The 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.
There was little chance of conflict with the Indians because the US army defeated them. They were made to stay in specific reservations or made to move further West.
Government- Homestead Act was passed in 1862, this involved giving each family 160 acres of land for free providing they lived and farmed the land for five years. 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.
The US built a transcontinental railroad from East to West. This allowed the homesteaders an easy route to the plains and the land on either side of the railroad was sold off very low prices.
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.
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… 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. The traditional crops of soft winter & spring wheats did not grow in the Plain’s climate
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 constantly. Farmers developed dry farming techniques to capture moisture in the soil.
Homesteaders grew a surplus of crops when they could to sell or stock in case future crops failed. They farmed animals as well as crops and used Russian hard winter wheat which was better suited.
Barbed wire was a cheap alternative for fencing crops. They built sod houses but these had their own problems which were not solved. They burned buffalo or cow dung.
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
