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
