Westward Expansion (_____________ - ____________)
Westward Expansion
 Following the Civil War, many ___________________________and
_______________________________ continued to move into the
____________________________________________________________
STOP AND THINK: Why do you think someone would move west in 1860? _____________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Great Plains
“as far as the eye can see… millions of acres of treeless grassland.”

Between the __________________________ and the
____________________________________
Physical Features and Climate
 ____________________________________ that rise gradually from east to west

___________________________________ by _____________________ and
____________________

______________

Frequent ______________________________________________________
__________________
Westward Expansion - Reasons to GO:
1. _______________________________________________________ for freedmen
2. Opportunities to _________________________________________
3. _________________________ - discovery of gold and silver
4. Desire for _________________________________________
5. _____________________________- people could live in _____________________________
Reasons to Go #1: Fresh Start for Freedmen
Think about Reconstruction… What was life like in the Southeast region that caused freedmen to
move west?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Reasons to Go #2: Opportunities for Land Ownership
Homestead Act (1862) – ________________________________________________ that gave 160
acres if met certain requirements:
1. __________________________________________, or head of the family
2. __________________________________________ or filing for
3. ______________________ a certain size home and
__________________________________________
4. _______________ the land for _________________________________________________
Reasons to Go #3: Gold and Silver!! BOOM!!
 ________________________called ______________________________ grew overnight

________________________ came from all over

Town life was expensive

Violence was part of ________________________________________ life
Gold and Silver!! BUST!!
 _______________________________________________

A lot of people _______________________ to new sites or back home

Now called _________________________________________
Reasons to Go #4: Adventure
 Who likes Adventure??? The West was exciting and new place.
Reasons to Go #5: Technological Advantages
o Because of new ______________________, people saw the _______________________
not as a “treeless wasteland” but as a vast area to be
_________________________________
1. Dry Farming
o Type of farming that allowed farmers to farm without much_______________________
o Plant seeds _________________________ to get more water
o Popular crops = ________________, corn, and watermelon
2. Wheat Farming
o Wheat doesn’t need much _______________________
o Wheat can be made into _______ which is __________ and can be used to make ______
and ________
3. Steel Plow
o Great Plain ____________________________________________________
o __________ plows weren’t _________ enough
o Harder _______________ make the plow work
4. Windmills
o ___________________________________________: provided water for people and
animals due to ________________________________________
5. Mechanical Reaper
o Mechanical reaper (mower) reduced __________________________________________
and increased production
6. Beef Cattle Raising
o Some areas were good for cow ( ________________________________)
o ___________________________ became the center of cattle ranching
o People in the _______________ wanted to eat _______________
7. Barbed Wire
o Barbed wire was used for ____________________ large ranches and
___________________
o Built quickly and was cheap
o ____________________ fences were expensive and hard to get (few trees for wood)
8. Sod Houses
o Sod = the
__________________________________________________________________
o __________________________________________________________________________
_
o Sod was used on the walls and roof (placed over wood beams)
9. Railroads
o Made it easier to go ____________________
o ____________________ could ship their _________________ to the _________________
___________________________________________________ - linked the east to the west (from
the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean)
o Transported ________________________ and ________________________
o Made __________________________ easier
o Started building _________________________________ in the West
Transcontinental Railroad
o __________________ Railroads: _________________________________________ and
_______________________________________________
o Union Pacific: began in _____________________________________________________
o Central Pacific began in ____________________________________________________
o “Meet me in the middle”
o May 10, 1869: UP and CP met at ____________________________________________.
Leland Stanford, Gov. of California, drove the last spike.
Who built the Transcontinental Railroad?
o Union Pacific - _______________________________________________________
o Central Pacific - ______________________________________________________
10. Telegraph
o Invented by _________________ _________________
o THINK ____________ ____________
o Allowed people to ____________________________ across long
____________________.
o __________________ could travel across the ________________ in a matter of
______________.