Modern US History Ch. 18, Section 1 - PowerPoint Presentation

Modern US HistoryCh. 18, Section 1Miners, Ranchers, and Railroads

Growth in the West The Great Plains: the area from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains. Consist of rolling plains, dry plateaus, and deserts.

Mining Boom Brings Growth Prior to the Civil War most Americans saw the Great Plains and the west as the Great American Desert and there were few attempts to settle there until after the war (#1) __________ – an undeveloped area (which for the US by 1850 extended to the Pacific Ocean)More and more people moved to the west and claimed land for mining, ranching and farming, which was further aided by the building of railroads there (#2)

Big Business ____________– a huge deposit of gold and silver found in Nevada in 1859 that lured thousands of miners there Estimated Value= $14,000,000 in first year (today’s value = $____________to remove the silver and gold found deep in the rock expensive mining equipment was needed, which made mining big business in the west as only large mining companies could afford it (#2)Mining deep under ground was dangerous with unsafe equipment, dusty air, explosions and cave-ins, which along with low pay led miners to form unions (#3)

Settlers & New TownsMiners came to the west from the eastern US and also from countries all over the world including many experienced miners from Mexico (Settlers #1) _____________ – communities that grew suddenly when a mine opened that had stores, saloons and boarding housesFew women or families lived in boomtowns, but those that did helped to turn some of them into successful permanent towns (New Towns #2)

The Cattle Kingdom Cattle ranching was another industry that grew in the west, especially raising longhorns which could survive in dry western Texas (#1) Joseph McCoy – built pens for cattle in the railroad shipyards of Abilene, Kansas for shipping cattle to eastern markets which started the _______________of cattle from Texas to Kansas (#2) ______________– nickname for the region of the Great Plains extending from Texas to Canada where ranchers raised cattle on the open range in the late 1800s

Importance of Cowboys Cowboys took care of the ranchers' cattle and borrowed the techniques and tools of Mexican vaqueros like the saddle, lariat rope, and hats (#1) ____________ – the long journeys where cattle were driven to market or to other grazing areas which could last months and cover hundreds of miles________________ – one of the earliest and most popular routes for cattle drives, which ran from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas Law officials tried to keep order in the cattle towns where rowdy cowboys sometimes misbehaved (#3)

End of the Open Range C attle ranchers eventually competed with farmers who used _____________to fence off their lands over the open range lands, which led to sometimes deadly range wars (#1) The cattle industry also suffered in the 1880s due to ______________of lands by the increasingly large herds and unusually severe winters, which led to the financial ruin of many ranchers (#2) Eventually railroads were built to Texas ending the need for the long drive

The Transcontinental Railroad As Americans moved west they needed ways to get supplies and information across the country (#1) _____________– a system of messengers on horseback that began in 1860 which was eventually replaced by telegraph lines__________________railroad – a railroad that would cross the continent connecting east with west Pacific Railway Acts – gave railroad companies loans and large land grants to pay for the building of railroads across the west (#3)

Great RaceIn 1863 the __________company pushed east from Sacramento, California while the _____________pushed west from Omaha, Nebraska (#1) Union Pacific hired mostly Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans, while the Central Pacific hired mostly Chinese immigrants (#2)

Great Race (continued) Central Pacific workers faced harsh winters and dangerous explosions as they cut through high Sierra Nevada mountains (#3)Union Pacific workers faced harsh weather on the Great Plains and were expected to lay 250 miles of track every 6 months (#4) Buffalo hunters like William “Buffalo Bill” Cody provided food for the railroad workers (#5)

Golden Spike T he two companies to completed the line at______________, Utah in 1869 with the driving of a ceremonial golden spike (#1) The transcontinental railroad was just the first of many lines to be constructed in the west over the next several years (#2)

Effects of the Transcontinental RailroadIncreased settlement of the westIncreased business activity and east-west trade Helped make the railroad industry one of the most powerful in the country Railroad schedules united areas of the country and led to the creation of_____________

A Case Study in Boomtowns From Boom to Bust: Leadville, Co Also called Cloud City Highest town in N. America 10,000 feet

Leadville was once the Silver Capital of the World Population of Leadville in early 1800’s: Unincorporated By the year of 1859: _______ 1880 : _________

Mine Claims: People who were lucky enough to stake a claim on the right land with a big deposit of ore became millionaires overnight.

Horace Tabor *Known as the “_________” *One of the “Rags to Riches” stories *Farmer in Kansas *Hears of Gold Rush out west *Barely make ends meet at first *Eventually made some money panning and opened a store in town * Became known for hard work. * Enters deal with two prospectors st

Little Pittsburg: Became a wealthy man No satisfied Decides he wants more Invests in many mines across North and South America

Matchless Mine Strikes it Rich $2,000 a day (3$ a day= average miner pay)

Rise to the Top Eventually becomes mayor of Leadville Builds public works projects, fire department, and water works. He also builds the Tabor Opera House in Leadville (think of this as getting a sports franchise today)

Mining to Politics 1878-becomes Lieutenant Governor 1883- Lands himself a place in the U.S. Senate During this time, he soils his reputation Tabor Opera House in Denver

Augusta Tabor vs Baby Doe (The wife) (25 years younger) Ends up divorcing Augusta!!!!

Elizabeth McCourt, or "Baby Doe" From the city of_____________! Beautiful & a Tom Boy (Oshkosh Figure Skating Champion) Marries and moves to Colorado. Husband is well of but lazy. Ends up putting on mining clothes and works herself! Leaves husband and marries Horace

Baby Doe and Her Lavish Lifestyle Jewels from all over the world A different color carriage to match every dress Denver the Paris of the West! Every day the Tabor bank account grew!

Homework Histories Mysteries: The fall of the Tabor’s. “Went down to Leadville from Matchless – the snow so terrible, I had to go down on my hands and knees and creep from my cabin door to 7th Street. Mr. Zaitz driver drove me to our get off place and he helped pull me to the cabin. I kept falling deep down through the snow every minute. God bless him.” ···· “ Baby Doe” Tabor, March, 1935 The situation: On March 7, 1935, Baby Doe Tabor was found dead of a heart attack in her small shack at the famous Matchless Mine, just outside Leadville, Colorado. She died penniless. Your role: It’s now 2009. You are a journalist for the magazine “National Geographic Kids”. You have decided to write a short story on how Baby Doe went from riches to rags.

To learn about this story you will do two things. You will go to the field to learn about the life and death of Baby Doe Tabor. To do this, you will literally go to the mine site and cabin that Baby Doe lived her final years and died. After this, you will go to the sites below and see what historians have written. Where to go for field visit: Where to go to view what other historians have said. http://www.leadville.com/history/tabor.htm

After you have done this, you will write a half page to one page article of what you have found. How did you solve the mystery? What’s the answer? Inform your readers. Remember, you are writing for middle schoolers and high school students, so be sure to explain so that your audience can understand. Due Tomorrow Questions? Yes….Double Spaced Twelve Font

Rubric A Paper There were no grammatical errors, you described in detail how Baby Doe went from RICHES to RAGS (no vice versa) . The essay was approximately half a page long. B Paper You described how she went from riches to rags but missed one of the other two criteria C Paper You described how she went from riches to rags but missed the other two criteria. Redo You did not describe how she went from riches to rags, there were many grammatical errors, or the essay was only a few sentences long