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THE AMERICAN WEST 1 Railroad in the west a Railroads built in East first 1850 1860 b Push began for transcontinental railroad hub in Chicago c Why railroads i RR don t need feed rest or care like horses do ii Can be used all night and day and in all seasons iii Are better fit for the topography of the west great plains and rocky mountains d Railroad effect on west 1875 i Migration tourism farming and trade increase 2 Buffalo in west a Travel in large herds b Serve as a food source for Native Americans i Settlers come out west and over hunt animals c Buffalo contract diseases which can spread to cows i Farmers kill buffalo to protect their cattle d Land left from the buffalo herds is claimed for cattle grazing i 5 million cattle in South Texas ii Texas becomes a model for cattle raising iii Cows are worth more in other states 1 Farmers took the long drive to raise cattle in states where they would make more money 3 Kansas City Wild Wild West a Known for cowboys b Cowboys became a symbol for the USA i Thought to be independent and adventurous ii Cowboys originated in South America many are Hispanic or African American iii Cowboys are not Hollywood adventures forced to work long hours for little pay as farmers and herders 4 Ecological Disaster a 7 5 million cattle on the great plains 1880s i Cows destroy native grasses and water holes ii Cause long term ecological disaster b 1876 1886 sees good weather out west i cattle ranches and farms flourish c After 1886 i Blizzards kill cows ii Cattle boom collapses 1887 iii Long dry drought follows 1887 5 Cattlemen stop long drives and start building fenced in ranches a Sheep herding i Cattle herders were aggressive towards sheep herders ii Cattle herders thought sheep would eat all the grass iii Sheep herders move to sierra and rocky mountains to get away from cattle herders 6 Mining a Gold rush in California 1849 i ii Miners moved Eastward from CA to Virginia and Carson City for the great Influx of people to California Comstock Load late 1850 s b Mining areas in these western parts are not states i Create their own laws ii Areas attract more miners traders prostitutes etc c Materials found in the west were needed in the east i Created a bond between both sides of America d Bonanza Ore in Nevada 1859 i Development in Virginia City 1 100 saloons and brothels by 1870 2 Men outnumber women 2 1 3 Ore is all mined by early 1880s 4 Virginia City abandoned to a ghost town 5 Left behind major ecological problems debris poisoned water trees e Portland and Seattle became centers for lumber and produce for CA mining towns gone 1850s 1860s 7 The Great Plains a People moved out west to farm in this area 1860s b Great plains is actually a land of starvation c 100 000 Native Americans lived here i Settlers thought this desolate land was best left for the Native Americans ii Railroad convinced people to go to the great plains by advertising it as a paradise for farming 8 Homestead Act a Designed to settle the west i European immigrants come out west ii Hope is that hardworking families will more to the west to farm and make more money Immigrants brought new strands of crops b c Crops were tolerant of the heat and droughts that came after 1887 9 People came to west for a new start Immigrants and African Americans a b 50 000 African Americans in Kansas i No desire to explore only to settle and tame the plains 10 Women were homesteaders a Came in families i Managed households vegetable gardens cooked sewed clothing b Many women prostituted in mining towns c Push for women s movement out west i Wyoming granted women right to vote 1869 ii Kansas allowed women to be mayor and serve on city council iii Kansas saw first all women city council 11 Many things in great plains were not convenient a People were isolated and had little access to doctors or neighbors 12 Late 19th century growth in technology a Influx of crops b Prices decrease c EXAMPLE there was so much corn people burned it as fire wood instead of selling it 13 Farming Problems a Farmers had disadvantages against RR and big businesses i Many had to bargain with big companies in order to grow and sell b Locusts grasshoppers could strip plains and produce bare c Fires hailstorms tornados d Lack of wood led to building of poorly made sod houses e Not wet enough on prairies to farm when the rainy years ended i New methods for farming rose ii Dry farming meant deep plowing 1 Top soil was dug up 2 Led to ecological problems in the long run like the Dust Bowl of 1930 14 Dry farming was done mostly by large corporations a Too labor intensive for small farmers b Could not work and grow enough to sustain small farmers for the year 15 Crops Introduction of foreign crops lead to nonnative weeds and pests a b Midwest grows 3 5 of US wheat of cattle and sheep and 1 3 of cereal crops 16 Natural wonders of the west a Yellowstone canyons continental divide b Growing fear that the large population would destroy these places i US gives 10 square miles of Yosemite valley to CA for preservation 1864 ii Congress takes back land and creates Yosemite National Park 1890 iii Congress created a public park in Yellowstone valley 1872 c Birth of environmentalism i Ecotourism people going to visit these natural wonders ii RR play a large role in this tourism RR lobbies for parks so that people would have a place to go d Army first ran national parks i evicted Native Americans because they were not part of the natural environment 17 1830 s Indians move from south to Oklahoma territory Indian population lowers a Some marry into white society b c Bureau of Indian Affairs 1824 d Job is to take care of Indians e Dakota Sioux Indians are not granted the money clothing or food they were Dakota Sioux rebelled killing settlers with an overall plan to go to St Paul promised when they gave up their land 1862 i ii Indian raid terrifies people iii 307 Dakota Indians sentenced to death iv Lincoln stopped most of the executions v 38 Indians still hanged Dec 26 1862 vi Largest mass execution in American history vii Remaining Dakota Sioux go to their allies in the west who are living on reservations 18 The Indian Problem a People move out west after the civil war but were faced with Native Americans i Whites are afraid of Native Americans b Whites could fight back and retaliate without worry of interference from the government since Native Americans were not citizens c Sand Creek Massacre 1864 militia leader John Chivington attacked peaceful


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FSU AMH 2020 - THE AMERICAN WEST

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