Class PPT

1. WESTWARD EXPANSION
AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
EQ: How was America transformed as a result of
westward expansion?

2. MINING
Even though the California Gold
Rush was over, people were still
trying to get rich
Gold was found at Pikes Peak in
the Colorado Rockies
Most gold was underground,
therefore mining became a huge
business
A larger company would have
greater success at finding gold
than an individual

3. MINING
Gold and silver strikes created
“boomtowns”
Miners made money quickly and
quickly gambled it away
Once all of the ore from the mines
was gone, “booms” became
“busts” and boomtowns became
ghost towns
As gold and silver mining
decreased, mining for other metals
such as copper, lead, and zinc
increased

4. RAILROADS
Transportation was vital to
mining
Metals had little value
unless they could be
transported
Government gave
“subsidies” (money) and
land grants to railroad
companies

5. A TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
In the 1850’s railroad companies searched for a route to connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
This was an enormous challenge- 1,700 miles of track across the country
Two companies: 1.) Central Pacific Company and 2.) Union Pacific Company
Central Pacific would begin in Sacramento, CA and work east
Union Pacific would begin in Omaha, NE and work west (this would connect to existing railroads in the east)
Work was very difficult and pay was low
Most Union Pacific workers were Irish immigrants and African Americans
Most Central Pacific immigrants were Chinese
A specific crew of immigrants from both sides completed the last 10 miles in 12 hours to finish in time for the
ceremony
The two tracks met at Promontory Summit, Utah
Leland Stanford, governor of California drove a final golden spike that completed the project.

6. A TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

7. THE CATTLE BUSINESS
Ranchers in places like Texas were
herding wild longhorn cattle as a
business
Most of Texas was on the “open range.”
In open range, cattle roam freely
regardless of who owns the land
Demand for beef was high in big cities
($40 per head of cattle)
Ranchers would take “drive” cattle for
hundreds of miles to reach railroads
(“long drives”)
Towns would pop up at the end of cattle
drives, near railroads. These were called
“cow towns”

8. COWHANDS (COWBOYS)
Cowhands rode all day in all kinds of weather
Faced many dangers including violent storms,
“rustlers” who tried to steal cattle, and
stampedes
Many were Civil War veterans who moved
west for a better life
Some were Native Americans
Western cowhands of Hispanic ethnicity were
called “vaqueros”
Vaqueros introduced riding, roping, and
branding
Nat (“Nate”) Love was one of the most famous
He was a former slave

9. THE HOMESTEAD ACT
This was passed to encourage settlement
on the Great Plains
Up to 160 acres were given to a family
who agrees to pay a $10 fee and agree to
live on the land for 5 years
Later laws increased the amount of land
given
Some women and African Americans
claimed homesteads as well
African Americans would claim land to
escape mistreatment in the South
Not all settlers were homesteaders. Some
bought land at a very cheap price.

10. LIFE ON THE GREAT PLAINS
Wood was scarce because there weren't many
trees
Settlers built their houses out of sod (packed
soil)
Extreme climate was a challenge. Some years
would be extremely dry and during some years,
it would flood
During drought, brushfires would spread
Summer would bring clouds of grasshoppers,
which would destroy crops
Winters could be cold and snowy, so families
had to store food
Everyone in the family would work, therefore
children couldn’t attend school regularly

11. NEW FARMING METHODS
Farmers were called
“sodbusters”
They developed new methods
and tools
Dry farming- trapping limited
moisture in the soil. They would
accomplish this by plowing right
after rainfall
John Deere invented the steel
plow to cut through tough layers
of sod

12. OTHER INVENTIONS
Six-shooter: Invented by
Samuel Colt. It was used by
both sides in the Civil War
and by the U.S. Army in
conflicts with Native
Americans
Barbed-wire: Used instead of
wood to build fences
Windmills: Used wind energy
to pump water from deep
wells

13. CONFLICTS WITH NATIVE AMERICANS
1867- The Indian Peace
Commission developed a
policy for moving all Native
Americans to a few large
reservations
Government gave
themselves the authority to
use military force on
groups that refused to
move

14. LIFE ON A RESERVATION
Reservations were managed by
the federal Bureau of Indian
Affairs
Most of the land was unfit for
farming and hunting
Government failed to deliver
quality goods and supplies that
they promised
Native Americans began to
believe that conflict was the only
answer

15. LITTLE BIGHORN
Many conflicts had occurred between
the Great Plains Indians (Sioux,
Cheyenne, Arapaho) and the military
A treaty in 1868 was supposed to
bring peace w/ Sioux but more conflict
erupted over white settlement of the
Black Hills in North and South Dakota
The U.S. promised “no white person
or persons shall be permitted” to
settle in the Black Hills
Rumors began to spread about gold
in the Black Hills

16. LITTLE BIGHORN
The government tried to
buy the Black Hills
Sioux chief, Sitting Bull,
refused
“I do not want to sell any
land…Not even as much
as this”- Sitting Bull as
he’s holding a pinch of
dust

17. LITTLE BIGHORN
In June of 1876, Sitting Bull and
Crazy Horse gathered Sioux and
Cheyenne warriors along the Little
Bighorn River
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel
George Armstrong Custer arrived
w/ 250 soldiers
Custer’s men faced THOUSANDS
of warriors, but he still attacked
Custer and almost all of his men
were killed (“Custer’s Last Stand”)

18. SITTING BULL AFTER LITTLE BIGHORN
The Sioux continued to
fight after Little Bighorn but
the disappearance of
buffalo made life difficult
Sitting Bull worked in a
traveling “Wild West
Show” operated by
“Buffalo” Bill Cody

19. GERONIMO
Born in Mexico
Led his people (Apache)
against colonization of land
against both Mexican and
U.S. settlers
After the Apache were
moved to Arizona, he led
raids on behalf of his people
He finally surrendered in
1886

20. CHIEF JOSEPH
1877- The U.S. ordered the Nez Perce to
move to a reservation in Idaho or be
removed by force
Chief Joseph decided to leave, but before
he could act, a small group from his tribe
attacked and killed settlers
Chief Joseph and others fled to Canada,
knowing they had no chance against the
U.S. Army
The U.S. Army surrounded the Nez Perce
and blocked them from getting food or water
Chief Joseph final surrendered and uttered
the famous words, “From where the sun
now stands, I will fight no more forever.”

21. WOUNDED KNEE
1889- western Native Americans
were performing a ceremony called
the Ghost Dance celebrating hope
for the day where settlers would
disappear and the buffalo would
return
The U.S. government began to get
worried so they banned the Ghost
Dance movement
Officials blamed Sitting Bull and tried
to arrest him
During a scuffle, Sitting Bull was shot
and killed

22. WOUNDED KNEE
After Sitting Bull’s death,
several hundred armed Sioux
gathered at Wounded Knee
Creek
The U.S. sent troops to
Wounded Knee to collect
weapons from the Sioux
Somehow a gun went off and
the army returned fire
200 Sioux and 25 soldiers were
killed

23. ASSIMILATION
Assimilation- blending Native
Americans into white society
Young Native Americans were sent to
boarding schools to learn European
American ways
They were taught how to dress and act
like European American children
They were taught English and
forbidden to speak their native
language
Many were given European American
names

24. DAWES ACT
Authorized the president to divide
Native American land into individual
allotments for Native Americans
Those who separated from the tribe
and accepted the allotments were
granted citizenship
This was meant to assimilate Native
Americans into European-American
lifestyles
“Excess” reservation land after
allotments were sold (even to non-
Native Americans)