The West Transformed

Chapter 15.3

Railroads Open the West

18501850-1871 The Fed. Govt gives away 170 million acres of land to railroads to encourage construction of a transcontinental railroad. Union Pacific and Central Pacific race to lay track for the Transcontinental RR.

Railroads Open the West

Employed:
Civil

War Vets Irish and Chinese Immigrants African Americans Mexican Americans (did the hardest work)

Railroads Open the West

18671867-1869 The Transcontinental RR is completed at Promontory Point. 15 years later the US had 4 transcontinental railroads.

Government Support for Settlement

Homestead Act of 1862

160

acres of land in exchange for cultivating the land for 5 years. 400,000 families took advantage of this opportunity! Homesteaders families that settled on free lands. 160 acres wasnt enough land to build a successful farm in most of the west. There were exceptions (Iowa and Minnesota)

Government Support for Settlement

The Homestead Act wasnt perfect:

Private

speculators, Railroad companies, and government agents used the law for their personal gain. Cattlemen fenced and claimed open lands Miners and woodcutters claimed national resources. About 10% of the land was settled by those the law was meant to benefit.

Government Support for Settlement

1889: Major land giveaway in Oklahoma:

In less than 24 hours land-hungry settlers claimed 2 landmillion acres in a massive land rush. Some took over the land before the government officially declared it open. Oklahoma became known as the Sooner State because many claimed their lands sooner than they were supposed to.

Closing the Frontier

1872 The government set aside land to create Yellowstone National Park. 1879 the Feds force RR companies to give up land they were initially given.

The area of land seized by the govt was equal in size to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland combined.

Closing the Frontier

1880 individuals had purchased over 19 million acres of government-owned lands. government 1893 Frederick Turner published The Significance of the Frontier in American History, arguing that the frontier ceased to exist all the land had been settled.

Challenges of the Plains

Hardships faced by settlers:

Floods Fires Blizzards Locust

plagues Occasional raids by outlaws and Native Americans

Challenges of the Plains

US Population that lived WEST of the Mississippi

1850

1 percent of the national population 1900 30 percent

Challenges of the Plains

Homes of the West:

Dugout

Challenges of the Plains

Homes of the West:

Soddy

Challenges of the Plains

Both types of homes were cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Lack of lumber forced settlers to build these types of homes.

Role of Women on the Plains

Women had MANY responsibilities!

Feeding

and clothing the family Plowing the land and planting and harvesting crops.

Role of Women on the Plains

They

raised animals The milked cows, skimmed cream, churned butter, and made cheese. They sheared sheep, made wool, and sewed or knit clothes for their families.

Role of Women on the Plains

Women had MANY responsibilities! (contd)

Hauled

water from wells (that they helped dig) Canned fruits and vegetables, made sausages and hams Were doctors! They sponsored schools and churches

Technical and Educational Support for Farmers

1837 John Deere Invents a steel plow that could slice through thick soil. 1847 Cyrus McCormick began mass producing a reaping machine he invented.

Technical and Educational Support for Farmers

1874 Grain Drill invented; used to plant seeds quickly and efficiently. 1878 the first successful harvester is patented.

Technical and Educational Support for Farmers

18901890- 900 manufacturers of farm equipment were in business. As new machines were invented, the farming process progressed much faster.

18301830-

it takes 18- minutes to produce a 18bushel of grain 1900 it takes 10 minutes with the use of new machinery to produce a single bushel of grain.

Technical and Educational Support for Farmers

The Morril Land Grant Acts of 1862 and 1890 gave federal land to the states to help finance agricultural colleges.
Texas

A&M (Texas Agricultural and Mining)

Technical and Educational Support for Farmers

Hatch Act set up agricultural experiment stations to communicate new developments in agriculture to farmers in every state.

Technical and Educational Support for Farmers

Research pays off when strains of grain were developed that could grow better on the Plains. The development of grain for arid conditions led the US to become the breadbasket of the world.

Farmers in Debt
Machinery was expensive farmers borrowed to pay for the technical improvements. When the price of wheat was high they could repay their loans when it dropped they couldnt pay it back!

Farmers in Debt

Bonanza Farms enormous single-crop singlefarms on 10,000 acres or more of land.

These

are pioneered by railroad titans and investors like George Cass and Oliver Dalrymple. Dalrymple.

Farmers in Debt
Many farmers began to borrow more land to buy more land = MORE DEBT! 1885-1890 terrible drought hits the 1885Plains. Single-crop farms couldnt compete Singlesmaller farms that could switch crops that require less water. Bonanza Farms go bankrupt during the drought.

Farmers in Debt

Farmers had big problems with the railroads:

Farmers

in the west were charged more than farmers in the east. Railroads charged higher amounts for shorter trips (where there was no competition) They claimed it was business.