Reasons for going west
The American belief that the United States was meant to extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Manifest destiny
Canadian miner who discovered some gold sunken under a pit of water and also found the comstock load
Henry Comstock
While some groups lived in communities of farmers and hunters, most Native Americans were nomads, following the buffalo
Before settlers on the plains
the region of the Great Plains where the primary crop grown was wheat
The wheat belt
Difficulties of Life on the Plains
Sod houses
Many people saw the West as an opportunity to get rich as stories traveled East about people finding massive deposits of gold and silver. What could this be
Mining
A town undergoing rapid growth due to sudden prosperity.
Boomtown
What was some conflict
As settlers from the East moved onto the Plains, they came into conflict more frequently with the Native Americans there
a nickname for farmers that plowed the Plains, used a new method of farming to grow wheat in the dry environment
Sodbusters
Requirements of the Homestead Act
To get the title, settler had to live on the land for 5 years and make improvements
The government wanted people to settle in the Great Plains, and to do so they started a land program.
Open land farming
A group of citizens who protect and monitor individuals often to commit crime
Vigilance committee
In 1862 the Dakota people launched the first major uprising
The Dakota Sioux Uprising
the most used method, in which farmers would plant seeds deep in the ground
Dry farming
Why did people start settling the Plains
Rain follows the plow - cultivating the Plains would increase rainfall
The railroad system throughout the West allowed for rapid transport of both settlers and products throughout the West
Railroads
When a town's sudden popularity ends abruptly leading to population decline
Boomtown going bust
Hundreds of Lakota warriors ambushed the entire unit, wiping them out
Red Cloud’s War
New Technology Helps Farmers
Steel plow
For hundreds of years the Great Plains had been home to nomadic Native American tribes that followed the buffalo to survive
Before the Settlers
People including veterans of the Civil War, immigrants, families, and young people viewed the West as a place where they could lead an exciting life and maybe make a fortune
Adventure
example of boomtown
California gold rush
While they were camped, Colonel John Chivington was ordered to attack the Cheyenne
Sand Creek
With the technological advances, some wheat farms grew to cover 50,000 acres
Wheat Farms Start Growing
Summertime temperature of over 100 degrees, leading to prairie fires
Difficulties of Life on the Plains