Period 6 (1865-1898) Topic 6.2 Westward Expansion:Economic Development

Learning Objective: Elaborate on the causes and consequences of the settlement of the Western United States between 1877 and 1898.
Settlement Patterns in the West After 1865

• Shift in western development due to industrialization.
• Conspicuous difference: emergence of transcontinental railroads.

Transcontinental Railroads

• Railroads played a pivotal role in settling the West and linking it with the East.
• Significant Difference: Introduction of transcontinental railroads across the Far West.
• First Route: Authorized during Civil War; Union Pacific (UP) and Central Pacific were tasked with building it.
  • UP: From Omaha, Nebraska, westward across Great Plains, employed war veterans and Irish immigrants.
  • Central Pacific: Started from Sacramento, California, eastward, used Chinese immigrants.
• Historical Milestone: Convergence at Promontory Point, Utah, in 1869, marked Atlantic-Pacific linkage.

Expansion of Rail Routes

• Four additional transcontinental railroads completed by 1883.
  • Southern Pacific: Connected New Orleans to Los Angeles.
  • Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe: Linked Kansas City to Los Angeles.
  • Northern Pacific: Joined Duluth, Minnesota, with Seattle, Washington.
• In 1893, Great Northern completed fifth transcontinental railroad, St. Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle.
• Various shortline and narrow-gauge railroads opened interior for settlement.

Negative Effects of Railroad Progress

• Railroads transformed West but often failed as businesses.
• Built in areas with limited customers and uncertain profitability.
• Environmental Consequences: Damage to environment, near-extinction of buffalo.
• Impact on Native Americans: High human and cultural toll on indigenous populations.

Transformation of the Great Plains and Western Lands

• Initial perception: Great Plains as "Great American Desert."
• Shift after 1865: Dramatic changes due to industrialization and human intervention.
• Buffalo herds depleted, lands fenced, towns established, western states created.

Mining Frontier

• Gold rush patterns set by California's 1849 gold rush.
• Prospectors arrived, followed by mining companies employing advanced techniques.
• Gold and silver strikes in South Dakota, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona.
• Boomtown Phenomenon: Prosperous towns sprung up around strikes but often declined.
• Mining Town Evolution: Some towns transformed into industrial cities with theaters, churches, railroads, and more.

Cattle Frontier

• Vast grasslands utilized by ranchers after Civil War.
• Texas cattle business borrowed from Mexican traditions.
• Railroads into Kansas enabled cattle transport to eastern markets.
• Stockyards established; cow towns like Dodge City emerged along railroads.
• Cattle drives declined due to overgrazing, extreme weather, and fencing.

Farming Frontier

• Homestead Act of 1862 promoted farming on Great Plains with 160-acre land offer.
• Railroads and land speculators attracted families to farm between 1870 and 1900.
• Challenges: Extreme weather, plagues, water scarcity, lack of wood.
• Barbed Wire and Windmills: Innovations aiding fencing and water supply.

Challenges for Farmers

• Commercialization and specialization in agriculture.
• Farmers' dependence on expensive machines, stores, and catalogs.
• Falling prices due to increased global crop production led to deflation.
• Rising costs due to middlemen, railroads, taxes, and monopolies.

Farmers' Response and Organization

• National Grange Movement: Initially social, evolved into economic and political action.
• Farmers' alliances emerged, aimed at both education and political change.
• Ocala Platform in 1890 demanded economic and political reforms.
• Populist movement built upon these reforms in the 1890s, affecting the two-party system.