REASON FOR WESTWARD
EXPANSION
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Opportunities for land ownership
A new beginning for former slaves
Technological advances
Possibility of wealth created by the
discovery of gold and silver
• Adventure
REASON 1&2
Opportunities for land
ownership and new
opportunities for former slaves
How did people’s
perceptions and use of the
Great Plains change after
the Civil War?
Before 1860, those who
crossed the Mississippi
generally traveled all the way
to the west coast. Few settled
in the Great Plains.
Physical features/climate of the Great Plains
• Flatlands that rise gradually from east to west
• Land eroded by wind and water • Low rainfall
• Frequent dust storms
Before the Civil War, the
Great Plains were
considered a "treeless
wasteland".
Homestead Act of 1862
WHAT IS IT?
•gave 160 acres of land free
•had to be at least 21 years of age
Exoduster
•former slaves looking for
better opportunities by
moving out west
REASON 3
Technological Advancements
Barbed Wire
• The invention of barbed wire allowed
farmers to keep cattle from nearby
ranches off their fields and away
from their crops.
The Barbed Wire
Beef Cattle Raising
• In the early 1800s, cattle ranches
began appearing on the Great Plains,
especially in Texas.
Wheat Farming
• Farmers adopted an improved strain
of Russian wheat which required less
water and grew well in the dryer soil
of the Great Plains.
• Invention of Mechanical Reaper
Steel Plows
• With improved steel plows, farmers
could break up the tough soil.
Dry Farming
• Farmers learned they could grow
crops on the dry soil if they plowed
deeply, breaking up the tough sod
with the new steel plows.
Sod houses
• Lacking trees and other materials,
settlers on the Great Plains built their
homes from sod
• a sort of packed dirt held together by
roots and cut into squares.
Windmills
• New models of windmills were used
throughout the Great Plains to pump
water from the ground and to provide
power.
Railroads
• 1860-1890 The railroad network in the US
grew fast.
• The railroad made trade between different
parts of the country easier, encouraging
industrial and economic growth.
• Demand for beef was high, and as
railroads developed, ranchers would drive
their cattle north to meet up with the lines.
Transcontinental Railroad
Which companies helped build the
Transcontinental Railroad and
what were their starting points?
• Union Pacific-built from
Omaha, Nebraska west
• Central Pacific-built from
Sacramento, California east
Where did the two rail lines
meet?
• Promontory Point, Utah
Who was hired to help with the
construction of the railroad?
• Union Pacific-Irish, AfricanAmerican, Germans
• Central Pacific-Chinese
Effects of the building of the
TCR to the Native Americans
• Downfall of Native Americans
• Native Americans were placed into
Reservations
• “Dawes Act”
• Battle and conflicts – Battle of Little Big
Horn, Battle of Wounded Knee
• A lot of Buffalo was killed – Buffalo
Soldier William Cody
Why was the buffalo so
important to the Native
Americans?
jerky
teepees (shelter)
clothes
blankets
shoes
What were the benefits of the
transcontinental railroad?
• carried metal, helped the steel
industry, helped the west be settled,
faster and easier travel to the west,
created the time zones
• most important benefit-faster travel
Paved way for cities to progress
• New England – Textile
Industries
• Pittsburgh – Steel
• Chicago – Meat Packaging
• Detroit – Car Manufacturing
REASON 4
Possibility of wealth through the
discovery of gold and silver
The Pike’s Peak

Found lots of gold
 “Pikes Peak or Bust”
 this began the “Gold Rush”
What was a boomtown?
• A town that sprung up around
the mining site; had saloons,
funeral parlors, and casinos
What was a ghost town?
A boomtown after
everyone left
What effect did women
have on boomtowns?
• Women created schools, stores,
hospitals and entertainment
REASON 5
Adventure
Cowboy Life
• Some people thought that life in the
West was filled with adventure.
Young men were drawn to the
cowboy life.
What were the challenges on the
trail for the cowboys?
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Wind
Rain
Hot sun
Violent storms
Crossing fast rivers
15 hours on a saddle
stampeded
rustlers