Homesteaders

Who were the homesteaders?

In the second half of the 19th century, thousands of Americans sold their homes and left their families to travel to the Great Plains to live and farm on there

What three government acts persuaded people to move on the Plains?

The Homestead Act, the Timber Culture Act, the Desert Land Act

When was the Homestead Act and what did it do?

1862 - gave the families 160 acres of land for free and they had to live and farm in it for 5 years to keep it

When was the Timber Culture Act and what did it do?

1873 - settlers were given a further 160 acres of land for free, but they had to plant 40 acres of their land with trees

When was the Desert Land Act and what did it do?

1877 - settlers who wanted more land could buy 640 acres of land cheaply and the land was in areas where rainfall was a problem

Did the Desert Land Act give settlers free land?

No, it was sold cheaply

Which acts allowed settlers to be given land for free under certain circumstances?

The Homestead Act and the Timber Culture Act

Which act was passed in 1862?

The Homestead Act

Which act was passed in 1873?

Timber Culture Act

Which act was passed in 1877?

Desert Land Act

How much land did you get with the Homestead and Timber Culture Act?

160 acres

How many acres of trees did you have to plant for the Timber Culture Act?

40

How many acres of land did the Desert Land Act offer?

640

Where was the land that the Desert Land Act offered?

In areas with lack of rainfall

When did the US Civil War start and end?

1861 - 1865

How did the end of the US Civil War cause people to become homesteaders?

Thousands of demobilised families wanted to rebuild their lives, freed slaves were looking to start a new life, ex soldiers saw a lack of opportunity when they returned home

How did the building of the railroads cause people to become homesteaders?

It was easy for homesteaders to travel onto the Plains and land could be lift cheaply from railroad companies where land was sold either side of the railroad

What push factors encouraged people to become homesteaders?

To escape from poverty and unemployment, lack of farming land, religious or social persecution, ex soldiers saw a lack of opportunity when they returned home

What pull factors encouraged people to become homesteaders?

Offer of free/cheap land, chance of a new start, advertising by railroad companies, manifest destiny and letters home from those who have already settled

What problems did the homesteaders face?

Water shortages, weather extremes

Why were there water shortages for the homesteaders?

In many places on the Plains the water was scarce so it was hard for people to keep themselves clean or water crops. There were no rivers or lakes to irrigate crops with. Digging a well was expensive and did not guarantee water

How did the homesteaders solve water shortages?

Daniel Halliday invented the windmill in 1874. It always kept in line with the wind so it didn't get damaged and was used to pump water from the ground. Dry farming was also used where the land would be ploughed after heavy rain to preserve moisture in the soil.

Who invented the windmill?

Daniel Halliday

When was the windmill invented?

1874

What did the windmill do?

It was used to pump water from the ground and always kept in line with the wind so that it didn't get damaged

How did weather extremes cause problems for the homesteaders?

Hot in summer, cold in winter, low rainfall and fierce winds made life very hard. Crops would be destroyed or damaged. The homesteaders weren't nomads like the Indians

How did the homesteaders solve the issue of weather extremes?

Dry farming. Farmers ploughed their land here there had been heavy rain or snowS thus left a thin layer of dust over the surface which trapped and preserved the moisture of the soil. The land was then left fallow ready for the following years crops.

What was dry farming?

Where farmers ploughed their land when there was heavy rain or snow. This left a thin layer of dust on the surface which preserved the soils moisture.

Why was dry farming helpful?

Because it left the land fallow ready for the following years crops

Why was fuel a problem for the homesteaders?

On the Great Plains there was no wood to burn for heating and cooking

How did the homesteaders solve the issue of fuel?

Homesteaders used buffalo or cow "chips" (died dung) as fuel for their fires

Why was dirt and disease a problem for the homesteaders?

They had outdoor toilets and open wells. The sod houses leaked and were very difficult to clean. They harboured fleas, bedbugs, mice and snakes. Diseases developed easily and the death rate was high

What did the homesteaders live in on the plains?

Sod houses

How did the homesteaders solve the issue of dirt and disease?

A thick coat of whitewash was used by homesteaders to kill bedbugs. A layer of clay stopped leaks. Eventually more modern house were built

Why were building materials an issue for the homesteaders?

There was very little wood available to build log cabins. Often, the only building material available was the earth.

How did the homesteaders solve the issue of building materials?

Settlers built 'sod houses' from the earth. Windows and doors were utter and the house were rooted with boards, grass and more sods. The outside was plastered with clay-like mud

Why were natural hazards a problem for the homesteaders?

When the grass was dry, it was easy for the prairie fires to start in the Plains. They could spread easily and destroy the homesteaders' crops. There were also plagues of grasshoppers which destroyed hundreds of acres of cornfields in a few hours.

How did the homesteaders solve the issue of natural hazards?

There was no solution; they just had to endure it and work hard

How was ploughing a problem for the homesteaders?

The Great Plains had never been farmed before. The grasses had dense, tangled roots and the early cast iron ploughs needed constant repairs

Why had the Great Plains never been farmed before the homesteaders?

The Plains Indians didn't believe in agriculture as they believed that everything had a spirit so harming the land would be disrespectful to their religion

How did the homesteaders solve the problem of ploughing?

John Deere invented a strong plough called the "sod buster" which could deal with the tough grass roots. From the 1880s, other new farming machinery developed, including reapers, binders and freshers. These were affordable and increased the amount of land that a homesteader could farm

Who invented the sod buster?

John Deere

What new farming industry developed from the 1880s onwards?

Binders, threshers and reapers

How was protecting crops an issue for the homesteaders?

There was no wood for fencing so there wasn't anything protecting growing crops from buffalo or straying cattle. You couldn't mark Land boundaries which led to disputes over land

How did homesteaders find the solution to protecting crops?

In 1874, Joesph Glidden invented barbed wire. This provided a cheap and effective solution to the problem of fending and protecting crops.

Who created barbed wire?

Joseph Glidden

When was barbed wire invented?

1874

How was growing crops a problem for the homesteaders?

They planted crops they had always grown back at home like maize, soft winter and spring wheat but these crops weren't well suited to the weather conditions on the plains

What solution did the homesteaders find for growing crops?

They recognised hay wheat was more suitable than corn. Many started to keep animals as well as crops. Turkey Red Wheat was a crop grown by them which was more suited to the Plains conditions

What crops did the homesteaders try to plant that didn't work on the Plains?

Maize, spring wheat and soft winter

What crop did the homesteaders find that worked on the Plains?

Turkey Red Wheat

How was housework as problem for the Homesteaders?

There wasn't any wood or fuel and no ships to buy domestic resources from. A typical household only had two buckets, some crockery and one cracked cup. There was no water and little food.

What did a typical household on the Homestead have in terms of domestic resources?

No water, a little food, two buckets, some crockery and one cracked cup

How did the homesteaders solve the issue of housework?

A travelling shoe maker might pass through who would provide or mend household items. Women collected "buffalo chips" for fuel, stoked the stove and made their own candles or soap

Who would sometimes pass through and help the homesteaders with their household supplies?

Travelling shoe maker

What did women use buffalo chips for?

Fuel, stoking the oven and making candles and soap

How was isolation an issue for the homesteaders?

They had no doctors or midwives. Many had no social life because of the large distances between farmhouses, this led to mental health conditions. In winter, families were "shut in" and they just longed for spring

What solution did the homesteaders find for isolation?

People had to make the most of any trip to their nearest town where women talked of the harvest and men smoked corncob pipes and talked politics

Did the homesteaders have doctors or midwives?

No

Why was law and order an issue for homesteaders?

Local government didn't exist and some early lawmen were worse than the bandits

How did the homesteaders solve the issue of law and order?

Law courts and sheriffs slowly established law and order

What issues did the homesteaders face?

Law and order, isolation, housework, growing crops, protecting crops, ploughing, water shortages, wrath extremes, fuel, dirt and disease, building materials, natural hazards

Was the role of women on the homesteads important?

Yes

What jobs did women have?

Making and washing clothes, prepare food, tend to the animals, protect crops, make household items and use natural remedies

What dangers did women on the Homestead face?

No social life, no doctors to take care of them, sometimes came in contact with hostile Indians, mental health problems and law and order problems

Positive effects of the railroads?

Cities connected or close to the railways grew quickly, trade industry profited as raw materials and products for export could now be transported, quicker access between ports meant more foreign trade, cattle could be transported, judges and government could get to the West more easily for law and order and more people settled on the west

Negative effects of the railroads?

Towns that weren't near the railways often became deserted and businesses collapsed. Some farmers felt that they charged high prices for poor services. Conflict was between the white Americans and the Indians because the railroads disrupted buffalo herds