Presentation from Mr. Shomaker's American History classes over one of the most morally questionable eras in this country's great history: The Gilded Age.
Presentation from Mr. Shomaker's American History classes over one of the most morally questionable eras in this country's great history: The Gilded Age.
c. 1850-1900Prior to the discovery of gold, much of TawnaDelatorrejs
c. 1850-1900
Prior to the discovery of gold, much of the West was considered a wasteland & much was part of North MexicoDuring the last decades of the 1800s, the U.S. was segmented into 1) an industrialized society and 2) a frontierThe 1890 census was the first to record that the frontier had been settledAdditionally, by 1890 the US surpassed Great Britain in iron and steel productionSettlement in the West was powered by industry
Mexico was under Spanish domination until 1821.
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By the 1860s, agricultural settlement reached the western margins of the tall grass prairies
Ecology-60 million years ago, the Rocky Mountains rose out of the sea and covered western North AmericaWith no outlet, the shallow inland sea dried upA hard pan was leftSediment washed down from the mountains over time to form a loose, featureless surface
Ecology-The climate suffered from cycles of drought because moist winds from the Pacific ocean delivered rain on the western slope of the Sierras Only drought-resistant grasses and plants could survive in this climateThe ecosystem could support certain plants and animals, but had not nurtured very much human settlement
About 100,000 Native American groups lived on the plains in 1850They were very diverseThey have been categorized across six linguistic families and 30 “tribal” groupsMandan, Arikara, Pawnee
~lived in permanent villages
~planted corn & beans
~however, smallpox & measles ravaged settled groups
Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, Cheyenne, “Blackfeet,” “Crow,” & SiouxWere dispersed in hunting groupsFirst arrived on the plains in the 1600sHunted buffaloMoved from lake country in northern Minnesota when fish and game dwindled
Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, Cheyenne, “Blackfeet,” “Crow,” & SiouxBecame nomadicLived in portable skin teepeesAcquired horses from southwestern groupsCame to claim the entire Great Plains North of the Arkansas RiverDrove out or subjugated longer-settled groups
One notable group of Plains Native American Indians were the Lakota SiouxThey had strict gender rolesWomen were more subordinate than in other groupsSaw God as a series of powers pervading the universeThe Sun Dance was one form of religious worship for them
Image of Sun Dance from http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/2/lectures/lakota/sundance.detail.jpg.
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The Lakota Sioux were not a self-contained group of peopleThey traded with others, including whitesPelts and buffalo robes were traded for kettles, knives, blankets, & guns, which the Lakota came to rely upon
Again, prior to the 1840s gold rush, land in the west was seen as only worthy of Native American Indian settlement and useIn 1834, congress formally designated the Great Plains as permanent Indian countryThe army constructed border forts from Lake Superior to Fort Worth TexasThey were made of stone because they would be in place “forever”“Mainstream” Americans would theoretically trade with the Native Americans, but not settle the west
What changed these per ...
2. Mining
When gold was discovered in the west hopeful
prospectors moved. Most prospectors didn’t
make money, but a few people hit is big. The
people who made the most money from the
gold rush were the company’s that made
mining materials. Levis jeans is a good
example.
3. Mining Towns
Many mining towns
were set up. When
people left they
turned into ghost
towns. Sometimes
the ratio of male to
female was 9:1. The
mining towns were
very diverse.
4. Cowboys
Cowboys did not to anything historical to the
west but they are a big part of the legacy. This
is because there are many movies made about
them and they are an iconic figure. There job
was to herd the cattle to the railroads. Life on
the trail was exhausting. They could be on the
trail for a month at a time. Most cowboys only
did one drive because it was such a bad job.
6. Railroads
The transcontinental railroad changed the
United States. It allowed people to move to the
west or just take a trip. It connected the two
halves of America. It turned a multi-week trip
into just a few days. 2 companies built the
railroad, the union pacific and the central
pacific. The each started at different ends and
built toward each other. It opened on May 10th,
1869.
8. Farming in the West
If you moved to the west you were given 160
acres to live on and farm. Farming was very
hard. It was also very boring. Farming is a big
gamble because it is all based on the weather.
Most farmers didn’t make a lot of money. Just
like the gold rush the people that made the
most money on farming were the people who
made farming tools. A good example id John
Deere.
10. Populists
Populists were people that fought for farmer
rights from the government. They wanted the
farmers to get benefits and make sure the
government wouldn’t take away their land.
11. Exodusters
Exodusters were African Americans that moved
to Kansas to escape the KKK and the Jim Crow
Laws. They were being treated like second class
citizens.