imported AW

• Homestead Act 1862


  Settlers could officially claim 160 acres of land to live on and farm

  After 5 years settlers were sold a certificate of ownership for $30
• Manifest destiny


  A concept spread by the US government that made people think it was there destiny to live across the whole of America
• 1837 (Reason for moving west, push)


  Banks collapse in the East thousands bankrupt
• Religious reason for moving west (2)

  • Missionaries wanted to convert Indians to Christianity

  • People converted to Mormons wanted to go to the salt lake city
• 1848 (Reason for moving west, pull)


  Gold discovered in California
• Between 1840 and 1860 (journey west)


  34,000 people died
• Rail-road subsidies


  The government gave land either side of new rail-road tracks to the rail-road companies.
• Growth of towns (how did the government help settle the plains)

  Railroad companies sold much of the 155 million acres they owned to help new planes towns grow
• Pacific Railways Act 1862


  This set up the Union pacific railway company to lay track east to west and the Central Pacific Rail-road Company to lay tack west to east
• Why were the Black Hills of Dakota sacred to the Sioux (2)

  • It is where they went to bury their dead

  • Where medicine men would go for special guidance on important decisions
• Amount of people digging for gold in 1849

  90,000
• Mid 1850's (Gold)


  • Surface gold was exhausted and the "forty-niners" returned home

  • Professional miners backed by inverters in the east came in and turned mining into a profitable business
• What was wrong with vigilante groups

  Innocent people could easily be executed for getting on the wrong side of an influential citizen
• How did Brigham Young organize the Mormons on the journey to the Great Salt Lake

  • Divided Mormons into manageable groups each with a leader

  • Insisted on strict discipline, giving everyone a specific role to play

  • Taught them how to form their wagons into a circle at night for safety

  • Insisted on regular resting places
• How did Brigham Young establish Salt Lake City

  • He had total control over his community because they believed God inspired all his decisions

  • Decided that now one owned any land, water or timber and that it would all be allocated fairly by the Mormon church

  • Dug irrigation ditches so all the land could be irrigated
• How did Brigham Young help the Mormons spread through Utah


  • Surveyed every part of his territory and when a suitable area was found a area for a town was marked out

  • Chose settlers to make sure there was a balance of skills, ages and occupations

  • Made the boundaries secure by building towns along its border such as Las Vegas
• How did Brigham Young encourage immigration

  • Set up the perpetual immigration fund to provide money for poor Mormons living elsewhere to make the journey and bring with them a range of needed skills
• Roles of women settlers on the plains

  • Collected dried dung for fuel and other house hold roles such as cleaning and cooking

  • Treated illness in the family

  • Teach children living on the great planes in sod schools

  • Worked to create a sense of community
• How was the problem of ploughing the land on the plains solved

  Factories in the east produced stronger steel ploughs also they came with spare parts which meant easier repair.
• How was the problem of not enough water (average 30cm a year) on the plains solved

  • The invention of the wind pump meant wells could be drilled and the the ground water could be transported to the surface

  • Dry farming techniques were used
• How was the problem of not enough land holdings on the plains solved

  New government legislation allowed homesteaders to claim more land
• How was the problem of failing crops on the plains solved

  Started planting turkey red wheat which could survive harsh conditions
• How was the problem of fencing on the plains solved

  Invention of barbed wire meant homesteaders could fence their land quickly and cheaply
• Reasons for government involvement in the construction of the transcontinental rail road

  • Enable law and order to be brought into the western territories which would create a sense of national unity

  • Transport exports to ports in the west that has trade links with the far east

  • Help fulfil Manifest Destiny by making it easier to reach uninhabited areas
• Benefits of the rail road for settlers

  • The construction of the track provided lots of jobs

  • Demand for railway materials meant large growth in those industries

  • Government official and law enforcement could easily travel from coast to coast

  • Things essential for the prosperity of farmers on the great planes such as wind pumps, drills and barbed wire could be transported

  • Larger markets for cattle and agricultural produce

  • Contact with relatives living far away
• Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving

  Instead of driving a few thousand cattle to the nearest railhead he drove them to Fort summer to feed the captive Indians and soldiers in the fort. This was the start of his profitable career in supplying the US army and reservations as far north as Fort Laramie
• Joseph McCoy


  Founded the first cow town called Abilene.
• Amount of cattle passing through Abilene between 1867 and 1881


  Nearly 1.5 million
• John Iliff


  • First person to graze cattle on the plains which was the beginning of ranching

  • Breed a cattle with a sweeter meat

  • Sent his beef to cities with the newly invented refrigerated carriage
• What contracts did John Iliff win

  • Supply meat to Union Pacific Railroad construction gangs

  • Supply beef to Red cloud and over 7000 Sioux Indians who had been moved by the US government to land near Fort Laramie
• Reasons for the bust of the cattle industry

  • Overstocking- Too much pressure was put on the grass

  • Demand- Too much meat so prices went down also peoples taste changed to a fattier meat

  • Climate- Boiling summers meant streams dried up and freezing winters meant that cattle could reach grass through the snow 15% of cattle perished along with many cowboys
• The Fort Laramie Treaty 1851


  Indians agreed not to attack people on the Oregon trail trail and allow the government to build roads and military posts and in return they were promised land along the foothills of the rocky mountains and receive protection and $50,000 a year for ten years from the government.
• Cause of Little Crow's War

  In 1861 Little Crow and his tribe of Santee Sioux were living on a reservation and the crop failed. The compensation they were promised did not arrive leaving 12,000 Sioux facing starvation
• Little Crow's War


  Little crow lead warriors to attack the agency building take the provisions and burnt it to the ground

  Attacked a party of soldiers coming to deal with the inccident
• Outcome of Little Crow's War

  Santee Sioux that were left moved to a smaller reservation which was barren, had undrinkable water and scarce food
• How was the Fort Laramie Treaty broken

  Gold was discovered in the Rocky Mountains and white men settled onto the Indian lands
• The Sand Creek Massacre 1864


  • On 29 November 1864 Colonel Chivington and his men massacred 450 men, women,children and babies even though they were waving white flags of surrender

  • Black Kettle escaped and carried the message of the massacre to other tribes

  • In October 1865 a deal was made in which the Indians agreed to give up their land claims and stop violence and in return they received money and land in Oklahoma
• Events that lead to The Sand Creek Massacre 1864

  • The Cheyenne faced starvation and under their leader Black Kettle started attacking wagon train taking only food and leaving travellers unharmed

  • After 3 years of raids Black Kettle, government officials and army commander tried to reach an agreement

  • Believing he was under army protection Black Kettle set up camp at sand creek
• Red Cloud's War 1866-68

  • The Indians led by Red Cloud started attacking traveller along the Bozeman trail

  • In 1866 the government set up peace talk with Red Cloud however he stormed out when he learnt two more forts were planned to be built along the trail

  • He started attacking soldiers and other workers building forts and was joing be other Sioux leaders, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse
• Cause of Red Cloud's War 1866-68

  • The descovery of Gold in montana meant that there needed to be a new connection between the new gold fields and the Oregon trail

  • This led miner John Bozeman to establish the Bozeman trail

  • However this ran through the hunting grounds of the Sioux which broke the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851