Homesteaders Flashcards
Who made up the majority of the Homesteaders?
- Poor Europeans
- Ex- soldiers from the Civil War
- Recently freed black slaves.
What were the pull factors that made the Homesteaders move West?
Letters home from those who had already gone West and who were successfully farming.
Government- Homestead Act was passed in 1862
Timber Culture Act 1873 and The Desert Land Act 1877 promising more land if they planted trees and more land in areas that had low rainfall.
Transcontinental Railroad made the West more accessible
What were the push factors that made the Homesteaders move West?
English German, Irish, Russians and Scots were all looking to escape from poverty and unemployment.
Religious persecution.
American Civil War
Demobilised soldiers were looking to rebuild their lives because there was little opportunity when they returned home from war.
The opportunity to own land and build a new life
What were the problems with living on the Plains?
Water shortages- dirty clothing and people
Extreme weather- hot summer, cold winter, low rainfall and extreme winds.
Fuel- No wood only buffalo chips (dried dung)
Dirt and disease- sod houses let to bed bugs, fleas mice and snakes. Homestead children often caught diseases.
Building material- no wood, made most things out of sod (hard mud)… very hard to stop leaks.
What were the problems with farming on the Plains?
Water shortages led to hygiene problems as they couldn’t keep things clean. Growing crops with so little water was very difficult.
Extreme weather conditions could destroy crops.
There was little building material for houses or fences to protect their crops from animals. Sod houses leaked and caused hygiene problems. They had no wood to burn.
Ploughing the previously uncultivated land was back-breaking
Droughts and plagues of grasshoppers destroyed vast areas of land
What were the solutions to farming on the Plains?
The self-governing windmill was invented in 1874 which kept in line with the wind and so pumped water from underground.
Farmers developed dry farming techniques to capture moisture in the soil.
They began farming animals as well as crops
Barbed wire was a cheap alternative for fencing crops.
New technology such as the sodbuster, reapers, binders and threshers made farming easier.
Homesteaders grew a surplus and simply worked harder and were more determined to succeed.
What was the role of female homesteaders?
- Looked out for Indians and buffalo who could damage their crops
- Looked out for deadly animal and general pests (snakes)
- Made and amended clothing
- Made candles for lighting
- Picked berries and vegetables
- Cooked
- Looked after the animals
Who were the Homesteaders?
Families who moved onto the plains to farm. After the 1862 Homestead Act they would purchase 160 acres per family
When was barbed wire invented and why was it important to Homesteaders?
1874
Allowed them to fence off their land easily and keep animals under control
What was the Timber Culture Act 1873?
Allowed Homesteaders to claim an additional 160 acres of land if they promised to plant trees
This was to try to overcome the problem of the lack of wood on the plains
What was the self-governing windmill invented in 1854?
A windmill that would swing and change direction automatically when the wind changed
It could draw water from 30 meters below the ground (some of the water was over 400 meters below ground however)
What was the name of the ride-on plough which was invented to help plough the dry land of the Plains?
the sulky plough
How did the railroads help the Homesteaders?
Allowed them to visit relatives
Could order goods from catalogues which were delivered on the trains
Towns sprang up along the railway lines
