The self-governing windmill, Do Now

powering a wind pump
Very hot summers, low
rainfall (especially in
summer); long droughts; very
cold winters.
Sulky
1. Because of the lack of timber on the Plains, many homesteaders built sod houses. What were sod houses made
of? ___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. When homesteader families hired a ‘sod buster’, what were they hiring him to do?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Describe the climate conditions that made farming on the Plains very challenging.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How many acres could a settler claim under the Homestead Act (1862)?
Plains Indians ______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Which one of the following types of people was not allowed to file a claim under the Homestead Act (1862)?
Earth A: women who were heads of households, B: ex-slaves, C: Plains Indians or D: Union soldiers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
60 6. What percentage of homestead claims were never ‘proved up’ in the period 1862–95? A: 20%, B: 40%, C: 60%
or D: 80% _____________________________________________________________________________________
Barbed wire
7. What invention of 1854 became an important solution to the problem of water on the Plains?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Plough; plough through the 8. What invention of 1874 became an important solution to the lack of timber for fencing on the Plains?
tough and tangled grass layer ______________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________
of the prairie. 9. In 1875 a type of ride-on plough was developed that made ploughing up the tough grasses and weeds of the Plains
much easier. What was this type of plough called?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1873
10. In what year was the Timber Culture Act passed?
160 ______________________________________________________________________________________________
 1. Earth
2. Plough; plough through
the tough and tangled grass
layer of the prairie.
3. Very hot summers, low
rainfall (especially in
summer); long droughts; very
cold winters.
4. 160
5. Plains Indians
6. 60
Feedback
1. Because of the lack of timber on the Plains, many homesteaders built sod houses. What were sod houses made
of? ___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. When homesteader families hired a ‘sod buster’, what were they hiring him to do?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Describe the climate conditions that made farming on the Plains very challenging.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How many acres could a settler claim under the Homestead Act (1862)?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Which type of people was not allowed to file a claim under the Homestead Act (1862)?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What percentage of homestead claims were never ‘proved up’ in the period 1862–95?
______________________________________________________________________________________________

7. The self-governing 7. What invention of 1854 became an important solution to the problem of water on the Plains?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
windmill, powering a wind 8. What invention of 1874 became an important solution to the lack of timber for fencing on the Plains?
pump ______________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________
8. Barbed wire 9. In 1875 a type of ride-on plough was developed that made ploughing up the tough grasses and weeds of the Plains
much easier. What was this type of plough called?
9. Sulky ______________________________________________________________________________________________
10. In what year was the Timber Culture Act passed?
10. 1873 ______________________________________________________________________________________________
 Insert Date

Learning Objective

What was the impact of new technology and new farming methods?
Topic 3: Conflicts and conquest, c1876-c1895
End of Topic 2 Reteach
Last lesson

Component 1: Changes in farming

Students will learn about the impact of new technology and new farming methods.
This lesson

Component 2: The cattle Industry

Students will learn about the changes in the cattle industry following the winter of 1886-
Next lesson 87.
Knowledge Organiser
 Key Words
• Prairie Sod – The tough grass on the
Plains with dense roots made the top layer
of the ground – the sod – difficult to break
up.

• Mechanisation – Using machines to do

work rather than people or animals.
Background information
The first settlers into the American West faced huge
challenges with tough, dry soil, extreme weather
and a lack of access to water and timber. Farming
land effectively enough to survive proved a
challenge with some homesteaders selling up.
I Do
However, with the expansion of the
railroad, farmers were able to buy a
wider range of new machinery and
types of crops to help farm their
land.

The US Government, who were keen to

further expand settlement in the West, also
invested huge amounts of money in
developing new technology to help farmers.

This was helped in particular with the rise of

industrialisation in America. Inventors,
mechanics and the growth of factories
helped farmers on the Plains transform their
land into rich and fertile farmland.
To be able to:
• Explain the impact of new technology and new farming methods. We Do
Task One
As new inventions were shown to be of use to farmers and became cheaper to buy
they began to be used all across the West. However, before 1976 they were still in
development. Were these new inventions an advantage or disadvantage to farming
the Plains? Tick the appropriate answer for each statement.
 Feedback
Advantage Read the statements and tick the appropriate answer Disadvantage
1. Windmills were used to pump water out of the ground to help farmers water their crops.
2. Early types of barbed wire broke and rusted.
3. The ‘sulky plow’ was a very strong, easy to operate steel plough that made ploughing up
tough plants much easier.
4. Barbed wire was used to fence off crops to protect them form livestock and other
animals.
5. Early Sulkies were unstable and could tip up.
6. Halladay’s windmill (or wind pump) could pump water out of quite deep wells (30 feet).
7. Barbed wire was very effective and much cheaper than buying timber for fences.
8. Windmills were not powerful enough to pump water from very deep wells (more than 30
feet).
9. Strong ploughs were needed to plough up the tough weeds and prairie grass on the Great
Plains.
10. Windmills needed constant maintenance.
Farming Method 1
Dry Farming
Dry farming was a new
experimental technique that aimed
to keep as much water in the dry
soil of the Plains as possible. It was
a method that farmers and
homesteaders could better prepare
their soil to grow the crops they
wanted. It was developed in 1879
by a Dakota farmer named Hardy
Webster Campbell.
I Do
Importance/Consequences
It allowed soil to trap more water. This meant that once a
crop was planted, its roots could grow stronger and longer
and gain better access to water deep underground.
Farmers found that dry farming worked well, especially with
the Turkey Red Wheat which was introduced during the
1870s.
With more wheat, more flour could be milled by windmills
creating more food for the settlers. The additional food
grown from dry farming also meant farmers could sell their
crops. This was an important factor to improve the trade and
economy of the West.
More homesteaders began to use the technique with
successful results. Knowing that such farming
techniques worked also promoted even more settlement into
the West.
Farming Method 2
Wind pumps
By the 1870s, there was still a
high number of farmers who
gave up on their land due to a
lack of access to water.
However, Daniel Halliday
invented a new metal bladed
wind pump which was stronger
and more efficient. Later on,
this was developed further by
adding steel to the metal blades
for added strength.
I Do
Importance/Consequences
The new blades were useful as they were designed to
rotate with any wind direction. This was useful for the
strong winds of the Great Plains that often changed
direction.
It meant fewer blades broke and therefore fewer needed
expensive and time consuming repairs.
The metal blades were more efficient for farmers ass
they only needed oiling once a year, compared to the
older wooden blades which would have needed
oiling every week.
Water could be accessed as deep as 100m underground.
In the longer term, both homesteaders and ranchers
were able to make use of the new wind pump
blades to help them access water for themselves, their
crops and their animals.
Farming Method 3
Barbed wire
The early forms of barbed wire
were expensive and prone to
rust after a short time. However,
during the 1880s, improvements
were made by coating the wire
in plastic to preventing it from
rusting. Barbed wire also
became mass produced and so
its price fell, especially as it was
easy to bring in my train.
I Do
Importance/Consequences
Timber was still in short supply and so barbed wire was
good at protecting crops from animals such as cattle and
the buffalo.
It was a useful way for ranch owners and homesteaders
to clearly show the boundary of the their land.
The plastic coating not only lasted longer but fewer
animals were harmed if they were caught up in it.
The cost reduced so much that most homesteaders and
ranchers could easily afford to use it on their land.
The barbed wire reduced lawlessness as it provided an
effective way to stop cattle rustling which increased in
the 1870s.
In the long term it encouraged more settlers
to the American West in the knowledge that
they could protect the land they
Farming Method 4
Mechanisation
The development of the
American West came just as
America was experiencing its
own industrial revolution.
Inventors and manufacturers
were keen to make good money
designing and making machinery
which could help the farmers in
the West. Machines were
created to help the dry farmers
prepare soil.
I Do
Importance/Consequences
Mechanised ploughs could reach deeper into the soil.
Seed drills were developed which automatically planted
seeds at the right depth.
New flour mills meant that the abundance of Turkey Red
wheat could be milled quickly.
The strong steel plough invented by John Deere in the
1830s was further developed by James Oliver.
All of these inventions and developments made farming
faster, more efficient and more productive. As a result,
farming was able to make far more money.
Trade became vital between the farmers in the American
West and the big industrial manufacturers in the big cities
of the east. Therefore this further helped the US
economy.
To be able to:
• Explain the impact of new technology and new farming methods. You Do

Task Two
 Using page 72 of the textbook
complete the table by explaining
both the following for each farming
method:
 1.Impact
 Any issues

Deepening learning: Explain which method had the most significant impact on farming.
 Exit Ticket deeply correct
machines
MODEL ANSWER: Explain one consequence of farming soil set
developments in the late 1870s and 1880s.
homesteaders
One consequence of farming developments in the late 1870s and 80s was Secondly
that it made farming _______ and more__________. The development drills faster
which was important for this was __________. Agricultural
easier
__________were developed to improve dry farming ___________. Dry
farming required the _____ to be __________ very ________, so that it ploughed
went deep into the soil. Improved ______ ploughs were developed that mechanisation
could be ____at the right _____for this. ________ seed _______ were also
steel depth
developed to plant the seeds deeply, these automatically planted seeds at
the _______depth for successful dry farming. _____________ of larger

mechanisation made farming _______, more efficient and more productive. techniques
Furthermore, successful ________ could now farm ______ areas using the productive
new machines. As a result
 Feedback
MODEL ANSWER: Explain one consequence of farming
developments in the 1870s and 1880s.
One consequence of farming developments in the 1870s and 80s was that it
made farming _______
easier productive
and more__________. The development which was
important for this was __________.
mechanisation Agricultural __________were
machines
developed to improve dry farming ___________. techniques Dry farming required the
_____
soil to be __________
ploughed very ________,
deeply so that it went deep into the soil.
Improved ______
steel ploughs were developed that could be ____at set the right
_____for
depth Secondly
this. __________, drills
seed _______ were also developed to plant the
seeds deeply, these automatically planted seeds at the _______depth correct for
As a result
successful dry farming. _____________ of mechanisation made farming
_______,
faster more efficient and more productive. Furthermore, successful
________ could now farm ______
homesteader larger areas using the new machines.
s
Resources
The self-governing windmill,
powering a wind pump
Very hot summers, low
rainfall (especially in
summer); long droughts; very
cold winters.
Sulky
Do Now
1. Because of the lack of timber on the Plains, many homesteaders built sod houses. What were sod houses made
of? ___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. When homesteader families hired a ‘sod buster’, what were they hiring him to do?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Describe the climate conditions that made farming on the Plains very challenging.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How many acres could a settler claim under the Homestead Act (1862)?
Plains Indians ______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Which one of the following types of people was not allowed to file a claim under the Homestead Act (1862)?
Earth A: women who were heads of households, B: ex-slaves, C: Plains Indians or D: Union soldiers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
60 6. What percentage of homestead claims were never ‘proved up’ in the period 1862–95? A: 20%, B: 40%, C: 60%
or D: 80% _____________________________________________________________________________________
Barbed wire
7. What invention of 1854 became an important solution to the problem of water on the Plains?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Plough; plough through the 8. What invention of 1874 became an important solution to the lack of timber for fencing on the Plains?
tough and tangled grass layer ______________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________
of the prairie. 9. In 1875 a type of ride-on plough was developed that made ploughing up the tough grasses and weeds of the Plains
much easier. What was this type of plough called?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1873
10. In what year was the Timber Culture Act passed?
160 ______________________________________________________________________________________________
As new inventions were shown to be of use to farmers and became cheaper to buy they began to be used all across the West.
However, before 1976 they were still in development. Were these new inventions an advantage or disadvantage to farming the
Plains?

Advantage Read the statements and tick the appropriate answer Disadvantage
1. Windmills were used to pump water out of the ground to help farmers water their crops.
2. Early types of barbed wire broke and rusted.
3. The ‘sulky plow’ was a very strong, easy to operate steel plough that made ploughing up
tough plants much easier.
4. Barbed wire was used to fence off crops to protect them form livestock and other
animals.
5. Early Sulkies were unstable and could tip up.
6. Halladay’s windmill (or wind pump) could pump water out of quite deep wells (30 feet).
7. Barbed wire was very effective and much cheaper than buying timber for fences.
8. Windmills were not powerful enough to pump water from very deep wells (more than 30
feet).
9. Strong ploughs were needed to plough up the tough weeds and prairie grass on the Great
Plains.
10. Windmills needed constant maintenance.
 Exit Ticket deeply correct
machines
MODEL ANSWER: Explain one consequence of farming soil set
developments in the 1870s and 1880s.
homesteaders
One consequence of farming developments in the 1870s and 80s was that it Secondly
made farming _______ and more__________. The development which was drills faster
important for this was __________. Agricultural __________were
easier
developed to improve dry farming ___________. Dry farming required the
_____ to be __________ very ________, so that it went deep into the soil. ploughed
Improved ______ ploughs were developed that could be ____at the right mechanisation
_____for this. ________ seed _______ were also developed to plant the
steel depth
seeds deeply, these automatically planted seeds at the _______depth for
successful dry farming. _____________ of mechanisation made farming larger

_______, more efficient and more productive. Furthermore, successful techniques

________ could now farm ______ areas using the new machines. productive
As a result
Date: