WESTERN EXPANSION

REASONS FOR WESTWARD EXPANSION

• There were several things that brought western settlers
• Such as farming, ranching, mining, and the Oklahoma Land Rush

FARMING

• The first settlers of the plains were unsure about farming
• The land was very dry
• People started farming in the plains because there were railroads that made easier and faster transportation
• After more people started farming the land, there began to be more rainfall
• This helped make the land better for farming

MINING

• People heard about great mining in the west. This attracted many settlers
• This caused boomtowns to start popping up
• They heard about the Comstock Lode
• The Comstock Lode was when Henry Comstock found $11,000 worth of silver
• Many miners moved to the west to get rich, very few ended up making a profit

RANCHING

• Many ranchers were confederate army veterans or African Americans looking to start a new life
• Some people started ranching because the railroads made it easier and cheaper transportation
• Also the longhorn value went up extremely. This attracted many ranchers
• Although most ranchers were just wanting to start a new life

OKLAHOMA LAND RUSH

• The Oklahoma land rush brought a lot of new people to the west
• This was an event where the federal government gave a way a lot of land for very little money
• Approximately 10,000 people were lined up at the Oklahoma border waiting until 12:00 to claim their land

HOW NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITIONS CHANGED

DAWES ACT

• Dawes act was a law that made native Americans start farming and claim land
• Natives were used to living freely off the land and not having private property

WHITES TAKING LAND

• The white man started invading natives land
• This forced natives to move onto smaller and smaller pieces of land
• This caused war

ANGRY NATIVES

• Native Americans got mad that whites were taking their land
• They started war against them but were no match for the whites