American History Chapter 13-3

1. American History Chapter 13-3 Farming the Plains

2. Motivations to Farm the West • 1862 Homestead Act: Gave 160 acres of land to the head of the household. • Had to build on the land & farm it for 5 yrs to own it. • 1862 Pacific Railway Act: Granted land to RR companies to construct railroad & telegraph lines. • 1862 Morrill Act: Granted land to states to build or finance colleges for the agricultural & mechanical arts.

3. Further Motivation to Farm the West • 1889 Oklahoma Land Run: 2 million acres of land, previously believed to be Indian Territory, was opened up to white settlement. • 50,000 settlers rushed into Ok. to stake their claims.

4. End of the American Frontier • 1890 – U.S. Census Bureau declared that the American frontier was closed. • Historian Frederick Turner believed that it was the frontier that had made the U.S. distinctive. • Today’s historians list other factors as being more important to the development of the U.S., (ie: slavery, immigration, industrialization.) Frederick Jackson Turner

5. Migration West • Benjamin Singleton: Former slave who encouraged Af. Am. to build their own communities in the West. • Exodusters: 15,000 + African Americans moved to Ks. • Many blacks left the South to avoid segregation & the KKK.

6. Changes in Farming • Many were forced to irrigate. • Constructed windmills. • Lumber was scarce on the plains. • Farmers built dugouts & sod houses.

7. Other Farm Changes • James Oliver: Invented a plow with a sharper edge. • Combine harvesters were invented. • Bonanza farms developed: • Large companies bought up land & ran farms like factories. • Struggled with the boom-and-bust cycles of farming. James Oliver

8. The End