The Wild Wild West Illinois State University野生西伊利诺斯州立大学.pptVIP

The Wild Wild West Geography of the West Towns in Missouri were thought to be the end before the frontier Frontier – unsettled land in western United States The West is considered states beyond the Rocky Mountains like Oregon, California, etc. There are deserts, mountains, rivers, lakes, basins, plateaus, mesas, even a volcano in the West Influence of Railroads Railroads helped settle the West Trains carried resources like: minerals, timber, crops, cattle to the East coast Trains also carried miners, ranchers, farmers to settle the West Trains Native Americans – not friends Train routes often went through the routes of the animals they hunted or even through their own lands Go West, Why? Before the Civil War, the South did not want the land in the West settled They feared more non-slave territories Government decided it was time to settle the west by offering free land Homestead Act – You can have 160 acres for free if you live on it for 5 years and improve it Many African Americans settled in Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois after the Civil War The Railroads were growing It’s easier to head west Challenges in the West Many challenges faced the people who moved West There were no trees, so houses were built from sod (thick grass) Had to dig wells for water Blizzards, hailstorms, tornados, fires, drought Insects ate crops New inventions helped some of the challenges Steel plow – helped farming built sod houses Windmills – helped pump water from wells Barbed wire – kept cattle in or out Reapers threshers – helped harvest crops Mining in the West Gold has struck again in Nevada, Colorado, South Dakota People raced to go to these areas Boomtowns appeared due to gold strikes Boomtown – a town that has a sudden burst of population economic growth When the gold other mined resources ran out people moved to the next town Boomtowns became ghost towns Cattle Drives Cattle ranching made big money for 20 years Ranchers hired cowhands to drive cattle from Texa