Settling the West By: Joanne Barkan

Introduction• The West has a huge

territory about 1.2 billion acres.

• During the 1840’s and 1850’s pioneers went to the West but didn’t settle.

• Before the Civil War the West didn’t seem very becoming, but now it does.

The Early Settlers

• Comstock Lode turned out to be the largest silver deposit in U.S.

• After California’s gold rush of 1849 many people didn’t expect to hear the word gold.

• Gold strikes produced gold rushes which had inspired towns to form.

The Early Settlers

• Mark Twain began his career as a writer in his 20’s.

• In 1862,President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act.

• Immigrants could claim 160 acres if they became citizens.

The Early Settlers

• On May 10,1869 the transcontinental railroad was complete.

• The cause of moving west,and the effect is that they had problems.

• The railroad companies encouraged people to settle in the west.

The Early Settlers

• In the West, railroad companies owned miles of land.

• Settlers rushed to get land in Kansas in 1893.

• In 1889 Oklahoma settlers went down in the great land rush.

The Early Settlers

• In 1900,7 million people owned farms in the West.

• 600,000 people benefited from the Homestead Act.

• Engineers plan a railroad line in 1888.

Living on the Great Plains

• There were many problems people had to experience in the West.

• Like prarie fires,no trees,rattlesnakes,or flash floods.

• Railroad agents told settlers about the positives about the West but no negatives.

Living on the Great Plains• Many droughts had

occurred to the settlers crop.

• Settlers found ways to meet the challenges of the Great Plains.

• Farmers built a new invention called barbed wire. They needed it for wild animals to keep them away.

Living on the Great Plains

• The Great Plains became a bread basket of the world.

• Many people in the Plains did have the things they needed.

• 1860-1900 land increased in the United States.

Living on the Great Plains

• Gro Svendsen a settler wrote about prairie fires in a 1863 letter.

• Settlers faced another challenge like prairie fires.

• One word that could describe prairie fires would be disaster.

Living on the Great Plains

• Between 1860-1800’s the cattle industry was “King of the West”

• The cattle industry stretched North into Kansas then to Colorado.

• Sometimes feuds between families turned into cattle sheep wars.

Living on the Great Plains

• Cattle died in a blizzard during 1886-1887.

• Fences contributed to the end of the open range for animals.

• Ranchers didn’t have enough land to feed the number of animals that they had.

Native Americans Betrayed

• Native Americans lived in the West when settlers lived in 1861.

• In 1865, 12 billion buffalos were on the Great Plains.

• Hunters killed buffalo for food in the U.S. army.

Native Americans Betrayed

• Year after year, the Plain Indians lost their buffalo.

• Plain Indians were forced to live on reservations.

• Many needs were needed from the buffalo.

Native Americans Betrayed

• The battle of Little Bighorn happened in June 25,1876.

• The Plain Indians were able to fight off the U.S. army.

• The Lakota and Cheyenne joined forces to fight back.

Native Americans Betrayed

• Plain Indians turned to a religious ritual called the Ghost Dance.

• The army captured and killed Sitting Bull from the Lakota Indians.

• The Native Americans got betrayed by the Indians.

Native Americans Betrayed

• 200 Lakota died at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

• Susan Picotte was the member of Omaha Nation.

• The last hope of the Plain Indians died at Wounded Knee.

Conclusion

• The period from 1862 to 1890 was a good time in the West.

• During the War at Wounded Knee many died.

• The legends of the West inspired many movies about it to be made.

Questions

• Ch1-1 What was Brigham’s purpose and what group did he organize?

• Ch1-2 Why did people need gold and what did people do when the gold ran out?

• Ch1-3 When was the railroad complete and what did people need it for?

• Ch1-4 Name 3 facts of how the Railroad was a matter of life and death.

Questions

• Ch2-1 What problems did people in the West have?

• Ch2-2 What did women do in the West and what would they do when problems occurred with the food.

• Ch2-3 What did everyone in the West need to know how to do? Explain why.

• Ch2-4 Who was a woman settler who wrote letters?

Questions

• Ch3-1 What settlers arrived in 1861? What war happened after they moved?

• Ch3-2 Name 7 reasons why Plain Indians need buffalo.

• Ch3-3 How many Lakota died & what war did they die in?

• Ch3-4 Who was Susan Piccotte & how did she make a difference in the world?