Essential Question:

Question
What factors led to the
settlement of the West during
the Gilded Age (1870-1900)?
Warm-Up Question:
Please pick up the review sheet
from the desk in the front of the
room. Complete #1-10 ONLY!

The Gilded Age: 1870-1900

After the Civil War, the U.S. entered
an era known as the Gilded Age when
America experienced rapid changes

Overview of the West

After the Civil War, the area west of
the Mississippi River was settled:
Miners, ranchers, farmers flooded
into the frontier looking for
economic opportunities
Transcontinental railroads
connected the country
Plains Indians were forced to
assimilate & move to reservations
By 1890, the frontier was closed

The Mining Bonanza

Mining was the 1st magnet to
attract settlers to the West:
Before the Civil War, miners
discovered gold in California,
Colorado, & Nevada
After the Civil War, miners
resumed their migration into the
West to find more gold & silver

John Mackay became the richest man in

the world & earned $25 a minute from
his Big Bonanza in Sierra Mountains
Silver miners in Leadville, CO

$306 million
gold
Mining
towns in
were
& in
silver
was
formed
the West;
discovered
the
Needed
govt, at law
Comstock Lode
enforcement,
& businesses

Mining
Regions
of the
West

Corporations had the

expensive machinery
(hydraulic mining
techniques) to
extract most of the
gold in the West

 Chinese &
Latin American
immigrants came
to find gold
Nativism led
Congress to
pass the Chinese
Exclusion Act in
1882 which
ended Chinese
immigration

What were the major points of entry for

immigrants coming to the United States?
Established by the
Bureau of Immigration

Ellis Island

1892 Ellis Island opened

in New York Harbor as
major immigration
station on East coast
1910 Angel Island
opened in San Francisco
& became a major
station on West coast

Angel Island

Ranchers & The Cattle Boom

After the Civil War, the demand for
beef skyrocketed
To meet this demand, ranchers
drove Texas longhorns across the
open range to railroad towns:
Cattle bought in Texas for $4
could be sold for $40 in Kansas
Cattle drives created new towns

Ranchers
used
the
Ranchers
& The
Cattle
Boom
By
1867,
ranchers
started
using
trains to ship
open range
graze
cattle totomeatpacking
cities like Chicago
longhorns during the
3 month long drive

Ranchers & The Cattle Boom

By the 1880s, cattle ranching was
difficult because:
The open range was closed as
farmers used new barbed wire
fencing to close off their farms
Overgrazing & drought left little
grasslands for grazing cattle
Competition from sheep herding

Homesteads & Farmers

The U.S. govt offered incentives
for farmers to settle the West:
Homestead Act (1862) gave
160 acres to citizens who
pledged to improve the land
for at least 5 years
Other govt acts helped develop
western lands by planting trees
& building irrigation systems

By 1900, 600,000 Americans

claimed homesteads

Homesteads & Farmers

Life in the Plains was difficult:
There were few trees so
homesteaders built sod houses
60% of homesteaders failed
But many homesteaders adapted:

Used dry farming techniques

Planted tough varieties of wheat
Used harvesting machinery

By 1890, the U.S. became

a major crop exporter

Exodusters
Exodusters
were black
farmers who
moved West
to escape
crop liens &
Jim Crow laws
in the South

Exodusters

Homestead Sales, 1870-1940

In 1890, the western frontier closed:
There were no more unorganized
territories in the West

Rails Across the Continent

In 1862, Congress authorized the
first transcontinental railroad:
Union Pacific worked westward
from Nebraska (Irish laborers)
Central Pacific worked eastward
from CA (Chinese immigrants)
On May 10, 1869 the 2 tracks
met at Promontory Point in Utah

Irish workers made up a large percentage

of laborers on the eastern section

Chinese workers made up a

large percentage of laborers
on the western leg
The 1st transcontinental railroad connected the
west coast to eastern cities in 1869

The national govt gave out $65 million &

millions
of acres
to railroad
companies
to
Federal
Land
Grants
to Railroads
by 1871
connect the East & West coasts with railroads

The Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad Construction, 1830-1920

The
Plains
Indians
In 1865, 2/3
of all
Indians
Their culture
lived on the Great Plains
was dependent
upon the buffalo
& the horse

The Importance of the Buffalo in Indian Culture

Americas Indian Policy

Americas Indian policy changed:
In the 1830s, Indians were
moved across the Mississippi
River into one big reservation
In the 1850s, (due to Manifest
Destiny), Indians were moved
into concentrated reservations
In the 1860s, reservations were
violated by farmers & miners

InIndians
1876, Americans
Wars flooded into
Sioux territory in South Dakota
when gold was discovered

The Sioux, led by Sitting Bull, retaliated by

ambushing Colonel Custer & all 197 soldiers
in the Seventh Cavalry at Little Big Horn

Warstried to stop
WhenIndians
the U.S. army
The
Battle
of Wounded
Knee
in 1890
was
Sioux
ghost
dances, 200
men,
women,
thechildren
last Indian
in American
history
&
werewar
slaughtered
during
the
Battle of Wounded Knee

The End of Tribal Life

The final blow to Indian culture
came with annihilation of buffalo:
Began with the construction of
the transcontinental RR in 1860s
From
1872 to
1874,
3 million
buffalo
were killed each year

New Settlers & Native Americans

Clash
Battle of Little Big Horn
1875 gold discovered on
Sioux hunting grounds in the
Dakotas & Montana
Chief Sitting Bull & Chief
Crazy Horse assembled
Sioux and tried to drive white
settlers out
U.S. sent troops against
Native Americans
1876 Colonel George
Custer & men arrived early
and all were killed by the
Sioux

Ghost Dance Religion

religious revival
among Indians
would banish white
settlers & restore
buffalo

Lakota Song about Ghost Dance:

The whole world is coming,
A nation is coming, a nation is coming,
The eagle has brought the message to the
tribe.
The Father says so, the Father says so.
Over the whole earth they are coming,
The buffalo are coming, the buffalo are
coming,
The crow has brought the message to the
tribe,

Wovoka a Paiute medicine

man and mystic

New Settlers & Native Americans

Clash
Wounded Knee (1890)
U.S. government concerned,
ordered arrest of Sitting Bull he
& others were killed when
followers tried to rescue him
U.S. troops followed Sioux who
escaped killed more than 100 at
Wounded Knee, South Dakota
end of Plains Indian resistance
http://www.history.com/topics/nativ
e-american-history/battle-of-thelittle-bighorn/videos/the-last-ofthe-sioux

Lands
by Native
Americans
(1894)
TheLost
Cession
of Indian
Territory

Social Exploitation in the Gilded

Age
Which group
had it worst
in the
Gilded Age:
Indians,
AfricanAmericans,
Chinese, or
new
immigrants?

Conclusions
By 1890, the frontier was closed:
Miners, ranchers, & farmers
flooded West at the expense of
Indians
But, Westerners began to grow
frustrated due to their
dependency on Eastern
railroads, banks, & politicians

Closure Activity
What was the American West
in 1750? 1800? 1850? 1900?
Now that the United States has
acquired & occupied all lands
between the Atlantic & Pacific,
whats next?