westward migration and growth of the united states(benedick)
TRANSCRIPT
Westward Expansion and Growth of the United States
United States Territory Growth: 1810
Reasons for Westward Expansion
• Opportunities for land ownership
• Technological advances (example: railroad)
• Discovery of gold and silver (Goldrush!)
• Adventure
• A new beginning for enslaved African Americans
• Manifest Destiny
– “(It is)…our manifest
destiny to over spread and
to possess the whole of
the continent which
Providence has given us
for the development of
the great experiment of
liberty.”
– John O’Sullivan, 1845
“The Morning Post”
http://www.historyonthenet.com/American_West/images/manifestdestinylarge.jpg
Manifest Destiny
by John Gast, 1872
What is Manifest Destiny?
Homesteaders
Circa 1880 – 1900’s
The Great Plains:“The Great American Desert”
• Physical
Features/Climate of the
Great Plains:
– Land Eroded by Wind &
Water
– Low Rainfall
– Frequent Dust storms
– Flatlands
• Rise Gradually from East
to West
http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/ggr346/text/chapters/ch8.html
Physical Characteristics: Obstacles for the Western
Settlers
● Little Rain, Rivers and Streams that only had seasonal flow
● Treeless Flatlands
● Tough Prairie Soil Eroded by Wind and Water
Lack of Sufficient Water for Humans and Crops to Survive
No Materials to Use for Building a House, a Barn, or to Use for Fuel
Land was Difficult to Cultivate
What Changed?
• Life was very difficult in the Great
Plains. What came about after the Civil
War that gave the settlers success and
made life easier for the settlers?
TECHNOLOGY!
Advancements: Railroads
• At the time of the California Gold Rush in 1848, wagons were the only way to get across the Great Plains.
• The Transcontinental Railroad was built and people could travel across the Great Plains and get products and goods much quicker and easier.
http://simplymarvelous.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/wagon_train-2.jpg
Advancements: Railroads
• Moved natural resources (like copper and lead) to Eastern factories and steel mills
• Also transported finished products to National markets (cities) to be sold
Advancements: Railroads…done!
• “The last rail is laid. The last spike is driven. The Pacific Railroad is completed.”
• May 10, 1869 in Promontory, Utah
• Travel Time = less than 1 week, coast to coast
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/transcontinental-railroad-2.jpg
InventionsNew developments after the Civil War changed the
Great Plains from being a “treeless wasteland” into a
“vast new area” to be settled
Inventions: Barbed Wire
• Barbed Wire
– Became commercially
available in the 1880’s
– Solved the problem of
lack of wood for fences
– Protected Farmer’s Land
and Kept Cattle Enclosed
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/ba/250px-BarbedWirePatentGlidden.jpg
• Steel Plows
– Enabled farmers to cut
through the thick,
tangled roots of the
tough prairie sod
– The Steel Plow allowed
farmers to cultivate the
land
Inventions: Steel Plows
http://www.retiredtractors.com/Plows/RepoPlow.jpg
• Windmills
– Farmers used windmills to mine groundwater for crop irrigation, livestock, & personal use.
– Acted as water pumps to bring water to the arid territory
Inventions: Windmills
http://telosnet.com/wind/images/fanmill.jpg
Adapting to the Land: Sod Houses
• “Soddies”
– Due to the lack of trees in the
Great Plains, there was no
wood for houses
– There was plenty of Prairie
Grass & Prairie Sod, so
settlers learned to construct
houses from bricks of Prairie
Sod
www.sdhistory.org
Adapting to the Land: Sod Houses
Inside a Sod House
http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndirs/exhibitions/pioneer/images/79.jpg
Adapting to the Land: Sod Houses
Homesteaders and their Sod House
http://www.vw.vccs.edu/vwhansd/his122/Images/SodHouse.jpg
Adapting to the Land: Dry Farming
• Dry Farming– Technique developed to
cultivate the drier lands of the Great Plains
– The soil is plowed deeply to allow for slow evaporation of ground moisture
www.solpass.org
Adapting to the Land: Beef Cattle Raising
• Beef Cattle Raising
• Cattle ranching originated
in Spanish colonies
(Mexico) and spread to
the Great Plains via Texas
• Cattle were raised on
large areas of open
grassland unsuitable for
growing crops
Kansas Cattle Market
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-kansas/Caldwell,%20Kansas,%201880s-500.jpg
Adapting to the Land: Beef Cattle Raising
• Longhorns: hardy breed of cattle,
herded north to breed and stock new
ranges (think of the college football
team…the Longhorns!)
• Cowboys herded thousands of cattle
across the Great Plains during the
“Open Range” period
• Railways provided transportation of
goods between the Ranches in the
Great Plains and cities such as
Chicago and New York.http://www.old-picture.com/old-west/pictures/Cowboy.jpg
• Wheat Farming– Russian Wheat was a
hardy crop that adapted
to dry growing
conditions
– The settlers grew it
because it was one of
the only crops that
could survive the harsh
conditions on the
Great Plains.
Adapting to the Land: Wheat Farming
www.cowboyup.com/farming
Adapting to the Land:
Wheat Farming
http://www.winesnw.com/images/horseheaven_early_wheat_farming.jpg
• Due to problems with overplanting, it was a direct cause of the Dustbowl, 1934-1939.
Adapting to the Land:
Wheat Farming
Additional Dust Bowl Pictures
http://www.buffalocommons.org/docs/smenu2/images2/dustbowl.jpg
Impact on Native Americans
• The white settlers took over the Native American land and moved them to reservations, which were tracts of land that were set aside for Indian use; many reservations were on the poorest land, which was hard to farm.
Native American Conflict
• The Sioux under Sitting Bull killed Colonel George Custer at Little Big Horn.
• Geronimo also led raids on settlers until he finally surrendered in 1866. Native American resistance was short, however, since the U.S. Army was too strong.
Conflict
• Chief Joseph surrendered with his Nez Perce tribe after attempting to escape the reservation and flee to Canada.
• The last armed battle between the white settlers and Native Americans was at Wounded Knee where many Indians were massacred. After this battle, the Native Americans lived on reservations. They were not even considered to be US citizens until 1924.
Buffalo
• White settlers realized that the way to control the Native Americans was to kill the Buffalobecause it provided them with everything they needed (clothes, food, shelter, religion and tools).