WESTWARD EXPANSION

of the

United States

Standard 5-2 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the continued westward expansion of

the United States. 5-2.1 Analyze the geographic and economic factors that influenced westward expansion and the ways that these factors affected travel and settlement, including physical features of the land; the climate and natural resources; land ownership and other economic opportunities 5-2.2 Summarize how technologies (such as railroads, the steel plow and barbed wire), federal policies (such as subsidies for the railroads and the Homestead Act), and access to natural resources affected the development of the West. 5-2.3 Identify examples of conflict and cooperation between occupational and ethnic groups in the West, including miners, farmers, ranchers, cowboys, Mexican and African Americans, and European and Asian immigrants 5-2.4 Explain the social and economic efforts of westward expansion on Native Americans, including opposing views on land ownership, Native American displacement, the impact of the railroad on the culture of the Plains Indians, armed conflict, and changes in federal policy.

South Carolina Standards

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OBSTACLES OF THE WEST

Rivers Deserts Mountain Ranges

Major Rivers they traveled through:

Mississippi Columbia Colorado

Snake River

Rivers in west

Why do you think

these were

obstacles?

COVERED WAGONS Pioneers traveled to

beginning points which became known as the

“Gateway to the West.” St. Louis was a famous

starting point.

They also used trails that Native Americans

had used.

Photos of the difficulties

traveling west

Can you imagine?

Other Ways of Traveling West

Explorers and

mountain men

followed the Native

American trails and

wrote guidebooks to

help show the way to

pioneers who came

afterwards. These

trails were traveled

often, which created a

well defined trail.

After the Civil War,

the transcontinental

railroad provided a

way for those who

had the money to

travel to the West.

Migrants first settled on the

west coast and skipped over

the Great Plains.

The Great Plains were

called the “Great

American Desert,”

because it was flat and

dry land. Migrants did

not realize the potential

for farming.

Discuss with your

group:

How were people

able to travel to

the West?

Trails through the mountains were often

impassable during spring rains and winter snows, so

travelers had to leave St. Louis in time to

avoid these conditions.

The climate of the West was also a

challenge to both travelers and

settlers. Weather was unpredictable

(storms, tornadoes).

Obstacles continued once in the West

Cause Effect

Hot, dry summers Drought, dust storms, tons of insects

Snowy winters Spring floods

Early snow or late spring hailstorms

Crops would ruin, lives destroyed

CLIMATE Winter

Bitter cold Deadly blizzard

Spring

Tornadoes Hailstorms Flooding

Summer

Blazing heat Little rain

Fall

Dried grasses Fires

When would you

have wanted to

travel to the west?

Why?

Talk with a

friend!

Based on what you, your partner, & the class discussed, respond in writing… but think a little deeper this time.

When would you have wanted to travel to the west? Why?

Discuss the weather and challenges you may have faced. How would you have gotten there? Explain

in detail. You have 10 minutes for a quick write.

Respond in your notes with this quick write:

Technology of the West

Let’s create a chart for “Technology of the West” to use for the next slides.

Technology What it did How it helped

Picture

Railroads

Steel

Plow

Windmill

Mechanical

Reaper

• Technology helped create the plains into

the “Breadbasket of the country.”

The development of plows and irrigation systems helped with

farming.

RAILROADS

Helped people travel to the west and import/export cattle, people, or crops

Let’s come up with a motion to

remember this

STEEL PLOW

helps cultivate the hard packed earth

Let’s come up with a motion to

remember this

WINDMILL

brings scarce water to the surface

Let’s come up with a motion to

remember this

MECHANICAL REAPER

gathers the crops at harvest

Let’s come up with a motion to

remember this

Let’s practice our

motions to remember

these technologies that

were so beneficial to

people in the west.

Gathers the crops at harvest

Helps cultivate the land

Brings water to the

surface

Helped people travel to the west and

import/export cattle, people, or crops

Windmill

Steel Plow

Railroad

Mechanical Reaper

Match them up!

TRANSCONTINENTAL

RAILROAD

Transcontinental Railroad

Attracted new immigrants to

the US Towns were developed along the railroad

Some of the acreage was

sold to settlers for farming

If you had $$$$, hop on!

Poor immigrants & farmers still

used covered wagons

Cattle Crops

People Railroad companies

owned 1,000s of acres (given to them by the

government)

What were some effects of the transcontinental railroad?

Transcontinental Railroad

encouraged trade and economic growth

provided western farmers with a means of

getting their crops to market

Cash crops(corn and wheat) became

profitable as did the raising of cattle and hogs

transported products to processing centers

helped major industries (flour milling) and

meat processing develop in cities

What happened to the environment?

1. Tracks had an impact on natural environment

2. Coal burning engines required more and more fuel

3. Led to an increase in mining

Pollution –

As industries developed, smoke from factories and wastes from processing

plants polluted the air.

CONFLICTS IN THE WEST

DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN THE WEST

Ranchers & Cowboys

European Immigrants

African American

Mexican Immigrants

Asian Immigrants

Native Americans

Ranchers & Cowboys

Cooperated to develop the cattle industry

Ranchers owned the animals, cowboys drove the herds

Cowboys drove herds: - Across open plains - To the nearest railroad to ship

cattle to processing plants in the east

Eventually the idea of “cattle drives” died out while farming

became a top priority

Townspeople didn’t care for the cowboys & ranchers

After Civil War – farmers settled &

fenced in their land and animals (which

messed up the cattle drives)

Cowboys hated fences.

Some fences were made from barbed wire.

Rustlers – people known for trying to steal cattle from cowboys

Mexican Americans

Southwestern part of US and California coast had both belonged to Spain and then Mexico until the Mexican War in the 1840s

Mexicans - owned property

After war, Mexicans were discriminated against & many lost title to their land

African Americans

Exodusters - encouraged to move to

Kansas

African Americans primarily settled

in Nicodemus, Kansas.

• discrimination in the South

• eager to move west

• After the Civil War, many moved

west in hopes of owning their own

land

European Immigrants • many were too

poor to move to

the West and

stayed in

industrial cities

of the East and

Midwest

• Many settled

with others from

their home

countries

• resented by those

who had been born

in the United

States (nativism)

• formed

communities that

engaged in

cooperative

activities, such as

barn raisings

• helped each other

to be successful in

this new land

Asian Immigrants • searching for gold

• built transcontinental railroads

US government would later pass a law excluding the Chinese from entrance

as immigrants to the United States

Chinese workers

Paid less

Faced discrimination at work sites because of their unique culture

presence was tolerated

attempted to compete with white men in mining

and services

competition for scarce resources and jobs led to increasing prejudices against the

Chinese

Native Americans • In the early stages, Native

Americans welcomed and

cooperated with

explorers of the West.

• It all changed when rich

mineral deposits were

discovered on some

reservations. This drove

more settlers out West.

Americans tried to

resist/fight back these

groups that were on their

land, but conflict

eventually led to a series of

Indian Wars • Native Americans

said the land was

not suitable for

farming & wanted

to keep their

traditional way of

life

In the second half of the 1800s,

farmers and miners claimed the land of

Native Americans that they believed

was theirs.

Native Americans were pushed onto

smaller reservations and some tribes

went to war against the settlers and

soldiers.

Sand Creek Massacre was

one that claimed the lives

of Native American

women and children.

Once silver was

discovered in the Black

Hills, the Native

Americans were driven

out.

SOCIAL & ECONOMIC EFFECTS

The transcontinental

railroad

• http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search?Ntt=transcontinental+railroad

Transcontinental Railroad

The bison population decreased, which greatly affected the life of the Native Americans

because they depended heavily on the animal!!

owners of the railroad

hired riflemen & shot animals

doing damage

iron rails became

damaged by herds of bison

What all do you see in this picture?

Discuss with a partner!

FINAL THOUGHTS OF SOCIAL &

ECONOMIC EFFECTS ON

NATIVE AMERICANS

The treaties between the US

government and Native

Americans granting them

reservations on their tribal land

were often not honored or

recognized by the government.

BATTLE OF LITTLE

BIGHORN

The Battle of Little Bighorn resulted in Native

Americans being forced off their land due to the

discovery of gold. This war was between the

Native Americans and the US army, which created

public support for a much larger military that

crushed Native American resistance in the area.

One tribe tried to flee to Canada

until the US Army had them

surrounded. They were promised

to be allowed to return to

Oregon, but the Army did not keep

their promise and they were

forced to Oklahoma.

In Wounded Knee, South Dakota, the US soldiers

killed 300 men, women, and children.

Native American tribes sent to new reservations

had trouble adapting their culture to the new

lands.

Poverty, starvation, and depression were common

on the reservations.

Reformers tried to make Native

Americans give up their ways

and adopt the “white man”

culture.

They turned these reservations

into farms and they failed.

Reformers also believed the

children should learn the ways of

the “white man.” They were taken

from their families and sent to

boarding schools far away. They

were taught to speak English and

their hair was cut.

As a result of a civil rights

movement among the

Native Americans, the

culture is being preserved

and their rights honored.

Life is still very hard and

many Native Americans

live in poverty.

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