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The West

The West. Mining. Placer mining – mining for the shallow ore at the earth’s surface. (Individuals) Quartz mining – corporate mining using heavy equipment to dig deep in the earth. www.worldofrockhounds.com. The Rush for Gold.

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The West

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  1. The West

  2. Mining • Placer mining – mining for the shallow ore at the earth’s surface. (Individuals) • Quartz mining – corporate mining using heavy equipment to dig deep in the earth. www.worldofrockhounds.com

  3. The Rush for Gold • Ever since the conquest of Mexico in 1521, people looked for their golden fortune. • Georgia 1828 • California Gold Rush- one of the largest migrations in the history of man.300,000 people migrated to California to enjoy the wealth.

  4. Getting to California

  5. First Miner’s • Panned the Rivers – Individuality. Everyman for himself. Individual fortunes

  6. The Comstock Lode • 1859 Large silver strike in Nevada • This strike financed the Civil War and the laying of the Transatlantic cable. • At the peak, population 30,000. When mines petered out ghost towns • “Boom and Bust”

  7. Corporate Mining • Quartz mining took mass amount of capital. • Miners became wage earners rather than independent workers as the ore became deeper.

  8. Comstock Mine

  9. Other Mining Discoveries • Over $1,000,000,000 ore (gold and silver) mined in Colorado during the 1870’s. • Gold in the Black Hills of Dakota 1876 • Copper in Montana and Arizona

  10. Worker Exploitation • The Corporate owners set wages and hours for the miners. • Safety was lax • Benefits did not exist • Formation of the Western Federation of Miners. Led to confrontations between miners and the states.

  11. The Ranchers • Spanish and Mexican heritage to run cattle on the open range. • During the Gold Rushes, cattle drives began to move cattle from the plains of Texas to the camps. http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/cattle.html

  12. Cattle Culture • Developed from Hispanic heritage. • Words such as lariat, lasso, stampede • Old saying “American cattlemen walked to Texas in moccasins but left wearing boots on horseback”

  13. Supply and Demand • Industrialization of the North after the Civil War led to the cattle drives from the Texas. • Cattle in Texas $3 a head; $10 - $40 a head in the North. • No railroads in Texas connected to Northern markets.

  14. The Era of Big Ranches • The cattle prices led to corporate ranches being developed • Examples: King Ranch and XIT Ranch in Texas; The TA and KC Ranches in Wyoming.

  15. Replacement of American Cattle • Land bought cheap and fenced off ending the open range. • Market oversaturated with beef thus lowering the price of beef • Blizzards • European stock brought in to create new beefier breeds .

  16. The Farmers • Farmers passed the Great Plains area during the first westward movement. • U.S. maps labeled the Great Plains as the “Great American Desert”. • Oregon Territory was considered the land of opportunity. http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/oregonterritorydef.htm

  17. Homestead Act of 1862 • Passed to give the idea of the Yeoman farmer a chance to own land. • Gave 160 acres of land to a person 21 years or older that would make improvements on the land and build a permanent house within 5 years. • Why did it pass in 1862?

  18. Morrill Act • Sets up land grant colleges in the U.S. to teach agriculture and engineering courses. • Military courses were mandatory. What two Texas colleges were land grant colleges? What other colleges in the U.S. do you think started this way?

  19. The Great American Desert? • Railroads moved West and received large land grants from the Federal government. • Sold land to settlers for low prices and with extended credit. • A wet decade produced lush grass on the plains during the 1870’s. • People adapted to the area.

  20. Hardship on the Plains • Harsh summers and winters • Water in deep aquifers • Grass Fires • Insect swarms (grasshoppers, locust)

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