Settlers move Westward to Farm
Section 2, Chapter 5
I. Settlers moved Westward to Farm
--It took over 250 years from the first settlement at Jamestown until 1870 to turn 400 million acres of forest
and prairies into farmlands. The second 400 million acres only took 30 years from 1870-1900. Federal
land policy and the transcontinental railroad made this possible.
A. Railroads opened up the West
1. From 1850-1871, the federal government made huge land grants to the RR's.....
2. Both the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific received 10 sq miles public land for 1 mile of track
laid in a state AND.....
3. The RACE began between the two as the Central Pacific moved eastward from Sacramento
and .....................
4. The grueling railroad work was done by.......
5. Both companies reached Utah by the spring of 1869. 15 years later.......
B. Government support for settlement
1. The HOMESTEAD ACT....
2. The EXODUSTERS.....
3. Despite the response of the settlers the land only 10% was actually settled by whom it was
intended. Cattlemen fenced up area, miners and wood cutters........
4. The Homestead Act was strengthened and in 1889 a major land giveaway in what is now......
5. Because some eager "want-to-be" landowners cited their plot sooner than they were supposed
to....
MOVIE CLIP
C. Protecting the wilderness from settlement
1. Two men helped to keep the wilderness from being swallowed up by settlers. They were.....
2. In 1872.....
3. The RR's were forced to give up landholdings equal to ......
4. By 1880, settlers had purchased over 19 million acres of government land and the Census Bureau
declared......
The Frontier was also tamed as a result of these four things
BARBED WIRE WHEAT GROWING TECHNOLOGY on the FARM CATTLE BREEDING
D. Education in Agriculture
1. Morrill Act of 1862 and 1890 gave .........
2. Hatch Act of 1887 established agricultural experiment stations to.....
E. Farmers in Debt
1. Tensions grew when prices for wheat fell. Farmers needed to raise more crops to make ends meet.
The Bonanza Farms were created which....
2. Farmers also felt tension from the rising cost of shipping grain. RR's charged more for....
3. These tensions did not doom the farmer but instead.....