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Period: to
Conquest of the West
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Growth of new towns and cities to support cattle, mining, and farming industries
The railroad gave opportunities for workers. Highly populated areas with railroads close by quickly grew into cities. -
Discoveries of Large amounts of Gold and Silver
Gold was found in many places including Idaho, California, and New Mexico. Silver was found in Montana and other places. The finiding of these metals caused a population burst in the places they were and eventually it cause the ecmonomy to plumment do to inflation. -
Homestead Act of 1862
The Homestead Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln in1862. This act persuaded the setlers to migrate to the west. Whenthey obeyed they would be given 160 acres of land. However, they had to complete five years of recidency and pay a small fee in order to earn the title. -
Jesse James
Jesse james was born ion September 5 of 1847. He was well known as an outlaw gang leader, robber and above all a murderer. He was born in Missouri and became the most well-known member of the James- Younger gang. In later years he and his gang robbed a bank in Northfield, Minisota. -
Barbed Wire
Barbed wire fencing was a very quick and cheap way to restrain cattle and other livestock. In 1867, the first patent for barbed wire was issued to a man that lived in kent, Ohio and went by the nme of Lucien B. Smith. Then, Joseph Glidder made revisons and that is what is most commonly used today. -
Transcontinental Railroad System
The Transcontinental railroad was the idea of having a railroad that touched both coastes. This railroad was built by two industries called Centeral Pacific and Union Pacific. The Union Pacific had mostly Chinese workers while the Central Pacifics had mostly Irish works. This railroad was connected in Pormortory Point, Utah. -
Wild West Shows
The first Wild West show was opened in Omaha, Nebraska by William Cody (aka Buffalo Bill). The purose of these shows was to stage plays off what life in the west used to be like. They did plays over things like "border disputes" and buffalo hunting. These shows were very popular they gave performances in over 100 cities -
Daws Act of 1886
The Dawes Act was adopted by Congress in 1887. It stated that the president could separate the lands of the Native Americans and divide the natives into those lands. Those Natives that obeyed would be later granted United States citizenship. Henry Daws created the act in hopes to encourage the Native Americans to live more like the Amercans. -
Extinction of Buffalo in 1800s
When expansion went west there was an increase of population. With this increase there was more demand for fur and meat. Citzens and hunters did not realize there was a problem until there was less than 1,000 bison left roaming the plains. -
Shift from “Long Drive” to “Cattle Ranching”
In the 1890's a vast amount of the population living in the United States was moving Westward. Before then, people in texas would have to round up cattle and drive them over long distances in order for the people to used their meat and fur. With the expantion Westward there was no need to drive the cattle to where the population is because it was in the west too. Therefore, all that was needed to be done was to gather and maintain the cattle.
