competition lead to a

battle for “open range”

1874: barbed wire allows for

the cheap fencing off of

land

1885-1886: DISASTER!

Cattle overfeed

Severe winters

Thousands of cattle die

and many ranchers are

ruined

Transportation

Moving west = greater

need for transportation

1860: The Pony Express

Messengers on horseback

relay over 2,000 miles

Telegraph lines replace

the pony express

The Transcontinental Railroad

Transcontinental railroad

Railroad that would cross

the continent

Pacific Railway Acts

1862, 1864

Railroads receive loans

and land grants

Government money in

exchange for U.S. mail

and troop transport

The Transcontinental Railroad:

The Race

Central Pacific vs. Union

Pacific

Central builds east from

Sacramento, CA

85% Chinese immigrants

Paid less, more

dangerous work

Pacific builds west from

Omaha, NE

Irish immigrants

The Transcontinental Railroad:

The Challenges

Geographic Challenges

Mountain ranges

Snowdrifts

Company Pressure

Expected to lay 250 miles

of track in six months

Employee Relations

Providing food and

supplies for workers

Shot 1,000s of buffalo to

feed workers

The Transcontinental Railroad:

The Golden Spike

Promontory, Utah

Congress requires the two

rail lines to meet

May 10, 1869, a golden

spike is used to join the

tracks

The Transcontinental Railroad:

The Results

Increased economic

growth and migration to

the West

Transportation for people

and goods

Created a more inter-

dependent U.S. economy

Four time zones are

established in 1883

Railroads are one of the

biggest industries in the U.S.

Wars for the WestSection 2

IF you were there…

In your notes, answer the following journal prompt…

You are a member of the Sioux nation, living in Dakota

Territory in 1875. These lands are sacred to your people,

and the U.S. government has promised them to you. But

now gold has been found here, and the government has

ordered you to give up you land. Some Sioux leaders

want to fight. Others say that it is of no use, that the

soldiers will win.

Would you fight to keep your lands? Why?

Settlers Encounter the Plains Indians

Gov. is pressured to “open” western lands in the mid-1800s

U.S. officials are sent to negotiate treaties with the Plains Indians

Apache, Comanche TX, OK

Cheyenne, Arapahocentral Plains

Sioux northern Plains

All spoke different languages, but used sign language

Settlers Encounter the Plains Indians

Hunting Buffalo

Depended on horse and

buffalo

Most hunted on

horseback with short bow

and arrow

Used buffalo for…

Food

Shelter

Clothing

Utensils

Tools

1850: 75,000 N.A. on Plains

Settlers Encounter the Plains Indians

Struggle to Keep Land

Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)

1st major treaty with Plains

Indians

Treaty at Fort Atkinson, NE

Recognized Indian claims to

most of the Great Plains

Allowed the U.S. to build

forts and roads across their

homelands

U.S. promises to pay for any

damage to Indian lands

Settlers Encounter the Plains Indians

Struggle to Keep Land

Treaties don’t keep the

peace for long

1861: new treaties create

reservations

An area of federal land

set aside for N.A.s

Expected to stay on

reservations

Settlers cross Sioux hunting

grounds, U.S. gov. builds

forts to protect settlers

Sioux bring war

Settlers Encounter the Plains Indians

Struggle to Keep Land

Crazy Horse

Sioux leader

Ambushed and killed 81 cavalry troops (1866)

Second Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)

Agree to close the trail and grant reservation lands

1867 Treaty of Medicine Lodge

Most southern Plains Indians agree to live on reservations

Crazy Horse Memorial – Crazy Horse, SD