Development of settlement in the West Flashcards
What was the significance of homesteading?
By 1876, 6,million acres had been settled through homesteading.
Free land was an attractive proposition for those moving west.
The act came to an end as late as the 1930s. 80 million acres had been settled.
What was the Homestead act in 1862?
The government wanted family farmers to settle in the west.
The Homestead act made land cheap and citizens could file a claim for the land.
What were the issues with homesteading?
300 million acres of land were given to Railroad companies.
The company is then sold the land onto the settlers.
Rich landowners were able to buy lots of land even though this law emphasised small farmers.
What was the Pacific Railroad act in 1862?
Southern states blocked Omaha to Sacramento railroad.
It allowed the railroad to be built.
The federal government loaned $61 million this meant that the railroad could be completed in 1869.
The completion of the new railroads promoted further settlement of the west.
Why was lack of timber a problem?
Homesteaders didn’t have anything to build houses with.
Due to lack of timber what did people use instead?
People used earth to build houses.
Joseph Glidden first made barbed wire in 1874. This was a cheap replacement for wooden fences.
Why was lack of water a problem?
Nothing to drink, nothing to water crops with.
Where could water be collected from instead?
Underground. Brought to the surface because of new pumps and drills.
What was the Timber Culture Act in 1873?
Allowed homesteaders to receive an extra 160 acres.
Why was isolation a problem?
Homesteads were a long way from towns so there were no schools.
Which meant women’s in the community had to take on responsibilities for teaching.
Railroads brought supplies and people to communities.
What caused more law enforcement?
Civil war caused more unrest.
Men who had fought for the south often found it hard to fit back into society.
Many didn’t want to follow laws of the union.
Why were towns nicknamed ‘hell on wheels’?
New towns had no sheriffs or officers to enforce the law.
Life in ‘hell on wheels’ included prostitution, fighting and drinking.
What were the benefits of the railroads?
Railroad building after civil war meant that cattle could be transported.
Cattle was worth $5 per head in Texas could be sold for $40 in the north (transported by railroad).
What was The Goodnight-Loving Trail?
Goodnight and Loving saw new market in the West.
In 1866 they managed to sell 800 cattle for $12000 in Fort Sumner.
In 1868 Goodnight extended the trail to Colorado and then Wyoming.
What did John Illiff do?
Operated in the new mining towns of Colorado.
26,000 cattle were settled on the Plains near Colorado in 1870.
