123B: Settlement in the West Flashcards
What were the four transcontinental railroads built by the 1890s?
The Northern Pacific, The Southern Pacific, The Atchison, The Great Northern
What did the railroads do to the West?
They revolutionised the West, ensuring a flood of people and goods moved in and an abundance or raw materials moved out
What did railroads stimulate the growth of?
Iron, Steel, Lumber and other capital goods industries
What other new group emerged as a result of the railroads?
Cowboys and cattlemen
What was an issue with life on the Plains?
The nearest neighbours were often miles away
What were some problems with farming, despite the soil being rich?
Farmers were constantly fighting the elements, tornados, droughts, hailstorms, prairie fires, blizzards and pests (locusts)
Although land was relatively cheap what was not?
Horses, livestock, wagons, wells, fencing and seed-sand fertilisers
What new method of farming allowed farmers to continue farming despite limited rainfall?
Dry farming methods
What new machinery was brought about for farming which made wheat and maize farming possible on a larger scale?
Reapers, thrusting machines, binders, combine harvesters
What did Joseph Glidden invent in 1873?
Barbed Wire
What provided water for farms?
Deep-drilled wells and steel windmills
By how much did the production of wheat increase from 1867 to 1890?
From 211 million bushels to 599 million bushels in 1890
What did agriculture soon become?
Boom and bust agriculture
What was boom and bust agriculture?
Very heavily dependant on exports and the fluctuating price of wheat
What did this boom and bust agriculture mean for Western farmers?
They found it very hard to determine the price of things they bought and sold
Although the situation of farmers improved in the 1870s what still continued over the next two decades on the plains?
Boom and bust agriculture
What were many farmers in revolt against?
Bug businesses and starte and federal governments
Which party did many farmers support?
The Populist party
Where was the ranching frontier based after the Civil War?
Texas
In 1867, what did Joseph McCoy devise?
A route whereby cattle could be driven North from Southern Texas, known as the Long Drive
How were the cattle transported North when the cattle arrived in Kansas?
The Pacific Railroad
Where were the cattle transported to be slaughtered?
Chicago, home to meatpacking businesses
Who would herd the cattle along the Long Drive?
The Cowboys
In the twenty years after the Civil War how many cowboys roamed the Great Plains?
40,000
What were the backgrounds of the cowboys?
They were all from very diverse backgrounds, some were ex-confederate soldiers, others included Mexicans, African Americans, Asians and Native Americans
Was cowboy life glamorous?
No, they had a wage of only $25-30 and the average cowboy worked an 18 hour day
What dangers did cowboys face?
Floods, poisonous snakes, scorpions, blizzards, stampedes, rustlers and occasionally hostile Native Americans
As railroads spread West what did many cattlemen set up on the Plains?
Cattle ranches
What were cattle ranches?
Huge tracts of grazing land
What were many disputes over with cattle ranches?
Water and land rights
What often happened on cattle ranches?
Cattle rustling
What sprung up as a result to the many disputes over cattle ranches?
Vigilante systems
What was the greatest boom in the open range cattle trade?
The Beef Bonanza in the early 1880s
Why did millions of cattle die?
Two sever winters in 1885 and 1887, straddling a summer drought
What was the result of these cattle deaths?
Cattlemen were ruined and had to result to retreating to smaller better equipped shelters to ensure their remaining cattle were not too exposed to the elements
By when was the open range and time of the cowboys over?
1890
When was the refrigerator carriage introduced?
1875
What happened in 1890?
The end of the frontier, there was no longer any large tract of unsettled land
The Turner Essay highlighted the importance of what?
The frontier
What did Turner claim?
The deepest root of America’s past was he existence of free land and this land acted as a safety net against violence. The harshness of the frontier created self-reliant individuals. The USA had a unique democracy and it was the abundance of nature and resources in the West that made America free
