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Discovery of large amounts of gold and silver
Also known as the California Gold Rush, this was one of the largest gold finding period ever. Once the US got news of the amounts of gold, about 300,000 people traveled to California to search for gold. Around half traveled by sea and the other half traveled from the east. Gold was able to be picked up off the ground or found in streams or rivers by using a panning technique to get the gold out. -
Cattle Drives
Long drives was the tradition in the US to transport cattle across the country. But, in 1853 when the cattle were going through Missouri, local farmers blocked the road and forced the cattle to go back. They did this due to the ticks on them which carried Texas Fever. It caused the local cattle to have disease and die. After this, a law was created to stop this long distance driving of cattle. -
The Homestead Act of 1862
The Homestead Act were multiple US laws that gave a person land at little or no cost. To be eligible for this you must be 21 years or older, or head of the family, and has never taken up arms against the US government. -
Barbed Wire
Barbed wire was created to restrain cattle, and was cheaper and easier to use than other tools. Barbed wire was also used as a war weapon to prevent men from charging in to attack. -
Transcontinental Railroad
This railroad connected the Eastern and Western ends of the United States. It helped open up unpopulated areas that otherwise wouldn't have been found. -
Growth of New Towns
US cities in the late 1800's grew by around 15 million people. This was caused by farming, gold rush, immigrants, and more business. But with all these people arriving, the US wasn't able to keep up, and eventually started having a lack of infrastructure. -
Jesse james
Jesse James was a very famous bank robber, gang leader, and murder back in the mid 1800's. While being famous when he was alive, he became much more famous after his death. He is viewed as an icon for the Wild West by being an outlaw and a bad man. -
Wild West Shows
This show was aired to show what life was supposed to be like in the wild west. It was glamourized so the show was more likeable, and to keep the legends and myths about the Wild West true. -
Dawes Act of 1887
This act allowed the President look at Indian land and divide it into pieces for individual Indians. The Indians who agreed to live separately would gain US citizenship. -
Near Extinction of Buffalo
The number of buffalo in the US was once as many as 70 million, but after their near extinction in 1890, there were as few as 2,000. There are multiple conspiracies to why the buffalo nearly became extinct. Such as, men killed them off, the animals killed themselves by their stupidity, people using them for target practice, the government let them die by not protecting them. The number of bufflo is now between 250,000-500,000.
