Conquest of the West

By 18sdudziak

  • Jesse James

    Jesse James, from the state of Missouri, was an American outlaw, robbing trains, murdering, and robbing banks. After, his death in 1882 he became a figure of the Wild West.

  • Discoveries of Large Amounts of Gold and Silver

    The California Gold Rush started when gold was found at Sutter's Mill in California.This also lead to an increase in population, about 300,00 people, in the west. The people who seeked for gold were called the "forty-niners" as in 1849.

  • Growth of New Cities and Towns to support Cattle, Mining, and Farming Industries

    Boomtowns were created because people were rushing to California, die to the Gold Rush. They would bring there cattle and belongings with them, so towns had to be built. This way mining would become popular, and it populated the west.

  • Homestead Act of 1862

    It stated that 160 acres of land would be available for a fee. After five years of caring for it, the land would become their property. This act supported western settlement, which let to 80 million acres being settled by 1900.

  • Shifts from "long drive" to "cattle ranching"

    In the American West, 20 million cattle would be herded from state to state. The need for travelers to rest made "cow towns" develop.

  • Barbed Wire

    Lucien Smith was the first to patent barbed wire in 1867, but had changes to it in 1874. It was used for fencing in cattle, and other farm animals.also, It was easier and quicker to assemble compared to wooden fences.

  • Transcontinental Railroad System

    The transcontinental railroad system is a continuous railroad track. These railroads were significant because they opened settlement to unpopulated area.

  • Wild West Shows

    Wild West shows were American entertainment in the late 1800s.
    The shows helped populate the wst coast.

  • Dawes Act

    This act was created and named by Senator Henry Laurens Dawes. The governement wanted to put Natives American's land up for sale so non-Native Americans could not keep the land.

  • Extinction of Buffalo in 1800s

    There were barely 2,000 buffalo left in the 1890s. If buffalo had gone extinction, their meat, fur, and skin would be a huge loss to Americans and Natives. However, even thought they were useful, killing then would have made the supply of goods die.