Why move? Why would someone move to a new place? Push factors:
Something pushes someone out of where they originally start. Ex: I
moved from Naugatuck because I did not like the cold winters. Pull
factors: Something pulls someone to come somewhere new. Ex: I moved
to Orlando because of the warm weather.
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Push or Pull Factor? Jimmy moved to Atlanta so he could watch
the Falcons play Alex moved to Montana because she liked the
weather. Robby got a job in Vermont so he moved there. Sal could
not find a job so he had to move somewhere new.
Slide 4
Pull Factors To get people out west they needed an easier way
to get there. The newest form of transportation was the railroads.
To get the railroads to build out west the U.S passed the Pacific
Railways Acts which gave large land grants to the railroads in
exchange for building west.
Slide 5
Railroad Grants
Slide 6
Pull Factors To help settlers the U.S passed the Morrill
Land-Grant Acts where the state government received land and they
sold it to the settlers for cheap. Land speculators where people
who hoped to buy land for cheap using this act and then selling it
later for a profit.
Slide 7
Pull Factors The Homestead Act made it possible for people to
get cheap land (160 Acres) if they met a few stipulations. They had
to be at least 21 years old or the head of a family Had to build a
house of the required size Had to be American or filing for
American citizenship Had to farm the land for five years in a row
before claiming ownership.
Slide 8
Slide 9
The Western Dream The West provided a new start. With land
readily available it offered endless possibilities. People could
choose from several types of jobs to take.
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Western Roles Farmer: Rancher: Miner: Railroad Worker:
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The Cowboy
Slide 12
The Soddie
Slide 13
The Indian Wars Beginning in 1862, the U.S. army began a series
of violent conflicts with various Native American tribes. Together,
these conflicts are known as the "Indian Wars." The goal of U.S.
policy was to force uncooperative tribes onto reservations and to
secure western lands for white owners.
Slide 14
The Buffalo Part of the problem was that the Americans were
killing off buffalo. Buffalo were hunted for sport, for their
valuable furs, and as an intentional way to hurt Indian tribes that
relied on the animal for survival.
Slide 15
Two options for the Indians Indians were given two options.
Option A: Move to a Reservation: land put aside by the U.S for
Indians. Option B: Assimilate to American culture.
Slide 16
Assimilation: Kill the Indian, Save the Man
Slide 17
Push Factors Some settlers moved west not because they wanted
to move west but because they wanted to get away. Immigrants from
other countries moved to the west to escape the problems of their
home countries. Many settlers where those that were poor in a
devastated south after the civil war.
Slide 18
Push Factors After the Civil War all of the slaves were freed.
However the South was still a racist and difficult place for many
African Americans. More than 50,000 African Americans left the
south for the west calling themselves the Exodusters.
