American history, the WILD WILD West

CALIFORNIA OR BUST!!!

Westward expansion

When 5 million people immigrated from east to west. Reasons: gold rush, agricultural land, cattle industries, and railroad industries

Gold rush (California)

1849 James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill near San Francisco. Word spread and people rushed to California.

Boom towns

Towns where gold (even just one) was found. People suddenly rushed into the villages and started mining for gold. The population grew like the onomatopoeia, “boom.”

Ghost towns

Towns that once had high populations because golds were found. When the gold was all taken, the population plummeted, making it ghost towns.

Mining off of Miners

During the gold rush, people sold necessary items for mining to miners. These people made the most money

Levi strauss

The person who first made the jeans. Denim cloth (used for tents at that time) and copper rivets (to hold onto the cloth) were used to make jeans.

Gold rush (Colorado)

1859, gold is discovered in Creeple Creek, bringing tons of people

Pony Express

A prepostal service that delivered deeds, contracts, and other mail through horses. Riders traveled about 200 miles a day. It was a dangerous job that later required “young male orphans” to work (since no one would be sad about their death). Replaced by telegraph.

Homestead Act of 1862

Act that offered 160 acres of land at $1.25 an acre if the person met requirements

Requirements: Live on that land for five years, and build a permanent structure (house).

Sodbusters

Farmers who turned over the topsoil full of sod (grassy soil full of grass and their roots).

Soddy

Houses made up of sod bricks

John Deere

Inventor of the first working commercial steel plow.

Barbed Wire

Wire that was cheap and easy to use in the West where there was little wood. Invented by Joseph Glidden

O.K. Corral

Not abbreviated form: Old Kindersley Horse Corral

A place in Tombstone, Arizona (Tombstone was a flourishing mining town)

Famous for the shootout/showdown on October 1881

Fight with a gang of thieves and murderers called “The Cowboys and good guys