westward expansion

Westward Expansion

In 1780, 2.7 million people lived in the original 13 states

By 1830, 12 million people lived in 24 states–The average family had five children !!

50 Years Later…

Push Factors

“THE MOTIVATION”

What causes people to leave?

Push Factors to the WestOvercrowding (you need a new place to live)

Need for jobs (displaced workers)

Ethnic/Religious repression

Refuge for outlaws

Push Factors

Think about . . .

What “pushed” you out of bed today?

Pull Factors

“THE INSPIRATION”

What leads people to a particular area?

Land (cheap and plentiful)(you want a new place to live)

Riches (gold, silver, later oil)

Freedom of religion/beliefs

Family connections

Jobs and new opportunities

Adventure!

Or maybe to find love ??

Pull Factors

Think about this . . .

What “pulled” you to SS today?

Incentives to go west included:The Pacific Railways Act–granted railroad company’s 10 square

miles on either side of each track laid west

Morrill-Land Grants– land grants from states to educational

facilities with curriculum tied to agriculture and mechanical arts

– (Texas A&M, Oklahoma A&M etc..)

Incentives to go west included:

Homestead Act – for approximately $10, settlers could have 160 acres of western land, if they met certain criteria:

• American citizens who were 21 years or older, or the head of a household

• Built a home on their lot, and lived in it at least 6 mos. of the year

• Farmed the land for 5 years or more

Why did the government encourage so many Americans to go west?

A belief in the philosophy of Manifest Destiny, which stated that …..

…. God, …, clearly wanted hard–working American(s) to occupy North America. It was inevitable and good that the United States occupy the continent “from sea to shining sea.”

It is, he wrote, “our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.”

John L. O’Sullivan gave these ideas a name: Manifest Destiny.

Were there any specific incentives for groups of people to travel west?

What were some of the issues preventing western expansion?

Financially ExpensiveLong JourneyUncharted TerritoryFear of the UnknownClimate and GeographyNative AmericansForeign Claims to the Land

If we wanted the land, how could we acquire it?

War

Purchase

Theft

Trade

Land Grants

Once we’ve decided to go west, how did we get there?

on steam powered boats

Wagon Trains

On Horseback

Stagecoach

Locomotive

Most often – WALKING!!!

Transcontinental Railroad

Connected the East Coast w/ the West Coast

2 Companies

1. Central Pacific Railroad

2. Union Pacific Railroad

Central Pacific Railroad

Moved east out of Sacramento, CA

Used Chinese Immigrants to lay track

Union Pacific Railroad

Moved west out of Omaha, NB

Used Irish Immigrants to lay track

Transcontinental Railroad

Took 7yrs to complete

May 10, 1869 @ Promontory Point Pres. Grant connected two lines w/ a golden spike

Time Zone were then created to keep trains on time.

Exodusters

Groups of African Am. moved west.

Led by Benjamin “Pap” Singleton

Get away from harsh treatment

Exodusters

Where did they get their name?

BIBLE

– Book of Exodus

Farming

Harsh Conditions

Dry Farming – crops that don’t need much water

Bonanza Farms – farm controlled by large businesses – grew single crop

Mining

Gold & Silver strikes all over the west

Mining towns scattered all over west – mostly men

Mining

Placer Mining – shovel loose dirt into boxes/ pans then run water over it.

Once metals gone towns became ghost towns

Cattle Industry

Growing pop. = demand for more beef

Problem: How to get cattle from TX ranches to railway centers in the north?

Cattle Industry

Long Drive – transporting cattle from ranges to cow towns/ railway centers

Cowboys helped move cattle

Cattle Industry

Farmers against cattle drives

Barbed Wire – invented by Joseph Glidden ended the Long Drive

Populist Party

Created by Farm and Labor Leaders

Populist Party

Increase circulation of $

Unlimited printing of silver

Progressive Income Tax – % of taxes owed increases w/ income

Populist Party

Gov’t control of communication & transportation

8 hour work day

Problems for Western Settlers

Drinking Water – collected rain water–“Prairie Fever” or Typhoid

Solution: Dig Wells–DANGEROUS!

Problems for Western Settlers

Squatters – people who moved onto land that doesn’t belong to them

Women find ways to preserve food, make clothing, soap, & candles

Native American Wars

Indian Removal Act

1830’s Pres. Andrew Jackson removed all major Nat. Am. Tribes to the west of the MS River (Oklahoma)

Trail of Tears

Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, & Seminole

Native American Wars

Many Tribes signed land treaties

They were then put on reservations – federal land set aside for Nat. Am. Tribes

Native American Wars

Apache Wars – began during the Civil War in 1861; lasted 25 years

Apache were forced onto reservations

Geronimo – famous Apache leader

Native American Wars

Sand Creek Massacre – US troops led by Col. John Chivington raided a Cheyenne camp

450 men, women, & children were killed in the raid

Cheyenne tribe will surrender a yr later

Native American Wars

First Sioux War – started in 1866 when gov’t started building a road through their land

Sioux attacked the

men killing 80.

Native American Wars

Sioux agreed to live on a reservation in the Dakota Territory

1875 US gov’t violated the treaty

Allowed gold miners on the land

Native American Wars

Second Sioux War – Sitting Bull & Crazy Horse led a small band off reservation.

Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer- leader of 7th Cavalry; was set after Sioux

Native American Wars

Battle of Little Big Horn – the Sioux had joined forces w/ other tribes

Col. Custer & 200 of his men died in the battle

Native American Wars

In response – gov’t floods region w/ troops

Eventually Sioux returned to res.

Native American Wars

Massacre at Wounded Knee – after Sitting Bull’s death; followers left res. to perform Ghost Dance

7th Cav. sent – killed 200 unarmed Sioux

Extinction of the Buffalo

Railroad – killed to feed workers

Settlers – killed for hides/fun

Gov’t – killed them to starve out Native Am.

Population rebounded

Dawes Act

Gave plots of land to Native Am familiesLand not good for farmingNot interested in farmingAssimilation of Native Americans to white culture.

Indian Territory

Present Day Oklahoma

Gov’t gave away 2 million acres of Indian land to whites in a race

April 22, 1889 – Great Race – over 10,000 settlers raced for claims

Indian Territory

Boomer – settler who rushed into the land legally

Sooner – settler who marked land before the race

illegally

Western Legends

Buffalo Soldiers – name give to African Am. Cavalry

Western Legends

Dime Novels – fictional western stories about real people

Western Legends

Pony Express – Relay mail delivery system

Western Legends

Deadwood Dick

Nat Love

African Am cowboy & rodeo star

Western Legends

Jesse James

Led gang w/ bro

Robbed banks & trains

Western Legends

Billy the Kid

William Boney

Hired Gun

Stole Cattle

Western Legends

Butch Cassidy

Led Wild Bunch

Robbed banks & trains

Western Legends

Sundance Kid

Henry Laughabough

Butch Cassidy’s partner

Western Legends

Doc HolidayJohn HoldiayDentist turned gamblerGunfight @ OK Corral

Western Legends

Wyatt Earp

US Marshall

Doc’s friend

Gunfight @ OK Corral

Western Legends

Bat Masterson

Town Sherriff

Friend of Wyatt Earp

Western Legends

Wild Bill HickockJames HickockTown SherriffKilled playing poker

Western Legends

Buffalo Bill

Bill Cody

Army Scout

Showman

Western Legends

Annie Oakley

Expert markswomen

Part of Buffalo Bill’s show

Western Legends

Calamity Jane

Martha Jane Cannary

Army Scout