Chapter Introduction
Section 1: Miners and Ranchers
Section 2: Farming the Plains
Section 3: Native Americans
Visual Summary
Why Did Settlers Move
West?
After the Civil War, many
American settlers continued
migrating to the western frontier.
The lives of western miners,
farmers, and ranchers were filled
with hardships.
• Why do you think settlers
continued migrating west
when life on the Great Plains
was so difficult?
• When the frontier closed
what effect do you think this
had on American society?
Miners and Ranchers
What economic
opportunities did miners
and ranchers seek?
Farming the Plains
What difficulties might
farmers have faced as they
worked the new land?
Native Americans
Why did conflicts arise
between Native Americans
and the settlers?
Big Ideas
Geography and History Miners and ranchers settled
large areas of the West.
Content Vocabulary
• vigilance
committee
• hydraulic
mining
• long drive
• hacienda
• barrios
• open range
Academic Vocabulary
• extract
• adapt
• prior
People and Events to Identify
• Henry Comstock
• boomtown
Do you feel that people have a right
to take land from others?
A. Yes
B. No
A. A
B. B
0%
B
A
0%
Growth of the Mining Industry
The discovery of gold, silver, and other
minerals attracted thousands of
settlers who established new states on
the frontier.
Growth of the Mining Industry (cont.)
• In 1859 a prospector named Henry
Comstock staked a claim in Six-Mile
Canyon, Nevada.
– He didn’t find gold and sold his claim;
however, the land was full of pure silver
ore.
– The Comstock Lode attracted so many
prospectors that Nevada was admitted as
the 36th state.
Growth of the Mining Industry (cont.)
• Strikes like the Comstock Lode created cities
overnight, also referred to as boomtowns.
– Law and order was enforce by vigilance
committees.
– Once the mines that supported the
boomtowns were used up, the population
dwindled, or it would become a “ghosttown.”
Mining Helps Build a Nation, 1848–1890
Growth of the Mining Industry (cont.)
• Mining also spurred the development of
Colorado, Arizona, the Dakotas, and
Montana.
• Some famous mining areas:
– Pikes Peak
– Leadville
– The Black Hills
– Tombstone
Growth of the Mining Industry (cont.)
• Miners used many different methods to
extract minerals from the rugged mountains
of the American West:
– placer mining
– sluice mining
– hydraulic mining
– quartz mining
Which type of mining had the most
devastating effect on the local
environment?
A. Placer mining
B. Sluice mining
C. Hydraulic mining
D. Quartz mining
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Ranching and Cattle Drives
Ranchers built vast cattle ranches on
the Great Plains and shipped their
cattle on railroads to eastern markets.
Ranching and Cattle Drives (cont.)
• While many Americans headed to the Rocky
Mountains to mine gold and silver, others
began herding cattle on the Great Plains.
– Texas longhorn had adapted to the harsh
conditions of the Great Plains.
– Cattle ranching also prospered on the
Plains because of the open range.
Cattle Ranching and the Long Drive, c. 1870
Ranching and Cattle Drives (cont.)
• After the Civil War, beef prices soared and
ranchers looked for a way to round up the
longhorns and sell them to eastern
businesses.
– If they could move the cattle as far as the
railroad, the longhorns could be sold for a
huge profit and shipped east to market.
– Many long drive trials soon opened.
Ranching and Cattle Drives (cont.)
• The long drives ended due to barbed wire
barriers, an oversupply of animals on the
market, and the blizzards of 1886–1887.
Why was there an oversupply of animals on the
market?
A. It was due to over-breeding.
D. England sent many of their
animals to the open range.
0%
D
C
A. A
0%
B.0% B 0%
C. C
D. D
B
C. The longhorn cattle were
thriving and giving birth to
healthy calves.
A
B. Investors from the East and
from Britain poured money
into the cattle business.
Settling the Hispanic Southwest
The arrival of new settlers changed life
for Hispanics in the Southwest.
Settling the Hispanic Southwest (cont.)
• In place of the mission system in California,
landowners owned vast haciendas.
– After the California gold rush, however,
Hispanic Californians were vastly
outnumbered.
– As they had done with the Native
Americans, settlers from the East clashed
with the Mexican Americans over land.
Settling the Hispanic Southwest (cont.)
– As more railroads were built in the 1880s
and 1890s, the population of the
Southwest continued to swell with
American, European, and Mexican
immigrants.
– In the growing cities of the Southwest,
Hispanics settled in neighborhoods called
barrios.
In which state did the Hispanic
population remain influential in public
affairs?
A. California
A
0%
0%
C
C. New Mexico
A. A
B. B
C.0%C
B
B. Texas
Big Ideas
Group Action After 1865 settlers staked out
homesteads and began farming the Great Plains.
Content Vocabulary
• homestead
• sodbuster
• dry farming
• bonanza farm
Academic Vocabulary
• prospective
• innovation
People and Events to Identify
• Great Plains
• Stephen Long
• Homestead Act
• Wheat Belt
Would you move to unfamiliar territory if it
was the only way you could own your own
land?
A. Yes
B. No
A. A
B. B
0%
B
A
0%
The Beginnings of Settlement
Settlers staked out homesteads and
began farming the region.
The Beginnings of Settlement (cont.)
• The population of the Great Plains grew
steadily in the decades after the Civil War.
– Land once thought to be worthless for
farming was transformed into America’s
wheat belt.
• Major Stephen Long called the region the
“Great American Desert” when he explored it
in 1819.
The Beginnings of Settlement (cont.)
• Several developments undermined the
assumption that the region was uninhabitable:
– Railroad companies sold land along the
rail lines at low prices and provided credit
to prospective settlers.
– Pamphlets and posters spread the news to
city dwellers across Europe and America
that cheap farm land was theirs
to claim.
Farming the American West, 1870–1900
The Beginnings of Settlement (cont.)
– For more than a decade beginning in the
1870s, rainfall on the Plains was well
above average.
• In 1862, the government encouraged
settlement on the Great Plains by passing
the Homestead Act.
– For a $10 registration fee, an individual
could file for a homestead of up to 160
acres of land.
The following made life difficult on
the Great Plains EXCEPT
A. hot summers.
B. prairie fires.
C. cold winters.
D. flooding.
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
The Wheat Belt
As a result of new farming methods
and machinery, settlers on the Great
Plains were able to produce large
amounts of wheat.
The Wheat Belt (cont.)
• Many new farming methods and inventions
in the nineteenth century revolutionized
agriculture.
• Dry farming was popular on the Plains.
– Unfortunately, prairie soil could blow away
during a dry season, so many sodbusters
eventually lost their homesteads through a
combination of drought, wind erosion, and
overuse of the land.
The Wheat Belt (cont.)
• Innovations such as the mechanical reaper,
steam tractor, threshing machine, and
mechanical binder made harvesting wheat
possible.
– The Wheat Belt began at the eastern
edge of the Great Plains and
encompassed much of the Dakotas and
parts of Nebraska and Kansas.
The Wheat Belt (cont.)
– Some of the wheat farms—referred to as
bonanza farms—covered up to 50,000
acres.
• A severe drought, coupled with competition
from farmers in other countries, brought an
end to the thriving Wheat Belt.
The Wheat Belt (cont.)
• On April 22, 1889, the government opened
one of the last large territories for settlement.
– Although there was a lot of unoccupied
land, and new settlement continued into
the 1900s, the “closing of the frontier”
marked the end of an era.
Why was historian Frederick Jackson Turner
concerned about the “closing of the frontier”?
A. Towns would now become
overpopulated.
0%
D
A
B
C0%
D
C
D. None of the above
0%
A
C. Americans could no longer
dream of unsettled land.
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
B. Americans could no longer
move somewhere to make
a fresh start.
Big Ideas
Culture and Beliefs Settling the West dramatically
changed the way of life of the Plains Indians.
Content Vocabulary
• nomad
• assimilate
• annuity
• allotment
Academic Vocabulary
• relocate
• ensure
• approximately
People and Events to Identify
• Sand Creek Massacre
• Indian Peace Commission
• George A. Custer
• Chief Joseph
• Dawes Act
Do you agree with the idea of
reservations for Indians?
A. Agree
B. Disagree
A. A
B. B
0%
B
A
0%
Struggles of the Plains Indians
The settlement of the West dramatically
altered the way of life of the Plains
Indians.
Struggles of the Plains Indians (cont.)
• For centuries the Great Plains were home to
many groups of Native Americans.
– Some lived in communities as farmers and
hunters, but many were nomads.
• The ranchers, miners, and farmers who
moved onto the Plains deprived Native
Americans of their hunting grounds, broke
treaties guaranteeing certain lands to the
Plains Indians, and often forced them to
relocate to new territory.
Struggles of the Plains Indians (cont.)
• The first major clash began in 1862, when
the Dakota Sioux launched a major uprising
in Minnesota.
– The Sioux had agreed to live on a
reservation in exchange for annuities;
however, many payments never reached
them.
– Little Crow reluctantly agreed to
lead the uprising.
Native American Battles and
Reservations, 1860–1890
Struggles of the Plains Indians (cont.)
– The rebellion was eventually suppressed,
and 38 Dakota were sentenced to death.
• The Lakota did not want settlers to take their
hunting grounds.
– The army suffered a major defeat during
“Red Cloud’s War” of 1866–1868.
Struggles of the Plains Indians (cont.)
• In the 1860s tensions began to rise between
the miners coming into Colorado in search of
silver and gold and the Cheyenne and Arapaho
who already lived there.
– In November 1864, Chief Black Kettle
brought several hundred Cheyenne to Fort
Lyon to negotiate a peace deal.
– They were told to camp at Sand Creek for an
answer, and were mercilessly attacked in
what became known as the Sand Creek
Massacre.
Struggles of the Plains Indians (cont.)
• In light of escalating conflict with Native
Americans on the Great Plains, Congress
formed an Indian Peace Commission,
which proposed creating two large
reservations—one for the Sioux and another
for Native Americans from the southern
Plains.
– The plan failed, and those who did move
to reservations faced many hardships.
How many Native Americans died
during the Sand Creek Massacre?
A. 69
B. 82
C. 600
D. Unknown
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
The Last Native American Wars
Settlers and Native Americans fought
for land and cultural traditions.
The Last Native American Wars (cont.)
• By 1889, very few buffalo remained on the
Plains; eventually the herds were wiped out.
• In 1876, prospectors overran the Lakota
Sioux reservation in the Dakota territory to
mine gold in the Black Hills.
– The Lakota left the reservation to hunt
near the Bighorn Mountains in
southeastern Montana.
The Last Native American Wars (cont.)
– The government sent an expedition
commanded by General Alfred H. Terry;
Lieutenant General George A. Custer and
the Seventh Cavalry were with him.
– Custer ignored orders and attacked one of
the largest groups of Native Americans
ever assembled on the Plains.
– Custer and 210 soldiers were all killed,
causing a public outcry in the East.
The Last Native American Wars (cont.)
• Farther west, the Nez Perce people, led by
Chief Joseph, surrendered and were exiled
to Oklahoma.
• Native American resistance came to a final
and tragic end on the Lakota Sioux
reservation in 1890.
– Federal authorities had banned the Ghost
Dance, but the Sioux continued to perform
the dance.
The Last Native American Wars (cont.)
– The army killed Chief Sitting Bull, as well
as approximately 200 Lakota men,
women, and children.
• Some Americans believed the solution to the
mistreatment of Native Americans was to
assimilate them into American society as
landowners and citizens.
– This meant dividing reservations into
individual allotments, where families
could become self-supporting.
The Last Native American Wars (cont.)
– This policy became law in 1887 when
Congress passed the Dawes Act.
– However, this act failed to achieve its
goals.
The Last Native American Wars (cont.)
• Not until 1924 did Congress pass the
Citizenship Act, granting all Native
Americans in the U.S. citizenship.
• Some states did not grant Native Americans
the right to vote until after World War II.
• Under Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, the
policies of assimilation and allotment finally
ended in 1934.
Who wrote A Century of Dishonor?
A. Elizabeth Blackwell
B. George A. Custer
C. Chief Joseph
D. Helen Hunt Jackson
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Causes of Settlers Moving West to the
Great Plains
Mining
• Deposits of gold, silver, and
copper are discovered.
• New technologies, such as
hydraulic mining, make it
possible to remove vast
quantities of ore.
Causes of Settlers Moving West to the
Great Plains
Ranching
• Wild longhorn cattle, found
to survive well on the
Plains, are available in
large numbers to be
rounded up.
• Railroads provide an easy
way to ship cattle to eastern markets.
Causes of Settlers Moving West to the
Great Plains
Farming
• Congress passes the
Homestead Act in 1862.
• New farming technologies,
including new plows,
reapers, and drills, make it
possible to farm on the Plains.
• Railroads advertise for settlers and bring necessities
such as lumber and coal to the Plains.
Effects of Settling the Great Plains
• Miners arrive in such large
numbers that Colorado, the
Dakotas, Nevada, and
Montana are able to become
states.
• Hydraulic mining damages
the environment in some
areas and interferes with
farming.
• The Great Plains becomes the nation’s Wheat Belt,
growing tens of thousands of acres of wheat.
Effects of Settling the Great Plains
• The arrival of miners,
ranchers, and farmers
leads to conflict with
Native Americans.
• The federal government
fights several wars with
the Native Americans,
establishes reservations,
and passes the Dawes Act to assimilate Native
Americans.
Chapter Transparencies Menu
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Select a transparency to view.
vigilance committee
group of ordinary citizens formed by
local law enforcement officers whose
goal is to find criminals and bring
them to justice
hydraulic mining
method of mining by which water is
sprayed at a very high pressure
against a hill or mountain, washing
away large quantities of dirt, gravel,
and rock, and exposing the minerals
beneath the surface
open range
vast areas of grassland owned by the
federal government
long drive
driving cattle long distances to a
railroad depot for fast transport and
great profit
hacienda
a huge ranch
barrios
neighborhoods Hispanics settled in
extract
to remove by force
adapt
to change in order to meet the
demands of a certain environment or
circumstance
prior
happening before an event
homestead
method of acquiring a piece of U.S.
public land by living on and cultivating
it
dry farming
a way of farming dry land in which
seeds are planted deep in the ground
where there is some moisture
sodbuster
a name given to Great Plains farmers
bonanza farm
a large, highly profitable wheat farm
prospective
to be likely to, or have intentions to,
perform an act
innovation
a new idea or method
nomad
a person who continually moves from
place to place, usually in search of
food
annuity
money paid by contract at regular
intervals
assimilate
to absorb a group into the culture of a
larger population
allotment
a plot of land assigned to an
individual or a family for cultivation
relocate
to move to a new place
ensure
to guarantee or make certain
approximately
an estimation of a figure that is close
to the actual figure
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