Settling in the West
Kuvakäsikirjoitus Teksti
- The Great plains were a largely unsettled territory before 1870 where traditional natives lived. The Homestead Act then promised settlers 160 acres of land for free in exchange for farming in a span of 5 years and many started moving west.
- People used the Transcontinental Railroad as a easier way to move west and ship cattle/crops. There were many public lands not belonging to anyone and not fenced so people settled on open rages as they continued to move.
- Conditions were poor. Lack of materials, rain, fuel, extreme temperature, and isolation caused people to build sod houses which were houses made out of thick clumps of grass and soil cut into bricks to keep warm.
- Due to the effects on settlement, there were clashes with natives. For the next 25 years , they would continue to fight in a series of skirmishes called the Indian War.
- Barbed wire was used to enclose open ranges as well as cattle and crops to keep them safe from predators and animals.
- Windmills were used to pump brought groundwater to the surface. Groundwater wells were wells dug hundreds of feet deep in order to tap into the groundwater. Farmers used steel plows because of the lack of manpower on the farm to break through soil drawn by horses so that they could get good soil for crops.
Yli 30 miljoonaa kuvakäsikirjoitusta luotu