American West

By Sarah Evans

Geography

Homesteaders
The homesteaders were Americans who migrated into the west and settled on the Plains. Conditions were hard and the homesteaders had to adapt heavily to survive on the plains

Acts
There were many acts that were used to pull the homesteaders in that were brought in by the government The Homesteaders Act Gave them 160 acres of land to use and farm on Timber and Culture Act Gave them an extra 80 acres if they promised to plant trees on half of that land. These acts would ensure that more people would populate the Plains and that resources were available such as wood for fuel and building

Manifest Destiny
This was the belief that white Americans should spread over America so that there would be loyal people ready to serve the government. This was needed to ensure that land was not taken over by other countries such as France who wanted to claim Louisiana for themselves. Also Mexico posed the threat of taking land to the USA so loyal Americans all over would prevent this happening.

Homesteaders Solutions
The lack of water was solved by inventions such as the wind pump. This meant that water could be kept underground where it would not dry up and could be brought up easily. The Plains Indians were very territorial and this meant that they would destroy crops and steal things if they got the chance. The invention of barbed wire and fences built by the wood from the Timber and Culture Act ensured that the Indians would be deterred. The fences also acted as a barrier for buffalo that would trample on crops and destroy food

Railroads
The government wanted to build the railroads for many reasons If 60,000 people were introduced into a territory it could become a state. It would promote manifest destiny New technology could be brought in from other places

Railroads
They were finished in May 1869 and went from the east to the west. Labour shortages solved by Chinese immigrant workers