Legacy of Railroads and Cattle Kingdom in America

1. WOAHHHH…. Whattt is thattttt????

2. What do you think about this ol’ iron horse???

3. 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

4. RAILROADS Look at the word! • 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 trade Union Pacific Central Pacific

5. 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????

6. 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?...

8. RAILROADS From here, other lines branch out • With growth came huge cities, with cities came more people • Populations so large – territories start applying for statehood…

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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.!!! Hmm… What do I want from them??? Meh… come work for the r&r, won’t ya?

12. CATTLE KINGDOM Wild cattle or longhorns grazed in huge herds across the plains After 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

13. CATTLE KINGDOM cattle 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

14. CATTLE KINGDOM Cowhands: • 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!!!

15. 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.

16. CATTLE KINGDOM The 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. CATTLE KINGDOM • 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…