Chapter 4: Economic Growth And Development Flashcards
How did the number of people living on farms change between 1865 and 1890?
10 million in 1865 to 25 million by 1890
Why was the amount of land under cultivation increasing?
-developing industrialisation
-population growth
-expansion of railroads
When was the Homestead Act passed?
1862
What was the Homestead Act?
made hundreds of thousands of acres available as free land to settlers
What did agriculture in the North and East benefit from?
expanding markets in growing towns and cities
Give an example of a city that was part of the distribution network for shipping products to the urban Northeast
Chicago
Give an example of a product that was distributed to the Northeast
meat products
Which city was the centre of dairy production?
Wisconsin
What was the problem with developing agriculture in the Northeast?
agriculture dependant on market forces out of its control
What was the problem with the Southern economy at this time?
political battles of Reconstruction had failed to break down the traditional structures of the Southern economy and dominance of the ruling elite
Why were Southern farmers in a difficult situation?
-often unable to buy/keep their own land and fell back into being tenant farmers
-struggled to gain access to loans or get their produce to market directly without being controlled and exploited by larger businesses
How did the economy develop in the “New South”?
-railroad expansion
-cotton, tobacco and sugar remained major exported products
-trade and shipping expanded in ports e.g. New Orleans
Why was the Southern economy lagging behind the rest of the country?
few immigrants tempted to settle in the South and in 1879 thousands of black farmers moved away to Kansas in search of better opportunities
Why was the movement of settlers to the West heavily accelerated?
passing of Homestead Act in 1862
What was the name of the first transcontinental railroad and when was it completed?
Union Pacific in 1869
What year was the conquest and colonisation of indigenous American land virtually completed by?
1877
How were the open lands of the West developed?
construction of railroads, ranches, farms and mining towns
How did the number of farms and acres under cultivation change in Missouri between 1870 and 1890?
148,000 farms to 285,000 farms
9.1 million acres to 19.8 million acres
What was the Oklahoma Land Rush?
Congress granted 2 mil acres of formerly indigenous American land as free land for homesteads. The race into the new territory began 22nd April 1889
How many new land claims were registered in the first 2 months of the Oklahoma Land Rush?
6,000
How did the railroads play a key role in this period of settlement?
transported homesteaders westward, lent money to acquire land and then took cash crops in return
How did the number of residents in the Western States change between 1860 and 1890?
760,000 in 1860 to 6 million in 1890
