The Close of the The Close of the FrontierFrontier

HomesteadersHomesteaders

Homestead Act (1862)Homestead Act (1862)

• Act passed by Congress which made public land available to citizens for a minimal cost ($1.25 an acre)

• 160 Acres in return you had to agree to work the land for 5 years

• 400,000 families took advantage of the deal

Oklahoma Land GrantsOklahoma Land Grants

• Oklahoma had been reserved as “Indian Territory”

• Government opened this territory to settlers on April 22, 1889

• 2 million acres were claimed in one day

• “Sooners” - some people cheated and claimed land early

ExodustersExodusters

• African- Americans who left the South for a new life on the frontier

• Led by Pap Singleton

• wanted to escape segregation in the South

The Life of Homesteader-The Life of Homesteader-• Housing

– Very little wood available for construction

– Sod Houses• Used “bricks” of grass

and dirt • Provided insulation

from heat and cold• Very leaky

– Dug Outs• Dug homes into the

sides of hill• Covered the front with

sod bricks

Inventions which helped Inventions which helped FarmersFarmers

– Barbed Wire (1874)• J. Glidden • Protected farmland from

being trampled by Cattle

Joseph Joseph GliddenGliddenJoseph Joseph GliddenGlidden

Inventions which helped Inventions which helped FarmersFarmers

– Steel Plow• John Deere• Helped farmers break up

the hard soil on the plains

An 1859 picture of John Deere's Plow Factory in Moline, Illinois.

John Deere's Factory in Moline, in the 1880's.

Inventions which helped Inventions which helped FarmersFarmers

– The Reaper•McCormick•Threshed

wheat

* While this first machine required only 2 people for operation (a person to ride the horse and a man to rake the cut grain from the platform), it cut as much grain in one day as 4-5 men with cradles or 12-16 men with reaping hooks

Extreme Weather and Extreme Weather and Natural DisastersNatural Disasters– Blizzards in

the Winter– Firestorms– Droughts– “Tornado

Alley”– Locust

Plagues

Emotional and Economic Emotional and Economic PressuresPressures

– Neighbors were not close by– Flat lands – Cabin Fever in the winter– Farming took up all time in the summer

months– Crops and animals could be lost at any time

due to weather– Railroads charged large fees to transport

goods to and from eastern markets– Many farmers borrowed money from banks ---

could not pay debts if they had a bad harvest

Frontier Settlements: 1870-Frontier Settlements: 1870-18901890

Frontier Settlements: 1870-Frontier Settlements: 1870-18901890