The making of America: homesteaders; surviving and thriving on the plains. Flashcards
why move west, problems faced and any solutions.
when was the homestead act?
1862.
what did the homestead act outline?
americans could claim 160 acres of land if they paid a small fee and improved the land via homebuilding and farming. after living there for at least 5 years the land would become there’s.
what were people who took advantage of the homestead act called?
homesteaders.
by 1870 how many people had moved west?
100,000.
who were the first people to open up the west?
miners.
what type of people took up the homestead act?
poor/ immigrant/ freed slaves.
which mountain range were many ranchers near?
rocky mountains.
why was it difficult for the homesteaders to farm the land?
can’t afford the equipment, assistance. no modern support, isolated.
what natural resources did homesteaders lack?
animals, trees and water.
what kind of weather was a problem for homesteaders?
dry and hot.
who were the homesteaders afraid of?
native americans and cattle thieves.
what fraction of homesteaders abandoned their land?
3/5.
why did many african americans take up the homestead act after the civil war?
start over, escape the racism.
how did the railroads help the homesteaders?
easier to transport things.
subtitles for why people moved west?
the american dream, homestead act, railway companies.
american dream: what was the dream?
owning property and getting rich.
american dream: what did many american and European immigrants dream of doing?
becoming independent farmers with their own land.
american dream: what drew immigrants to the plains?
high price of land in eastern states, californaia and Oregon in the west drew them to cheaper alternatives in the plains.
homestead act: what did it help encourage people to do?
go out onto the plains.
homestead act: what were people promised?
160 acres of plains land if the farmer farmed the land for 5 years and paid a small fee.
homestead act: who was allowed to apply with what conditions?
what percentage of homesteaders were owned by women?
women and men .
as long as women were single.
5-15%.
railway companies: how did railroad companies create demand for their railroads and land?
promoting the west as a land of great opportunity.
railway companies: what did they produce?
a huge advertising campaign in american and Europe.
living on the plains: why was living on the plains difficult?
few building materials for housing, not much water and threats from increasingly angry native americans.
living on the plains: how did the government intervene?
timber culture act and desert land act.
living on the plains: when was the timber culture act and the desert land act?
1873 and 1877.
living on the plains: what was the timber culture act?
additional 160 acres of free land if homesteaders planted trees on 40 acres of it.
living on the plains: what was the desert land act?
settlers could purchase 640 acres of land cheaply where rainfall was a problem.
what problems did homesteaders face?
keeping healthy, lack of water, isolation, ploughing the land, building houses, keeping warm, fencing the land, hazards.
problems faced- keeping healthy: how were most houses built?
earth floor, sod walls and grass roof.
problems faced- keeping healthy: was were a constant problem?
mice, fleas, bed bugs.
problems faced- keeping healthy: what disease, conditions or illnesses were common?
cholera, typhoid, scarlet fever, pneumonia, small pox.
problems faced- keeping healthy: when a child died how did families feel and what did a lack of water cause?
devastated.
couldn’t keep clean.
problems faced- lack of water: what did they need water for?
regular supply for drinking and for crops.
problems faced- isolation: how far would families live from each other and how was contact with wider family?
many miles from each other and long journey into town.
limited.
problems faced- ploughing the land: what did a shortage of labour mean?
they had to do it themselves.
problems faced- ploughing the land: the plains hadn’t been ploughed before. what did this mean when homesteaders were trying to plough the land?
grasses which grew there had tough roots, formed dense, tangled mat. ploughs brought often broke and had to be repaired.
problems faced- building houses: what did a lack of trees mean?
houses built from sod.
problems faced- building houses: what was used to make the houses watertight?
grass roof and walls covered in mud.
problems faced- building houses: why weren’t they very useful?
many leaked or collapsed during storms.
problems faced- keeping warm: what didn’t they have so what did they use instead?
no wood to burn.
burn dried buffalo and cow droppings or ‘chips.’
problems faced- fencing the land: what did they have a lack of and what did that mean for the land?
timber.
plants could be eaten and land gone on.
problems faced- hazards: why were there a high chance of fires?
in summer grasslands would become dry.
problems faced- hazards: what would fires destroy and what would the impact on the family be?
destroy homesteaders and families be forced to give up holdings.
problems faced- hazards: when did locust swarm the plains?
1874-77.
problems faced- hazards: what affect did the locusts have?
ate crops, leather boots, clothes and wooden window frames.
problems faced- hazards: what affect could the locusts have on families?
devastate them and leave them with no crops.
solutions for problems- keeping healthy.
non.
solutions for problems- lack of water: where could they drill, what type of framing could they do and what type of wheat could they use instead?
drill deep holes into the ground and build a wind pump to bring the water to the surface.
dry farming- ploughing the land when heavy rain- left thin layer of fine soil on the top to trap water.
turkey red wheat- from russsia. could withstand frost and grow in winter and spring when more moisture in the soil.
solutions for problems- isolation: as more people arrived what was made?
churches and schools.
solutions for problems- ploughing the land.
non.
solutions for problems- building a house: in the 1860 and 70’s what were added to the infrastructure of the houses?
holes for windows with simple shutters.
solutions for problems- fencing the land: what had been invented?
1874- joseph Glidden made barbed wire. cheap and easy.
solutions for problems- hazards.
non.
solutions for problems- keeping warm: what did they use instead?
dried buffalo and cow droppings.
