Booklet 3 Homesteaders Flashcards
- What was a Homesteader?
These were farmers who took advantage of the free land on offer by the US government on the Plains after 1862.
- Give four reasons why the Homesteaders went west in 1862.
The free land, land was too expensive in the east or Europe, the railroad (finished by 1869) made it easier to travel, advertising by the government and the railroad companies, poverty in the east or Europe, the end of the Civil War (freed slaves and ex soldiers).
- What is the difference between a PUSH and PULL factor in getting people to move west?
Push factors are reasons why they HAD to leave their homes in the east or Europe (e.g. poverty or expensive land) whereas PULL factors are reasons that attracted people to the Plains (e.g. free land)
- Give FOUR reasons why life on the Plains was hard for Homesteaders before 1869.
Water shortages, no resources (food or wood for building), Sioux attacks, dirt and disease, Isolation, extreme weather (very cold/snowy in winter, very hot in summer), insects. The railroad was completed in 1869, so life was a bit easier after that.
- What was a SOD HOUSE?
Homesteaders had to build their houses out of sod (grass/dirt bricks) because there wasn’t any wood on the Plains.
- How were water shortages solved?
Windmills were first used in 1874 by Daniel Halliday. This could pump water from deep under the Plains.
- How did Homesteaders solve the problem of growing suitable crops on the Plains?
Russian immigrants introduced Turkey Red Wheat which grew well on the Plains as the climate was similar to Russia.
- How did Homesteaders stop buffalo or cattle trampling their new crops on the Plains?
Joseph Glidden invented BARBED WIRE in 1874 which could be used to fence off crops. Cheaper than wood.
- What challenges to living on the Plains could not be easily solved by Homesteaders?
Insects like locusts and grasshoppers, grass fires, extremes of weather, hard work
- What was the SOD-BUSTER invented by John Deere?
A strong plough that could cut through the tough grass on the Plains. Still a well known tractor manufacturer today!
11.. What is the connection between the Homesteaders and the Indian Wars?
Homesteaders came into conflict with the Sioux. They hunted buffalo, put up barned wire fences and kept animals such as sheep that disrupted the buffalo. As their numbers increased, there were more Sioux attacks. ALSO, the US government took a very strict approach to the Sioux in the 1870s, 80s and 90s by using the army to force all Indians onto the Reservations. This was because of the need to protect the increasing number of Homesteaders.
