1. Farming Farmers Move West Oklahoma Land Rush Hard Life on the Plains The Populists

2. Farmers Move West • Homestead Act – A law passed in 1862 that promised 160 acres of free land to anyone who paid a small filing fee and farmed it for 5 years • Problems with the Act – Some companies bought large chunks of the offered land and sold it to farmers at a higher price • Exodusters– African Americans who moved to Kansas in 1881 to take advantage of the land • Named themselves after the Jews escaping slavery in Egypt • Los Mexicanos– Spanish speaking southwesterners • Many were treated unfairly and had to work on white farms • To protest this, they formed the Hispanic American Alliance in 1894

3. The Oklahoma Land Rush • Much of the open land was being taken so the government offered land in OK • Many Native Americans were forced to sell their land there • Whites could not stake claims until April 22, 1889 • At noon, 1,000,000 land seekers rushed out to snake their claims • They were called “Boomers” • To the boomers surprise, there were people who had already snuck in to stake their claims called “Sooners”

4. Hard Life on the Plains • Shelter was a problem • Wood was scarce so houses were built of sod (soil held together by grass roots) • Sodbusting • Plains were covered with sod which could break plows • Surviving the Climate • Many crops shriveled and died because of the hot dry climate • Grasshoppers threatened to eat the crops • Winter brought dry, icy gusts across the plains which could make huge snow banks that trapped animals and farmers • More Crops, Less Money • Grain prices dropped in the 1890’s and farmers ended up in debt

5. Activity Read the article given to you and complete the Venn Diagram on the National Grange and the Farmer’s Alliance

6. The Populists • Formed in 1892 it was a group of farmers and labor unions that formed the party • Wanted the government to raise farm prices, regulate railroad rates, enact an income tax, have an 8 hour work day, and limit immigration • Also wanted silver to be used for money • Other parties disagreed because they thought the silver standard would cause inflation (increased prices) • Election of 1896 • William Jennings Bryan – supported by Populists and Democrats • Was for the common people, free silver • William McKinley – supported by Republicans • Bryan narrowly lost the election • Populist party ends up dying out because the Democrats adopted their causes and the economy starts to do better