Chapter 2 1862 - 1876

• Homestead act 1862 


  Achievements Achievements

  By 1876, 6 million acres of land given to settlers.

  Nebraska now a state because of increased population

  Limitations

  Many failed to make a living as ground was tough

  Rich business men abused the system- buy cheap land then sell it for a high price

  Anyone could buy even ex slaves and women- anyone over 21 except Natives

  $10 to register
• Pacific railroad act 1862

  spilt the job between central pacific railway and union pacific railway

  $16,000 per mile and $48,000 for mountainous areas give from the government
• impact on first transcontinental railroad

  encouraged more european settlers

  made travelling quicker and easier

  lawlessness increased especially in rail towns

  farmers could trade easier

  increased trade - economic benefit

  many felt manifest destiny was achieved

  reduced buffalo

  natives attacked train builders

  natives moved away from railroads
• solving problems with farming - windmills 1854

  used to pump water from underground

  could reach no deeper then 30 ft

  needed a lot of maintenance
• solutions of farming on the plains - barbed wire 1874

  used to fence land off

  protect crops from animals

  wire was cheaper than wooden fencing

  but rusted easily and broke frequently
• solutions to farming on the plains - sulky ploughs 


  were strong enough to plough through thick grass on plains

  became very popular

  although early versions tipped over easily
• timber culture act 1873

  addition to the homestead act - allowed homesteaders to claim another 150 acres of land

  as long as they planted trees on a quarter of it

  planting trees aimed to make homesteading easier by providing timber and acting as a wind break

  in most cases trees died due to lack of water

  exploited by people who claimed land just to sell it for profit
• reno gang - lawlessness after civil war

  after the civil war ended in 1865, many ex soliders moved to the west for a new life. many were unsuccessful in finding work. turned to train robbery's.

  when the gang were eventually arrested locals formed a vigilance committee and lynched them

  Federal war system was weak, many made their own private detective companies to hunt criminals. For example The Pinkerton Detective Agency- arrested the reno gang
• ranchers vs homesteaders - ranchers

  Homesteaders wanted to farm

  Divided the land with barbed wire

  Used land to grow crops and glaze sheep

  Disliked cattle ranchers because cattles would go into their land and destroy crops
• ranchers vs homesteaders - ranchers 


  used the land for cattle ranching

  disliked that homesteaders divided the land into small farms

  prevented cattle from roaming freely

  ranchers claimed the sheep would spread disease and used up grass needed for cattle
• homesteaders vs ranchers - how ranchers reacted

  rich ranches threatened homesteaders with violence

  took homesteaders to court as they knew they couldn’t afford a lawyer

  divided land up like chess meaning they would buy land surrounding them so it was impossible for homesteaders to get put
• Impact of settlement for natives - rail roads

  Distrusted buffalo herds

  Brought hunters onto the plains

  Government gave railroad companies a lot of land along the route of the rail road. Any rights natives had to land has been removed

  Natives couldnt do anything to prevent, agreed to let the railroads pass through in the 1851 fort larmie treaty
• impact on natives - gold prospectors

  after gold was discovered many flocked to the west coast. prospectors brought new dieases as well killing natives.

  following Californian gold rush, there were other gold rushes

  coloardo 1851 - settlers settled on cheyenne territory resulting in sand creek massacre

  montana 1862 - prospecors used the bozeman trail trough lakotas (soiux ) hunting area. causing red cloud war

  black hills, dakota 1874 - a gold hunting expedition by General custer, triggered gold rsh in sacred land of Sioux resulting in battle of little bighorn
• impact on natives - cattle

  cattle competed with bufffalo for grass

  cattle numbers increased as buffalo numbers decreased.

  4.5 million cattle in the west by 1880

  because it was hard to survive of buffalo natives became cowboys, took them away from traditional life and more dependent on settlers

  cowboys clashed with natives as cowboys passed though land for herding cattle
• why did natives move into reservations?

  seemed like the only way for them to survive

  small area of land is better than no land

  government promised usually sounded good

  for example, promise of protection from settlers in the fort laramie treaty 1851

  gov didnt stick to promises
• impact of reservations 


  no understanding of their culture

  moved away from sacred land like the black hills for the sioux

  poor quality land

  no nomadic lifestyle

  hard to farm had to rely on government hand outs

  officials who ran the reservations were often corrupt

  government made them smaller over time
• indian appropiations act 1871

  Natives no longer reconised as independent nation or tribe. Government no longer sign treaty's with them

  This policy was made bby ely parker who argud that natives should be treated as wards (children who are put into care of an adult guardian) and the government should decide what is best for them