The Great American West
Between 1870 and 1890 more individuals moved to the American West than all the movers and shakers in the previous century put together. The West had always been part of America. Do we, therefore, have to ask ourselves why westward expansion became so popular in 1870?
New Discoveries- These included gold and silver mines and other lucrative natural resources.
New opportunities – These included government land grants that made owning a farm easier for all including newly arrived immigrants. Additionally, this new cheap land provided an opportunity for not only whites but also former slaves who were unable to purchase land elsewhere.
Climate Change- For a brief period during the late 1800s the West experienced climate change including increased rainfall as well as lower temperatures that allowed the previously baron soil to become viable for farming.
New Technologies- These included new plows that allowed farmers to successfully plow the hard western soils. They also included new forms of transportation such as the railroad and the prairie schooner as well as new forms of communication such as the Telegraph.
Lost Causes- This included former Confederates who could no longer, for various reasons, make a living in the South or who decided to relocate to the West, which was further away from governmental control. (Ever wondered where the city of Phoenix, AZ got its name? Look no further than Southerners who saw their relocation as their second coming.)
At first, those who came to the West were fur traders and trappers. They came as individuals and lived a nomadic life. Soon intrepid frontiersmen brought their families to Oregon but still, the western interior remained sparsely populated. However, that was soon to change with the utterance of one word….. Gold. The first major Gold deposit in America was discovered in 1849 in California. (Ever wondered where the NFL team the 49ers got their name…?) This discovery was unexpected and gold fever took the nation by storm. Soon others were looking for their wealth.
In most cases, Gold and Silver deposits were not found in convenient locations. They were, instead, located in the middle of nowhere. However, once discovered they caused huge population booms. Generally, mining towns followed the following pattern of development.
Placer Mining- Individual prospectors panned for gold removing the first shallow deposits of ore largely by hand. They often panned for gold flecks in mountain streams. Once gold was discovered more minors would flock to the area and create what became known as boomtowns.
Deep Shaft Mining- Once the shallow lodes (streams) ran out, corporations using California or eastern capital would buy the claim rights and begin the more difficult process of quartz mining. This allowed them to access silver in deeper veins. For a short, while these areas would reap the benefits but just as quickly as it came the vein would play out.
Corporate Mines- Once these deposits dwindled corporations would either continue mining on a restricted basis or abandon the site completely. Major Gold and Silver Strikes included:
1849- Sutter’s Mill, CA
1858- Pike’s Peak, CO
1858- Comstock Lode, NV
1874- the Black Hills and Dakota Territory
1881- Anaconda Copper Mine
The wide-open spaces and grasslands of the West also provided more than just gold, they also provided a wonderful place to breed and raise large herds of livestock. Cattle were not exactly new to the area. The Spanish had long been using this territory for their herds and had developed many of the techniques and equipment that cowboys would later employ. Despite the availability of cheap land, cattle farmers faced huge problems that limited their ability to capitalize on their vast herds.
One major hurdle facing ranchers was containing their cattle. Fencing in most parts of the country has always been an easy problem to fix. With an abundance of wood and stone farmers generally had all the tools necessary to enclose their livestock and land readily available. However, in the American West trees and stones were nonexistent. Ranchers tried branding, which worked for identification but did not deter their cattle from wandering away. In 1875 Isaac Ellwood and Joseph Glidden solved the Rancher's problem. Barbed Wire fences not only required little wood (just enough for fence posts), but were cheap, but also highly portable (it came on spools.) Soon barbed wire fences crisscrossed and cattle were no longer allowed to wander where they pleased.
Another major concern was getting their cattle to profitable markets. Most cattle ranches developed in Texas and by the end of the Civil War, there were about 5 Million Cattle in the state. The problem was that there was no viable way to transfer large numbers of cattle to eastern cities. Even despite the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, the train hubs were still too far from the grazing herds to make the railroads useful. In 1866 a few intrepid ranchers began driving their combined herds north to Sedalia, Missouri. While they suffered heavy losses these ranchers never the less proved that cattle drives were an option. Aware of the potential profit, Railroads began to build more easily accessible hubs in places such as Abilene, KS. Soon other locations farther west became major cattle hubs including Dodge City, Wichita, Ogallala, Sidney, Cheyenne, and Laramie WY to name a few. Soon these cattle towns became thriving cities. As cattle drives became more common, herds increased and eventually the cattle economy became more of a corporation than an individual business. Eventually, the market and the range were flooded and overstocked. Without enough grass to support the large herds, coupled with two hard winters, and a few scorching summers the cattle industry began to decline, and by the end of the 1880s, with a few exceptions (think King Ranch!), all the major cattle ranches had all but disappeared.
By 1870 as both mining and the cattle ranchers began to disappear a new group was able to take over. Two additional reasons allowed farmers to quickly inhabit this once uninhabitable land.
Faster Communication- Both the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad and its subsidiary lines made getting to the west easier. Likewise, the Railroad actively promoted settlement by providing low set rates so almost anyone could afford a trip west. Likewise, the Telegraph allowed instantaneous communication to remote communities who had telegraph offices. Now westerners were no longer shut off from family and friends.
Beginning in 1870 rainfall was above average, which made once-dry baron soil rich and viable. Things went well for a while but by 1887 rainfall had returned to normal. Some farmers were able to resort to dryland farming and/or plant drought-resistant crops BUT both caused production costs to rise, while at the same time, market prices fell. In the end, many farmers were forced to abandon their farms and return to the cities.
Even before farming became popular, the US government to steps to further encourage America’s continued westward expansion by creating the following three land grants to make westward land more affordable.
Homestead Act (1862)- Individuals were given 160 acres for a small fee if they agreed to occupy the land for 5 years and make improvements such as building a house or barn.
Timber Culture Act (1873)- Homesteaders received grants of 160 additional acres if they planted 40 acres of trees.
Desert Land Act (1877)- Allowed for the purchase of 640 acres at $1.25 an acre. Homesteaders had to agree to irrigate part of their newly purchased holdings within 3 years.
Soon though, small farmers, thanks to climate change and the harsh reality of their environment soon cashed out their farms. As the small farmers left a new industry- commercial farming- tried to make a go of the once fertile land. Attempting to duplicate other industries, commercial farming specialized in cash crops that could be sold in national and international markets. While it worked for some, many cash crop farmers were dependent on many outside factors that were beyond their control including banks and their interest rates, the railroad and their freight rates, and the rise and fall of the national and European markets. Lacking Modern-day economic projections by 1900 the market had suffered from severe overproduction and crop prices dropped causing an economic depression! In 1890 27 % of farmers were forced to mortgage their farms. By 1910 that number had increased to 33% of farmers.
Despite the comings and goings of these initial industries the west's population soon flourished allowing for the creation of new territories, and soon enough these new territories turned into states.
1867 – Nebraska
1876- Colorado
1889- North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington
1890- Wyoming, and Idaho
1896- Utah
The emergence of these states had expected and unexpected consequences. The expected outcomes included finding wealth in the form of gold or other minerals, farm ownership, or wealth in cattle. The unintended consequences had further-reaching impacts, though. Normally, the move from territory to state (a process outlined by the Constitution) takes years, but with the various booms, many western states met the minimum requirements to achieve statehood in a very short period of them. AS more states were added it shifted national political power. Each new state had a relatively small population so the impacts on the House were minimal, but each state also received two new Senators! Additionally, each state would now be counted in the Electoral College, meaning that politicians and political parties now had to campaign on issues that were not just important to the East Coast, but also to Westerners.