Objective 4.01: Compare and contrast the different groups of people who migrated to the West and describe the problems

1. Objective 4.01: Compare and contrast the different groups of people who migrated to the West and describe the problems they experienced. Why did settlers Move West to Great Plains? Pull Factors: – Lure of Gold and Silver – Building of railroads – Lure of Land (farming) Push Factors: – poverty in South after Civil War - Whites felt Indians did not deserve the land

2. Lure of Land • Morrill Act • Homestead Act • Oklahoma Land Rush Objective 4.01: Compare and contrast the different groups of people who migrated to the West and describe the problems they experienced.

3. Objective 4.01: Compare and contrast the different groups of people who migrated to the West and describe the problems they experienced. • Gold and silver • (1859) 1st major U.S. deposit of silver ore, discovered under what • is now Virginia City, Nevada (Comstock Lode) • • prospectors rushed to the area and Mining camps soon thrived • • Businesses that went along with the boom towns sprang up • • Large mining companies took the place of local panning

4. Objective 4.01: Compare and contrast the different groups of people who migrated to the West and describe the problems they experienced. Transcontinental Railroad • Met at Promontory Point, Utah (May 10, 1869) • Revolutionized the American West, making the system of wagon trains obsolete • It served as an essential link for travel • Congress supplying land grants • Chinese & Irish Immigrants as workers – high death rate

5. Objective 4.01: Compare and contrast the different groups of people who migrated to the West and describe the problems they experienced. Driven to US Army outposts, feed settlers, or Railroad depots to ship east in refrigerated cars

6. Objective 4.02: Evaluate the impact that settlement had in the West upon different groups of people and on the environment. Cultures Clash on the Prairie • Destruction of the Buffalo: The most significant blow to tribal life on the Plains • Native American relocation: – Reservation System – American Calvary – African Americans (earned respect of Native Americans)

7. Objective 4.01: Compare and contrast the different groups of people who migrated to the West and describe the problems they experienced. • Life on the Plains • • Women:More active role & more responsibility • Sod houses • • African Americans:Exodusters (1879) looking for fresh start, Buffalo Soldiers who worked for the US Army

8. Objective 4.02: Evaluate the impact that settlement had in the West upon different groups of people and on the environment. Cultures Clash on the Prairie Sand Creek Massacre (1864) While flying a white and US Flag, the military led an attack on the Cheyenne, killing 200 • Battle of Little Big Horn (1876) Gold found in Black Hills Mont. Colonel George A. Custer was ordered to force the Sioux back on to the reservation. The Sioux led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, killed Custer and all of his men • Wounded Knee: 400 Sioux massacred, last major confrontation

10. Objective 4.02: Evaluate the impact that settlement had in the West upon different groups of people and on the environment. Cultures Clash on the Prairie • A Century of Dishonor Helen Hunt published her book exposing how the US govt. broke countless promises to the Native Americans • Dawes Act (1887) An act aimed at “Americanizing” the Native Americans Gave lands to individual, ended idea of tribal treaties Assimilation

11. Objective 4.03: Describe the causes and effects of the financial difficulties that plagued the American farmer and trace the rise and decline of Populism. Farmers and the Populist Movement • The Farmers' Plight – – Drought – Plagues of Grasshoppers – Boll Weevils – Rising Costs of land & Falling Prices for crops – High Interest and Railroad Rates • • 75% of African American Farmers & 25% of White Farmers Were Sharecroppers or Tenant • Increasing productivity led to decline in prices

12. Objective 4.03: Describe the causes and effects of the financial difficulties that plagued the American farmer and trace the rise and decline of Populism. • Farmers and the Populist Movement Farmers Blamed – Discriminatory Railroad Rates – Monopoly Prices Charged for Farm Machinery and Fertilizer – A Oppressively High Tariff – Unfair Tax Structure – Inflexible Banking System • Greenbacks – Civil War money taken out of circulation • Political Corruption – Corporations that Bought Up Huge Tracks of Land

13. Objective 4.03: Describe the causes and effects of the financial difficulties that plagued the American farmer and trace the rise and decline of Populism. Farmers and the Populist Movement • Grange Because of the horrible financial conditions and debt of farmers, it was time for reform. The Grange was an alliance of farmers that assisted in all facets of farming and got Interstate Commerce Actpassed (created Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate rates) • Farmers Alliance Began to organize and spread further than local • Colored Farmers National Alliance & Southern Alliance • Populism Farmers decided to make a change through politics: Increase in money supply, graduated income tax, federal loan program, election of senators by popular votes, single terms for president and VP, secret ballot, and 8 hour workday

14. Objective 4.03: Describe the causes and effects of the financial difficulties that plagued the American farmer and trace the rise and decline of Populism. Farmers and the Populist Movement • William Jennings Bryan: the Democratic nominated presidential candidate and became the Populist candidate • “Cross of Gold” Speech • William McKinley was the Republican nominee: elected in 1896 due to massive financial support • Populism never recovered

15. Objective 4.04: Describe innovations in agricultural technology and business practices and assess their impact on the West and Great Plains. New technological innovations: How did they change society? • John Deere and his steel plow: allowed areas once thought of as not suitable for farming to be worked • Barbed wire: ended the “open range” in cattle farming • Water pumping windmills: allowed farming in areas otherwise devoid of accessible water