Post on 29-Jan-2016
Westward Expansion Westward Expansion
Westward Expansion TermsWestward Expansion Terms“The Frontier”Great PlainsPush and Pull Factors Gold Rush Klondike Gold RushTranscontinental
RailroadChinese Exclusion
Act of 1882Ranchers and Open
RangeHomestead Act of
1862
Federal Government’s Policy Towards Native Americans
ReservationsDawes Act of 1887American Indian ActIndian WarsLittle Big HornWounded KneeFrederick Jackson
Turner
The Frontier and The Great The Frontier and The Great PlainsPlains
• The Frontier – is the line separating the settled areas from the “unsettled” areas– What do you think history means by
“unsettled” areas?
• Between the two areas that had been settled prior to the Civil War was referred to as the Great Plains– So what are we going to have to do in order to
settle the Great Plains?
Push and Pull FactorsPush and Pull Factors
Push• Ethnic and
religious repression• Freedom• Discouraged
people could have a new beginning
• Poverty
Pull• Homestead Act
• Amount of cheap and open land
• Economic Opportunity
• Gold
Forces in Populating the WestForces in Populating the West(these will solve or fulfill the push\(these will solve or fulfill the push\
pull factors)pull factors)
• The Mining Industry
• The Railroad
• Cattle and Farming
• Homestead Act of 1862
The Mining Industry The Mining Industry • 1848-1849 The Gold Rush – people flocked to
California for the chance to strike it rich with gold • 1896 the Klondike Gold Rush – gold was discovered
along the Klondike River near Alaska and created a rush of people to the Yukon– The journey was so long and cold that only 30,000
of 100,000 completed the journey • Other metals (silver, copper, lead) were made in the
Rocky Mountains and Black Hills • Mining Towns or Boom Towns popped up and
disappeared all along the mine deposits
The Railroad The Railroad • May 10, 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad
was completed linking the nation from East to West with the “Golden Spike” at Promontory Point, Utah
• Travel from the East to the West was reduced from several months to just a few weeks
• Smaller support lines (trunk lines) were built branching off of and connecting to the main line
The “Golden Spike” 1896The “Golden Spike” 1896
The RailroadThe Railroad
• Made it easier and safer to go west plus it brought people west to help build the rail lines
• Most of those building the railroad in the West were Chinese immigrants – Created racial tension due to good jobs being
stolen by immigrants • Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 - first federal
law to restrict immigration to the U.S. It prevented further Chinese immigration and denied citizenship to Chinese residents
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
1883 Harper’s Weekly
Ranchers and Open Range Ranchers and Open Range • By the 1870s there were millions of longhorn cattle
grazing on the Great Plains in Texas• Due to the expansion of the railroads cattle could be
driven from the plains to the nearest railroad lines and then shipped to the main slaughter and meat packing houses in Chicago
• As the cattle was driven north they continued to graze on the open land but as the land was settled by farmers who fenced off their land and mother nature dealt bad winters and summers the cattle drive became shorter to keep the cattle alive
The Homestead Act of 1862The Homestead Act of 1862
• Issued by President Lincoln to try and encourage people to move west
• Offered 160 acres of land in exchange for “settling” the land for a minimum of 5 years– What do you think were the requirements?
Life on the PlainsLife on the Plains
What do you think was What do you think was the biggest problem the biggest problem for people moving to for people moving to
and living in the West?and living in the West?
Native-Americans
Federal Government’s Policy Federal Government’s Policy Towards Native AmericansTowards Native Americans
• Removal – move them further and further West and place them on Reservations – land that was of poor quality and quantity
• “Americanization” – force them to adopt “mainstream” customs (assimilation)
• Elimination – kill off the tribes that fight back and the buffalo that were the life blood of the natives
The Dawes Act of 1887The Dawes Act of 1887
• Abolished Native American tribes • Provided each family with 160 acres of land
on a reservation • The idea was to convert from tribe owned
land to private property owned by individuals
• The land that Natives were forced off of was then sold to the highest (non-Native) bidder
Dawes Severalty Act of 1887
Example of AssimilationExample of AssimilationNavajo Tom TorlinoNavajo Tom Torlino
American Indian Citizenship ActAmerican Indian Citizenship Act(1924)(1924)
• Granted citizenship to Native-Americans without requiring them to give up their tribal lands or customs as the Dawes Act had required
Elimination = Elimination = Indian WarsIndian Wars
• From 1860 to 1890 • Federal Troops vs. Native-American tribes
resisting removal and Americanization • Battle of Little Big Horn 1876 – Sioux warriors
led by Crazy Horse defeated General Custer’s troops
• Massacre at Wounded Knee 1890 – 300 unarmed Sioux men, women, and children were killed by federal troop when they did not stop performing the Ghost Dance
Buffalo GenocideBuffalo Genocide
Frederick Jackson Frederick Jackson TurnerTurner
Frontier ThesisFrontier Thesis
““Now the frontier has gone and Now the frontier has gone and with its going has closed the first with its going has closed the first
period of American history.”period of American history.”
American Progress, American Progress, 18721872