We’re Moving West!- Western Expansion 1877-1898

Economic Factors: What economic factors encouraged the expansion west?1. The Growth of _____________________

___________________ relied on railroads for shipping. Railroads grew in response to increased demands of industrialization and Western Expansion. ______________________ expanded westward to meet demands of settlement and economic development of the

West. (They carried people and shipped products.) Railroad shipping encouraged the growth of ranching, farming, and mining industries in the West. Industrial and technological innovations in manufacturing and mass communication enabled rapid growth of

railroads. (___________ and ____________) Although, eventually railroads charged high prices to move their grain and other crops. Central Pacific and Union railroads met in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869 creating the first

_______________________________________________ in the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad – the railroad stimulated a production boom, as industry mined the vast resources of the

middle and western continent for use in production in the east.

2. Farming the West

New immigrants and farmers move west and start farming the west. ( Why? What caused it?) __________________________________ (1862) – federal land grants (160 acres) to western settlers at no cost.

(600,000 families took advantage of this opportunity….that is a very large amount of people…)

Late 1800s farmers began to rely on _______________________ (McCormick Reaper/Steel Plow) to improve and increase agricultural production. Increased food production allowed for a population boom. But, ___________________________ could and often did occur and farmers would go into debt.

3. ____________________ Industry Boom

After the Civil War, the _______________ ______________ boomed in the late 1800s as the demand for beef grew in cities, and culture and influence of the Plains American _____________________ declined.

_______________________ provided method of transportation of beef to ______________________ areas.

__________________________ (Mexican cowboys) taught the American settlers how to be______________________. They taught the settlers how to take care of the cattle (Texas Longhorns).

Union-Pacific Transcontinental RailroadPromontory, Utah on May 10, 1869

We’re Moving West!- Western Expansion 1877-1898

Discussion Questions:

1. What were the benefits people enjoyed that lived in a settlement with a railroad track built through the town? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What was the economic impact of the Transcontinental Railroad and how did this contribute to the closing of the frontier in the late 19th century? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What was the impact of the Homestead Act on the west?

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4. Do you think the population increase in the US led to an increase in food production and new farm innovations, or was it the other way around? Explain your answer.

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5. Do you think Americans before the cattle industry boom could easily purchase beef? If you did eat beef before the cattle boom where did it most likely come from?

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6. Once the cattle boom was underway, how does the more wide-spread availability of beef affect Americans overall diet and health?

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We’re Moving West!- Western Expansion 1877-1898

Political Factors and Issues: What political factors encouraged western expansion?

Indian Policies

Indian _______________________________________ system: Forced Native Americans to leave lands given to white settlers and to move to reservation lands in Oklahoma. Those that resisted were arrested or killed. (Indian Wars)

Destruction of the ______________ also led to the destruction and removal of the Plains Indians and culture.

___________________________________ - Tried to Americanize/assimilate the Indians. It broke up the reservations and encouraged Indians to live separate from their tribes. Those that accepted the deal, received land to farm and given citizenship, but they had to adopt American culture. What was left over the government ______________________….the Oklahoma Sooners!

American Indian children were taken away from their homes (traditional Native American culture) and raised in boarding schools to become _____________________________

Physical & Human Geographic Factors: What environmental factors affected living and expanding in the west?

Settling the __________________________:

o Human factors – the Plains Indians were the earliest settlers; innovations such as the _______________ made it easier to break the dense, rich soil and farm the land (increased settlement); The ______________________ encouraged settlement.

Indians – hunted, planted crops, and settled small villages on the plains. Also, ___________ land from settlers.

_____________ helped increase their mobility and a lot of them left their villages and began hunting buffalo. The hides were used to build their tepees, clothes, food, shoes, and blankets. The buffalo provided the Indians with a lot of their basic needs.

o Physical factors – located between the South and Midwest regions to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west; experience the greatest extremes in temperature and climatic conditions of any region in the U.S. Winters are cold, with frequent snowy blizzards, while summers bring hot and dry winds. The land was ________________ _______________ because it is _____________.

_______________Gold Rush – late 1800s, in Northern Washington and Alaska

o Human factors – thousands, hoping to ease the woes of economic ____________________, sold ______________, dropped businesses, and boarded ships to follow their dreams north.

o Physical factors – Alaska was seen as a large and distant source of __________________.

We’re Moving West!- Western Expansion 1877-1898

Discussion Questions

7. How did the Indian Policies that destroyed the buffalo and removed Indians from their land, affect the American Indians and the American citizen? What was the Plains Indian culture like originally?

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8. What does it mean to become “Americanized”? What characteristics would someone have to show to be “American”?

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9. Do we still expect people who live in the U.S.A. to assimilate? If yes, what are some examples in which we encourage or require our population to assimilate and become Americanized? If no, what are some examples in our society/population in which there is no requirement to assimilate?

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10.How did the environment (human and physical geography) impact settlement of the West, especially the Great Plains and the Klondike Gold Rush area/region?

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