The document discusses the settlement of the American West following the Civil War. It summarizes that the growth of railroads accelerated western migration, carrying settlers who were mostly ranchers, farmers, and miners. Key figures in railroad expansion included Leland Stanford and Cornelius Vanderbilt. The Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869, connected the eastern and western United States and further improved travel westward. The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged settlement of the Great Plains by offering free land. Four factors drew settlers to the central plains: the Homestead Act, fertile land, the steel plow, and flat terrain. However, this displaced Native Americans, leading to conflicts and wars as settlers took over indigenous lands.

1. By Brad Harris,
Grand Prairie HS SE: US 3A, 12A, 15A

2. Rise of the Iron Horse
Following the Civil War, many
Americans began moving West.
The growth of railroads quickened
this migration.
Most people who moved
west were ranchers who
raised cattle or farmed
the land, or were miners
looking for gold or silver.

3. Railroad Pioneers
Leland Stanford Cornelius Vanderbilt
Founded Central Largest railroad
Pacific Railroad, tycoon in the
the largest Eastern United
railroad company States during
in the West the late 1800s

4. Transcontinental Railroad
The railway completed in 1869 between Omaha,
Nebraska and Sacramento, California
It was built in large part by Chinese immigrants

5. Transcontinental Railroad
It joined the Union Pacific and Central Pacific
Railroads and greatly improved travel from the
eastern United States to the West.

6. Discoveryeducation.com
The American Revolution
Railroads

7. Homestead Act
The law passed in 1862 that
encouraged the settlement
of the Great Plains
People got a plot of land
for free as long as they:
1) Filed a application
2) Improved the land
3) Filed for a deed ($10)

8. Settlement of the West
Four things drew settlers to the Central Plains
1) the Homestead Act allowed people to own their own land
2) the land was rich and fertile for farming
3) the development of the steel plow made farming easier
4) the land was flat without any major mountains

10. Settlement of the West
This flood of people moving westward angered
many Native Americans living in the Plains.

11. Settlement of the West
To make room for white settlers, herds of
buffalo were killed and Native Americans were
placed on reservations, leading to…

12. “Indian Wars”
The movement west
led to a series of
“Indian wars”
between homesteaders
and Native Americans
The clashes led to numerous massacres,
throughout the late 1800s
Among these were the Sand Creek
Massacre, Fetterman Massacre and
the Massacre at Wounded Knee

13. Indian Peace Commission
Three years after the Sand Creek Massacre, the
federal government tried to step in and settle
disputes between U.S. settlers and Native Americans
by creating the Indian Peace Commission in 1867
The Indian Peace
Commission tried to
end conflicts by
creating new lands for
Native Americans only.
These lands were
known as reservations.

14. Indian Reservations

15. The Dawes Act
Law passed in 1887
attempting to assimilate
Native Americans into
American society
The law led to the creation of “Indian Territory”
in what is today the state of Oklahoma

16. The Dawes Act
Native American
children were forced to
learn English and
became more
“Americanized”
Native American
families were forced
from their homelands
and onto reservations
The U.S. government
had to use force to move
some Native American

17. The_Dawes_General_Allotment_Act

18. Flight of the Nez Perce
Often, Native Americans were
chased off land that they had
been settled on for centuries
The Nez
Perce tribe –
led by Chief
Joseph –
refused to
move from The army chased the
their lands to Nez Perce all the way to
a reservation Canada before Chief
in Idaho Joseph surrendered

19. Famous Indian Chiefs
Sitting Bull Crazy Horse
Red Cloud Geronimo

20. Custer’s Last Stand
The Battle of Little
Big Horn in 1876
was one of the most
famous massacres
in U.S. history
It was in this battle Lt. Colonel George
Custer and the U.S. 7th Army was
ambushed by Native Americans. It
became known as Custer’s Last Stand

21. Coming Up Next
The Industrial
Revolution