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Growth of the Railroad Industry. Western Expansion Unit. New Technology. Bessemer Process Reduced the impurities of steel Made the production of steel cheaper and faster Standard Gauge Common distance b/w the rails of a railroad track
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Growth of the Railroad Industry Western Expansion Unit
New Technology • Bessemer Process • Reduced the impurities of steel • Made the production of steel cheaper and faster • Standard Gauge • Common distance b/w the rails of a railroad track • Steel allows the US to build bigger trains and lay more track
Transcontinental Railroad • Central Pacific Railroad (Chinese immigrants) and Union Pacific Railroad (Irish immigrants) • Meet at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869 • Casualties – 2,000 dead; 20,000 injured • Pay – Approx. $50.00/month (Irish); Approx. $ 35.00/month (Chinese) • Railroad lines now connect the Atlantic and Pacific
Effects of the Railroad • Creation of a standard time zone (1883) • Creation of the Pullman Car – Luxury sleeping car • Establish new markets and towns • 35,000 miles of track in 1835; 193,000 miles by 1900 • Support from the gov’t and corruption from the railroad industry • Railroads become the # 1 industry in America
The Rancher, Farmer and Miner Western Expansion Unit
National Identity In your notebook: Make a list of adjectives that describe the popular image of cowboys… Use any Hollywood or literary references you feel are pertinent. 1) Hardworking 2) individualistic 3) strong 4) quiet
Cattle Industry • Mexican roots • Vaqueros – cowboys • Many words are adopted from the Mexican ranchers • Adopted by Texans • Turn ranching into big business • Railheads • Idea from Joseph McCoy • Shipping stations in the Midwest (eg. Kansas City, Wichita) • Long Drive – Movement of cattle north from Texas to the railheads (romantic image of the cowboy begins)
The first American cowboys adopted a number of Mexican traditions and words, including chaps
End of the Cattle Industry • Economics • Cattle lose weight on the long drive • Overproduction brings down prices (Supply/Demand) • New Laws & barbed wire (Joseph Glidden) • Spread of disease only allows cattle to pass through certain states in Winter • Limit the amount of open land • Weather • Cold winter in 1885-86, followed by summer drought leads to death of thousands of cattle (as much as 90% of cattle)
The New American Farmer • 3 Groups heading west • Whites from the east (middle-class) • African Americans from the south (Exodusters) • Immigrants from Europe and Asia (Irish, Chinese, Germans) • Motive- Possibility of land, opportunity, and profit • Oklahoma “Sooners” • 1889 in Oklahoma Territory • Pres. Harrison announces free land • 100,000 pioneers go west to claim territory
Innovation and the Farmer • Self-governing windwill • Daniel Halliday • Operates pumps to draw water to the surface • Dry Farming • Method of farming in areas w/ little rain • Deep plowing that allowed soil to stay moist and take advantage of rainfall • Plows • John Deere invents 1st steel plow • Lister – double plow to moves soil in both directions and plants the seeds
Corporate American vs. the Small Farmer • Big Business • John Deere and McCormick become major industries • Bonanza Farms • Large farms backed by financers • As large as 100,000 acres • Receive cheap rates for shipping, seed and equipment • Make it harder for individual farmers to make a profit
Early Mining Communities • 6 Stages of Development • 1) Every man is a lawman • 2) Organized Vigilantism – citizens become police • 3) Build churches and schools (social develoment) • 4) Organize a local gov’t • 5) Become a U.S. territory • 6) Become a state, create constitution
- Panning in the Klondike. - Few ever strike it rich - Corporations soon take over
Discovery of Gold • 49ers • Gold found in the Sierra Nevadas • Large companies make a profit • Pike’s Peak, Colorado • 1858-59 – prospectors move out west in large numbers • Comstock Lode • Carson River Valley (1859) • Discovery of silver ($500 million in 20 years) • Klondike Gold Rush • Canada’s Yukon Territory • More than $1 million in gold • More than 100,000 prospectors arrive
Big Business of Mining • Why does Mining become such a Big Business? • 1) New methods of extracting ore • Placer mining Hydraulic mining • 2) Mining/Engineering taught in schools • Technical schools (A & M) • 3) Corporations organized • Unions also organize • 4) Powerful machinery/Technology
Authors of the American West • Brett Harte • Vividly described life in the mining communities • “The Luck of Roaring Camp” (1917) • Mark Twain • Wrote about the mining camps • “Roughing It” • Made fun (satire) of everyone in the west • Description of the west from an original point of view
Logging Industry • Needed for all western development • Homes, towns, businesses • Log drive – timber floated downstream • Heavy machinery needed • Allows corporations to dominate • Types • Douglas Fir – 8-10 ft. thick • Redwoods – diameter of 20-30 ft.
Closing of the Frontier • Turner Thesis • Frederick Jackson Turner • Claimed the frontier was the distinguishing factor b/w U.S. and Europe • By 1890, U.S. Census claims frontier is closed • U.S. has a separate national identity
Frederick Jackson Turner, believed that the frontier epitomizes what it meant to be an American
Visions of the West • Dime Novels – Cheap popular fiction books • Cowboy and Indian stories • Western Novelists • Owen Wister, Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour • William F. Cody • Known as an Indian fighter • Wild West Shows cowboys, lariats, and gun shows