Post on 18-Dec-2015
WOAHHHH…. Whattt is
thattttt????
What do you think about this ol’ iron
horse???
RAILROADS• “Iron horse” to the Indians
– spitting black smoke & moving at stunning speeds
• for people living in mining towns, railroads meant:– supplies– more people ( population)– rapid means of transporting goods & people
RAILROADS
• Transcontinental Railroad: one that stretches across a continent from coast to coast.– 1863 – Union Pacific Railroad- starts in Omaha, Nebraska
& goes west– Central Pacific Railroad- starts in Sacramento, Cali
& goes east– Gov’t aided both lines because it felt
• 1: competition was good for the economy• 2: rails across the country would increase tradeUnion Pacific
Central Pacific
Look at the word!
RAILROADS
• Subsidy: financial aid or land grant from gov’t. – Congress lends $$ & land to railroad companies– Incentive (think DD): for every mile of track, the
railroad companies receive 40 sections of surrounding land per mile
– Upon completion: both companies own about 45 million acres • what about the Indians????
RAILROADS
RAILROADS PROMOTE GROWTH• Both companies meet at
Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869–Golden spike dropped in the
middle to symbolize the first unity– Important national symbol • WHY?...
RAILROADSFrom here, other lines branch out• With growth came huge cities, with cities came
more people– Populations so large – territories start applying for statehood…
RAILROADS
I’VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD
• Trouble finding people to work for either company– laborers were short from Civil War– dangerous conditions– long hours– low pay– storms/ avalanches killed workers– tunnels through mountains took 1 day for a
few inches
RAILROADS
Immigrants (African Americans & Mexicans) the only ones willing to
work
Central Pacific: thousands from China had to go through rugged Sierra
Nevada Mountains
Union Pacific: thousands from Ireland – had to cut through Rocky Mountains
YOUR TURN !!!
You have just been approached by the U.S. gov’t… they want
you to work on continuing the branches of the r&r that runs throughout the country… You
realize that they’ve been having trouble finding people
to work for them….
On the back of your notes, list your contract: 5 CONDITIONS that must be met in order for
you to go work at building the r&r for the U.S.!!!
Meh… come work for
the r&r, won’t ya?
Hmm… What do I want
from them???
CATTLE KINGDOMWild cattle or longhorns grazed in huge herds
across the plainsAfter civil war: demand for beef increased– people in the growing cities in East– miners, railroad crews, farmers & communities in
West
– Longhorns were perfect: • 1. huge• 2. long travel with little water • 3. no winter feeding required
CATTLE KINGDOMcattle drives: trips where ranchers would corral herds of longhorns &
drive them hundreds of miles north to railroad lines
cowhand: employed by ranchers to tend to cattle/ drive herds to
market in good & bad weather
CATTLE KINGDOMCowhands:
– kept cattle moving & round up strays– hot, dirty, tiring, boring (18 hour shifts)– brought packs of horses as they would die off– weather, prairie dog holes, rattlesnakes, thunderstorms– nervous cattle drown during floods/ crossing river– grass fires– stampede– cattle thieves– majority – veterans of the Confederate army– Many had dreams of becoming ranchers, most never got
there– Vaqueros – skilled riders who herded cattle on
ranches in Mexico, California & the Southwest
ALL OF THIS FOR – food, housing & $1 a day!!!
CATTLE KINGDOM
Cow towns: towns along railroad lines where cattle are held in pens until they can be loaded into railroad cars
& shipped to markets in the East.
CATTLE KINGDOMThe end of a mission for cowhands…– saloons, dance halls, hotels, restaurants– a lot of partying/ letting off steam/ celebrating
a job done– sheriffs had hard time keeping peace– doctors, teachers, barbers, artists & bankers
would migrate to cow towns and help them grow into communities
– general store: groceries, tools, clothing, medicine, supplies & goods
CATTLE KINGDOM
• CATTLE BOOM– 1870s– people from the East start to see how
profitable the cattle industry COULD BE
– begin investing in the West & traveling by rail to see their investments
– cattle grows at exponential rate– ranchers let cattle roam openly• ID with branding
CATTLE KINGDOM
• END OF CATTLE KINGDOM• With a growth in curiosity &
investment came more people > more people = more farmers– Farmers begin moving onto the range– Fenced in fields with barbed wire – Ranges become smaller• Don’t forget those gov’t grants too
CATTLE KINGDOM• END OF CATTLE KINGDOM• After time, not enough grass to feed all
cattle– Ranchers had to now buy feed & drive up cost
of cattle meat as a result• This lowered cattle population & sales
– 1886 & 1887 winters killed entire herds of cattle
– summer – severe heat & drought
• Ranchers panic & begin buying land & fencing it in. pretty soon we see the patchwork patterned fields of the Southwest
This is where farmers begin to take over…
CATTLE KINGDOM