6.2 westward expansion: economic development Flashcards
biggest change during this time
building of the transcontinental railroads
what did railroads promote
communication, settlement of the western plains, connected markets
which RR company built from Ohama, Nebraska -> west?
Union Pacific - employed many war veterans and Irish immigrants
which RR company built from Sacramento, California -> east?
Central Pacific - employed 20k Chinese immigrants who did dangerous job of laying track and blasting tunnels through mountains.
meeting point and date of railroads
May 16th, 1869 @ Promontory Point, Utah
Southern Pacific RR
New Orleans -> LA
Atchinson, Topeka, + Santa Fe
Kansas City -> LA
Northern Pacific
Duluth -> Seattle
Great Northern
St. Paul -> Seattle
negative effects of railroads
- RR transformed west but failed as business: can’t expect short term profit return because they built in areas w/ few customers
- settlement of west damaged land/environment and almost exterminated buffalo
- Native Americans lost culture and soverignty
what was land between pacific and mississippi called?
great american desert - few trees, little rain, hot/dry, not suitable for farming w/ current tech
great american desert transformed with
ranches, homesteads
major mining event during this period
california gold rush of 1848
what was the comstock lode and what was it’s significance?
it was a discovery of gold and silver ($340 mil by 1890) in nevada. led to nevada entering the union as a state in 1864.
what were boomtowns?
instant towns created near mineral strikes, many became ghostowns soon after. few towns (ex. virginia city, nevada from comstock lode) endured.
what was the significance of mining booms?
hopeful prospectors moving west, creation of boomtowns, immigration and employment of non-Anglo-Saxons, new industry
why was cattle ranching an attractive occupation?
cattle and grass were free and plentiful in the early days. there was also a big eastern market for cattle ($30-50/head in some areas). facilitated by railroad connection.
why did the long drive end in 1880s?
overgrazing destroyed the grass and extreme climates of 1885-1886 killed 90% of cattle. arrival of homesteaders who used barbed wire and cut off open range. turned to scientific ranching tech to produce best quality meat.
what was the homestead act of 1862?
160 acres of land in great plains at no cost for 5 years of development (farming). encouraged settlement and farming of the great plains/great american desert. however, best land usually given to railroads or speculators.
problems of homestead act of 1862
- severe weather, grasshopper plagues, lonely
- water + wood for fence scarce
- bad weather, falling prices of crops, high cost of new machinery
solutions for problems
- barbed wire invention by Joseph Glidden in 1874 for fencing
- mail order windmills: drill deep wells for water
- drive farming: deep plowing methods to make most of moisture
- hardy russian wheat
- gov programs to build dams + irrigation: humans changing natural west
fraction of failed homesteads by 1900
2/3
rising costs for farmers
- monopolistic trusts
- wholesale and retailers took cut
- railroads charged high for storage and shipment of grain
- taxes on property and land, but none on income from stocks and bonds
- tariffs good for industry but bad for agriculture
farming became…
more commercialized and specialized
changes in agriculture
- bought groceries at local stores and manufactured goods from mail order stores like montgomery ward and sears roebuck
- more dependent on expensive machines -> driven out of business if couldn’t afford
falling prices
- increased production of wheat and corn in areas around the world
- each dollar became worth more as gold backs not growing fast enough with population - prices not adjusted
- farmers in debt -> need to grow more to pay off debt -> more debt for farmers
grange movement
national grange of patrons of husbandry organized in 1868 by Oliver H. Kelly. national grange movement expanded, more active in econ and politics. grangers est. cooperatives owned by farmers to eliminate middlemen costs.
granger laws: IL, Iowa, MN, WI - state legislatures regulate RR and elevator rates. other granger laws made it illegal for RR to fix prices by pools and give rebates to privileged customers.
Munn v. Illinois
SCOTUS upheld right of state legislature to regulate businesses of public nature, like RR
the farmers’ alliance
like grange, alliances had goal of economic and political action, had potential. in south, both poor white and black farmers joined.
the ocala platform
farmers’ national alliance met in Ocala, FL to address problems of rural America. attacked major parties as subservient to wall street. created platform of significant reforms:
- direct election of US senators (previously elected by state legislatures)
- lower tariff rates
- graduated income tax
- new banking system regulated by federal government
demands and shortcomings of farmers’ alliance
- demanded treasury notes and silver be used to increase money in circulation (create inflation)
- federal storage of crops
- didn’t form a political party but did influence election (state reps with platform supporting farmers got their votes)
