• Beaver fur shortage in east, looked to
forests/rocky mountains for beaver.
• Lived lonely lives, sometimes traded with
Indians, some even married them.
• Dangers faced – grizzly bears, attacks
from Indians, freezing rivers
•
1840s – mass emigration to west (Oregon
and California) in wagons
REASONS;
1. 1837 – Depression in East, no jobs
2. East Coast Winters were bad – warmer in
West
3. West sounds more exciting
4. Overcrowded in East, not enough farmland
5. Letters from those in West saying how much
better it was
• Journey = 3000 KM along trails
(discovered by Mountain men)
• If did it in 6 months, considered good!
• 1/10 would die before they reached west
SOME DIFFICULTIES;
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Desert – little water, very hot
Snowfall – major hazard for wagons
Rain – wagons get stuck/damaged
Attacks from Sioux
Disease and illness
Grizzly bears
Running out of food
• Popular idea;
• It said that Americans had a duty to
spread their way of life across the entire
continent. It was what God wanted them
to do. Anyone who went to live in the
deserted areas of the West was following
their Manifest Destiny. If anyone stood in
the way of Manifest Destiny, they were
standing in the way of God,
• Was the desire to get rich the main reason
why early settlers travelled West in large
numbers in the 1840s and 1850s? Explain
your answer.
• - Jim Bridger guided wagon trains across the
West
• - In 1845 John O’Sullivan wrote about ‘Manifest
Destiny’
• - The building of Salt Lake City began in 1847
Comment on both paragraphs –
what’s good and what could be
improved
In some ways I agree that getting rich was the
main reason why early settlers went west. For
example in 1874 gold was found in the Black
Hills. This meant that many whites travelled west
to get as much money as they could.
However in some ways I don’t agree. For example
in 1845 the idea of Manifest Destiny was
invented. This said that it was Americans’ duty to
settle the whole continent. And many people
went west to avoid economic problems in the
east.
• 1849 – mass gold rush ‘49ers’… lots of gold in
California, people went over to find their fortunes
• Built shelters, staked claims – were Americans,
English, Scots, French, Germans, Italians,
Chinese
• Wet and filthy work, crowded, lots of drinking
and gambling, unhygienic
• Surface gold gone, had to mine – dangerous,
pay was low.
• Miner’s committee - punished those who stole
other’s claims (Chinese treated worst)
Past Questions
• 2. Was the desire to get
rich the main reason
why early settlers
travelled West in large
numbers in the 1840s
and 1850s?
• Explain your answer.
• - Jim Bridger guided
wagon trains across the
West
• - In 1845 John O’Sullivan
wrote about ‘Manifest
Destiny’
• - The building of Salt
Lake City began in 1847
3 - Was the growth of
railroads the main
reason why so many
people moved west in
the USA after the end of
the Civil War in 1865? –
15 marks
- The Oregon Trail was a
popular route west
- 1869 the first transcontinental railroad was
opened
- The belief in Manifest
Destiny
MORMONS
• JOSEPH SMITH in
claimed this and
claimed he went and found these gold plates.
• JOSEPH SMITH claimed the
plates
were like pages of a book, each covered with
ancient writing.
• JOSEPH SMITH claimed he translated these
pages and they became the Book of Mormon.
Smith chose several witnesses to write that they
had seen the plates. He then returned the
plates to the hillside.
• Most Americans thought the Mormon
Religious Group would not last but they
had not counted on it’s leader, the guy that
started the Mormon faith, JOSEPH
SMITH.
• He was a brilliant preacher.
• He told his followers to start building God’s
kingdom in America to prepare for the
second coming of Christ.
•Appealed to many people but
UPSET many others!!
•Wherever the Mormons went in
America, they were not
welcome!!!
KIRTLAND, OHIO
• Non mormons did not like that J Smith
used to tell his follower’s they were God’s
people…. They did not trust him.
• Mormons worked hard, became very
successful, people were jealous of their
success
• Banks of Mormon set up – banks
collapsed 1837 – many lost their savings,
Mormons blamed……. Chased to Missouri
MISSOURI
• Mormons were against Slavery – caused
trouble, Missouri = slave state
• Mormons not unfriendly to Indians – many
people were against them…. Rumour they
asked the indians to help them….. Chased
out of Missouri to Nauvoo
NAUVOO, ILLINOIS
• Announced men could marry more than
one wife (polygamy) – non mormons were
shocked, saw it as a sin, feared a
population explosion.
Why hated?
(1) Bank collapse (Kirtland Ohio) 1837
(2) Adding to the Bible (Book of Mormon)/new
religion
(3) Friendship with slaves/Indians
(4) No private ownership (therefore no slaves)
(5) Polygamy (1844 onwards, Nauvoo)
(6) Presidential campaign (1844)
(7) Fast-growing (eg 35,000 in Nauvoo – from
nothing 10 years earlier)
• 1844 – J Smith was put in jail, mob broke
in and murdered him.
• New leader = Brigham Young… decided to
move the people West
• Had read Salt Lake valley - remote
• Had 16,000 Mormons to travel 2250 km –
took an advanced party
• Built winter quarters
• Disciplined journey over – up at 5am, bed
by 8.30pm
• 700 died from starvation or disease
Living at Great Salt Lake Valley
• Sharing land fairly, each family gets a plot,
largest families – largest plots
• Built irrigation system to provide water
• Sent missionaries to get skilled people from east
coast and Europe to join Mormons
• Set up Perpetual Emigrating fund – to give
money and equipment to people travelling to join
us
• Charge travellers who cross the Great Salt Lake
Valley
• Brigham = not completely successful
• 1848 – USA took Great Salt Lake Valley
from Mexico – Young asked if he could
create an independent Mormon state
called Deseret. Gov refused, instead,
made him gov of smaller area – Utah.
• Mormons expected to obey US laws – but
Young with 50 wives not keen to…
travellers complained about prices to cross
More problems
• Social ones – attempts to start manufacturing
industry (to export) didn’t work, schools only
open 3 months of year
• 1857 – Mormon War – troops sent in (fears of
Mormon plot?) – Mormons fought back –
Mountain Meadow Massacre – more troops sent
– Mormons then got sympathy and
compromise/peace reached
• Deal – 1858 – Mormons get full pardon but have
to accept gentile governor
• 1896 – Utah became a state (the price…?)
Past Question;
• How important was Brigham Young in
helping the Mormons overcome the
problems of establishing a permanent
settlement at Salt Lake City in the years
1842-1858? Explain your answer.
- BY – in charge of planning the city / got them
west / gets them sorted after Smith’s death
- Other reasons – engineering of the city / PEF
/ 1858 deal
= farmers who settled on the plains
1860s – people settled in the plains.
PULL FACTORS;
1 – Actions of the US Government
-Homestead Act – gave 160 acres of land to
each family, free if farmed for 5 years
-Timber and Culture Act – awarded an extra
160 acres of land as long as 40 acres
were planted with trees
2 – The actions of the Railroad
Companies;
• 1862 – 2 companies started building
Transcontinental Railroad, lots of
railroads
• Railroad companies given land by US
Gov – selling land at low prices, could
pay for construction…. More and more
settlers
3. Letters
• Letters home from those who had
already settled, encouraging
PUSH FACTORS FROM EUROPE;
• Shortage of good farmland in Norway/Sweden
• Unemployment/poverty affecting Eng, Ger, Irish,
Russians and Scots
• Jews escaping persecution
PUSH FACTORS FROM EASTERN STATES;
• Shortages of farmland in eastern states
• Few jobs for ex soldiers after Am Civil War
PUSH FROM SOUTHERN STATES
• Black Americans still persecuted even through
free
• Crops had failed and people were hungry.
PROBLEMS (some
examples)
SOLUTIONS
Water shortages
Windmills – used to pump water from
underground
Growing crops – planting crops they
had always grown, maize and soft
winter and spring wheats
Dry farming – plough land after heavy
rainfall, leave thin layer of dust over
surface, traps moisture
Wheat – more suitable crop (Turkey
Red Wheat)
Protecting crops
Barbed wire invented 1874
Ploughing – slow, back breaking task
From 1880s – new machinery
developed such as reapers, binders
and threshers
Past Question
What part did new technology play
in the solving the problems of
farming the Plains? Explain your
answer – 12 marks
Past Question - Homesteaders
• 3. Was technology the most important factor in
solving the problems of the homesteaders?
Explain your answer
• - Cyrus McCormick opened a factory
manufacturing his mechanical reaper in 1847
• - The government passed the Timber and
Culture Act in 1873
• - In 1874 Russian migrants introduced Turkey
Red Wheat
Past Question;
• 2. Was the extreme weather the main reason
why it was so difficult for the Homesteaders to
live and farm on the Plains in the 1860s and
1870s? Explain your answer.
• - The Plains were known as the Great American
Desert
• - Thousands of emigrants from Europe settled
on the Plains
• - No rain fell on Kansas between January 1859
and November 1860.
Ranchers = people who own (or manage) large
farms (ranches) where cattle are bred.
How did the Cattle Industry develop? – Part 1:
the cattle drives from Texas
• Texas Longhorn = type of cattle in the south
(was a tough beast) Could survive on dry
grasslands of Texas.1850s Texas was a major
centre for cattle ranching.
• 1861-1865 – was the American Civil War
• Texans went away to fight and Longhorns
were left to wander. By end of war, Cattle
herds were much bigger…. Ranchers
realised they needed a bigger market now
than just Texas
• 1866 – Charles Goodnight and his partner
Oliver Loving successfully drove their
cattle 1000km north from Texas…. To sell
at the Military fort in New Mexico
• There was increasing demand for beef in
the growing cities of the East.
• Railroads were being built on the plains.
They provided links to the giant cattle
market in Chicago and the cities of the
East.
• In 1867 – Joseph McCoy, a Chicago cattle
dealer created a town called Abilene on
the Kansas Pacific Railroad. McCoy
bought cattle at good prices and arranged
for them to be shipped easy on the
railroad for slaughter and care.
Process of a Cattle drive…
1. Cowboys round up the Longhorns on the
Texas ranch. Cattle are checked to see
if they are strong enough for 1200km
drive.
2. Wagon of supplies go with them – coffee,
beans, sugar, cornmeal, flour
3. Some cowboys may be injured on the
way by cattle eg when branding cows
• 4 – At times the herd disappear so
cowboys have to find them
• 5 – Some cattle are often handed over to
the indians so that they could travel safely
through their land.
• 6 - When it rains you cover less than 10
km a day
• 7 – When you get to Abilene – the cattle
traders pay $50 dollars per head of cattle.
• 8 – Cowboys go to the saloons to
celebrate
How did the cattle industry
develop? – Ranching on the
plains
• By the 1870s, ranchers began to move
their cattle herds onto the Great Plains.
Lots of reasons for this;
1. Driving cattle from Texas had become
more and more difficult. Homesteaders
have started to build their farms across the
routes of the cattle trails.
• 2 – A famous rancher called John Ilife has
proved that cattle can survive the long
winters on the Great Plains. He has sold
beef to the railroad builders and to the
Sioux Indians on the reservations.
• 3 – The northern plains are empty. There
are very few homesteaders there. The
Indians have moved onto Reservations.
Hunters have shot many buffalo. The
grass is good and there is plenty of it.
• 4 – The Transcontinental railroad crosses
the northern plains. This makes it easier
to send my cattle to market.
• 5 – The cold winters of the northern plains
kill the disease carrying ticks that affect my
cattle. With healthier cattle I can breed
Texas Longhorns with other, fatter breeds.
How did the cattle industry develop?
The end of the open range
• In the early 1880s – was a boom time
for cattle ranching and huge profits
made.
• However as more ranchers moved to
take more land… they began to worry
about the future.
• Overgrazing – by 1883, so many cattle
were grazing on the plains that the grass
could not grow properly.
• Drought – During the Summer of 1883,
there was a drought. The grass became
very dry and cattle went hungry
• The Winter of 1886-1887 – The awful
winter killed thousands of weakened
cattle. Many ranchers lost their herd and
went out of business.
• Unemployment – The smaller ranches
required fewer cowboys. Many lost their
jobs. The days of the open range were
over.
• Barbed wire fences – After the winter, the
open range was divided into smaller
ranches, each with fewer cattle. Barbed
wire was cheap and strong, was used to
fence the land. Fences made it easier for
ranchers to manage their herds.
• Wind Pumps – wind pumps were used to
supply water. Now the cattle could be kept
anywhere on the plains
Who were the cowboys?
= men who worked on the cattle drives and
ranches
- Many had left the southern states at the
end of the civil war and many were black
Americans and mexicans.
- Worked out of doors in all weathers
- Difficult life and poorly paid
Work of a cowboy
• Cattle branding – As there were not fences,
cattle had to be clearly identified. The cowboys
applied the ranch brand mark to young cattle
• Round up – Cowboys rounded up the cattle in
the spring and summer. They drove the cattle to
the nearest railroad for sale
• Line riding – the cowboys kept watch over the
ranch boundary. They herded stray cattle back
onto the ranch and sometimes had to deal with
cattle rustlers and wild animals.
QUESTIONS;
Why did Texas cattlemen drive their cattle
north during the 1860s?
How did the cattle industry develop?
Why was their and end to the open range?
What work did cowboys do?
Past questions;
• 1 - Use your own knowledge to explain
why cattle drives from Texas began in
1865. (8 marks)
• 1ci What impact did cattle ranching have
on the settlement of the Plains in the years
1865-80? (12 marks)
• 1cii Why did cattle ranching on the Plains
change so much in the 1870s and 1880s?
(12 marks)
PAST QUESTION;
Was Joseph McCoy the most important
individual in the development of the cattle
industry, 1865-85? Explain your answer.
• - In 1846, Charles Goodnight drove 2000 head
of cattle to Fort Sumner to feed the Indians
• - Abilene was founded in 1867 by Joseph
McCoy
• - Hereford bulls were brought from Britain in the
1970s by John Iliff
Past question
• 3. Why did the life and work of the cowboy
change in the years 1865–95? Explain your
answer.
• - In 1866 cattle drives began from Texas
• - By 1880 there were approximately 4,500,000
cattle on ranches on the Great Plains
• - During 1885 and 1886 there were huge losses
of cattle through drought and a severe winter