Preview

How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Contribute To The Abandonment Of Free Land

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
221 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Contribute To The Abandonment Of Free Land
Offers of free land under the Homestead Act of 1862 that promised 160 acres to any citizen who settled for a period of 5 years. The construction of the transcontinental railroad facilitated the migration of settlers into the territories. Increasing industrial consolidation occurred between 1870 and 1900. Blizzards, tornadoes, grasshoppers, hailstorms, drought, prairie fires, accidental death, and disease were a few of the many struggles that settlers faced in their migration to the west. The railroads were granted huge swaths of land by both the federal and state governments and actively sold the land for profit to speculators. Speculators made buying land difficult for settlers heading west as they inflated the price of the best quality land. …show more content…
Land runs spurred by a lack of homesteads and overpopulation lead to stampedes and violence in Oklahoma. When barbed wire was invented in 1874 it revolutionized the battle business but also lead to the large scale dislocation of landless, many Mexican, cattle ranchers who were forced to take wage worker jobs. Large scale consolidation of land into the hands of a few large landowners lead to many becoming sharecroppers and migrant farm
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    For Whom and to What Extent Was the American West a Land of Opportunity for During the Years 1865 - 1890?
    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages

    For Whom and to What Extent Was the American West a Land of Opportunity for During the Years 1865 - 1890?

    The Homestead Act of 1862 was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. It gave 160 acres of western land to anyone who promised to work the land for five years. This encouraged many immigrants to come to the United States and help settle the West. But the land was too arid for a homesteader to manage 160 acres. Life was hard in the west because of the harsh environment. They had sand storm and droughts, made impossible for farmers to farm. Very few actually made it work and managed to keep their homesteads.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    HIS125 Wk 2 TheWest
    • 524 Words
    • 2 Pages

    HIS125 Wk 2 TheWest

    In 1862, the passing of the Homestead Act awarded 160 acres to settlers who engaged the land for at minimum five years. This indication to the making of above 300,000 ranches built, and where ultimately two million society arose to live. The country’s rising rail system offered additional, improved, and inexpensive networks to the markets of the East. Moving possessions western was one of the main reasons for railroad expansion. The migration west sparked conflict with Indians. The Indians were focus to discrimination and being told what is best for them without regard to what they wanted. Throughout the second half of the 1800s there was a string of small wars between white Americans and Indians.…

    • 524 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Slave Country By Adam Rothman
    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Summary Of Slave Country By Adam Rothman

    With new inventions such as the cotton gin by Eli Whitney and slaves being able to face the conditions of the south, cotton was the best market to get into. Sugar was also experiencing a boom with it being transported along the Mississippi River and it promising to reverse the decline of the indigo industry. Because these markets were such a big success, more land was in high demand. Native American lands were invaded and the Native Americans were pushed to relocate West again and again. The governments were planning on selling the land to high-status white property owning men and were able to do so. However, at times settlers would just move onto the land without paying as it was a hot…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analyzing Chief Joseph's Migration To The United States
    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analyzing Chief Joseph's Migration To The United States

    In 1803 the Louisiana Purchase took place. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States and covered about 827,000 square miles west of the Mississippi River. After the Louisiana Purchase, many Americans began migrating west in hopes of obtaining land and securing wealth. Approximately 7 million Americans migrated by 1840, However the Native Americans were already established there. They were doing well for themselves providing everything they needed to survive for their families and tribes. After the migration of the Americans, it caused the Native Americans to be treated very unfairly. Westward expansion was not a pleasant time for the Native Americans and not because their land had been bought by America, but because at the…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Long Drive Research Paper
    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Long Drive Research Paper

    The Homestead Act of 1862 signed into law by Abraham Lincoln, promised 160 acres of free land to any citizen who settled on it for five years. The purpose of this act was to encourage Western migration in hopes that these newly arrived tenants would improve the area by building a home and cultivating the land.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Great West Dbq
    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Great West Dbq

    Without the railroads, the West could never have become as populated as it did. And while the creation of Western railroad tracks only came about after interest had been sparked in the region by its natural potential, the tracks were nevertheless essential in realizing and acting on the interest. Before railroads were available, the trek west had been done by wagon, and had deterred many with its length, risk, and hardship (Doc. E). Thus, the transcontinental railroad and its subsidiary lines were central to Western development. Not only did their completion result in a massive westward migration and the virtual overnight creation of towns, but the massive labor required to create the tracks prompted the railroad companies to recruit over 12,000 Chinese workers (many from China itself), and the need for a market for the completed railroad convinced the companies to actively encourage Western settlement by selling their land cheaply and setting railroad rates low enough to be affordable by virtually anyone (Doc. G). The government similarly promoted expansion into the West with the Homestead Act and other decrees, which also offered land at token prices. Even before the highly nationalistic and pro-expansionist regime under the Republican Party came into play during and after the Civil War, the government had been partial to expansionism through such leaders as James K. Polk. Polk’s seizure of Oregon from the British and the Southwest and California from Mexico reflected the growing popularity and power of Manifest Destiny in justifying expansionism, and set the scene for the American dominance of the West (Doc.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did The United States Promote Westward Expansion
    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How Did The United States Promote Westward Expansion

    During the 1800s, the federal government promoted westward expansion in a variety of ways. This expansions changed the shape and character of the country. The United states first started with very small property back then they were call the 13 colonies which to begin with was not as strong as it is today, if anything it was a lot weaker and had little to rely on. Through time it was able to make it ways into gaining more territory. You may ask how they did they do this? since the president can’t actually buy land because it’s not for sale. To be honest and precise it wasn’t all easy for the United States to expand from its original 13 colonies to todays 50 states…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Dbq Western Expansion Analysis
    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Dbq Western Expansion Analysis

    Farming originally became an attractive occupation because of the successful cultivation of the Great Plains. Settlers were attracted by the short grass pastures for cattle and sheep, the sod of the plains, and by the meadowlands of the mountains that could be found in this region. An influx in rainfall after the 1870s turned the formerly barren plains into workable farmland. The initial journey westward for farmers was by wagon or cart. These journeys were often very difficult and dangerous (Doc E). Climate and the threat of territorial Native Americans in the West made the journeys last for long, grueling months (Doc H). Also, the idea of the farmer's lifestyle was that of the sturdy, independent farmer. However, as drought and debt plagued the farmlands of the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century, fewer farmers sought to be independent and more sought to be commercial (Doc C). The lifestyle of the commercial farmer was reasonably better and less self-sufficient than that of the independent farmer; however, they were still plagued by overproduction and economic distress. The settlement of farmers also contributed to the development of the west in different ways. Farmers helped to create new markets and new outposts of commercial agriculture in the Great Plains for the nation's growing economy. The independent farmer began by cultivating the land and selling to national markets…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Change During The Gilded Age
    • 203 Words
    • 1 Page

    How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Change During The Gilded Age

    The Gilded Age had a technological innnovation due to railroads, telegraphs, and electricity. They created new industries and the way people would look at America , it changed the way people lived by using electricity and moving from place to place with railroads. Those inventions are the reason why they drawed the nation together by rising an impact to the world.…

    • 203 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of The Homestead Act Of 1862
    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis Of The Homestead Act Of 1862

    The Agricultural Revolution of the West was significantly affected by the relationship of economic developments and environmental changes between 1865 and 1898. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided many new opportunities for farmers to get an abundance of Western land in an affordable manner. While this was great for many farming families who got suitable land, there was a different opinion from those in the Great Plains. They faced great challenges posed by Mother Nature, especially drought. The droughts brought devastation to the crops, and then to the farmers who couldn’t make enough money. However, the farmers were able to make many adaptations that allowed them to grow crops that survive the harsh conditions. The new development of…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Railroads Changed America
    • 2808 Words
    • 12 Pages

    How Did Railroads Changed America

    Have you ever wondered how trains and railroads changed life in America? History argues over the impact of railroads. History claims that the contribution of railroads was crucial in American development. Others, such as Robert Fogel, maintain that the impact of railroad transportation was not as crucial in the development in America (Early American Railroads). The issue may be a controversial one, but the fact remains that train transportation, the building of trains, and the development of the railroad system changed America. The impact of the railroad changed jobs, towns, travel, lifestyles, as well as the physical face of the United States of America.…

    • 2808 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Gilead Age: The Federal Government
    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Gilead Age: The Federal Government

    It was the time during when the population and the economy of the United States grew fastest in history, and there was too much political corruption. Besides, financial misleading was at their top, and many people who were wealthy lived very fancy lives. During this period that industrialization was so widespread in the United States hence attracted larger populations in the country. Records have it that between 18600 and 1900, 144,000 more new industries were introduced. The number of immigrants increased with increase in industrialization as they came in search of employment. The Native Americans were to be forced by the government to live on the reservations, but the Dawes Act made an attempt to assimilate them hence giving them a farmland. The cattle drives were needed by the railroads, and the barbed wires as the frontier shifted while the settlers moved to the Great Plains. Besides the rapid growth of the economy in this period, there was also much social conflict. Urbanization came with its advantages and disadvantages both to the country and its citizens. Urbanization resulted in negative effects in health, housing, political machines and working conditions. Health centers and housing facilities became less than the population due to overpopulation. People overstretched the available resources since all were in need of and also affected the working conditions in many places of…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Canada In The Late 1800's
    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Canada In The Late 1800's

    These people, mostly referred to as “Settlers”, were not opulent and often appeared from Europe where not only were farmers decreasing, but economic hardships were also present in the lives of many people. But with a world-wide depression ended, Europeans could not have found a finer time to immigrate, but then. Although the settlers also had a choice to settle in Western portion of the United States where the top farmlands had already been occupied, they would’ve typically chosen to live in Canada due to higher quality land being available for no direct charge. Part of the Dominion Lands Act, though, included that the Settlers must homestead or farm on their land for three years before they could rightfully claim it as their own. This system was also present in the United States; therefore a few people were familiar with act. However, Many Settlers would consider this law being too difficult and would forsake their new life, causing them to move to urban areas. People who continued to homestead are part of the reason why Canada became a large producer of grain. Also, with Northwest mounted police being Established and Aboriginals settling on reserves, many immigrants thought of Canada being safe, especially after the fall of the Metis. With an increasing number of people migrating to the West, Roads and railways being built, towns starting to develop, trading centres being established, Western Canada expanded in a modicum of…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Transcontinental Railroad
    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Transcontinental Railroad

    The examination and the research on the Transcontinental Railroad has led many to the realization of the significance of the Railroad in American history whether it be positive or negative. The Great Railroad was created between the years of 1863 to 1869. It all had begun with a charter granted to the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies through the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. In the seven years, the two companies raced toward the meeting point in Promontory, Utah; one starting from Sacramento, California and the other from Omaha Nebraska. This massive system became the symbol of that time period, being the biggest construction project of that time. Along the way, many buffaloes were killed by hired hunters because, the…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Western Frontier Thesis
    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Western Frontier Thesis

    The Western Frontier The romanticism of the west employed the frontier as the outer edge of the wave meeting “between savagery and civilization.” To historians, a frontier is “is not a lining of marking the start of an empty place but a zone of interaction where two or more societies vie for the use of land.’ In the “frontier thesis”, Frederick Turner describes the frontier as “gradually peopled.” However, the congress in 1862 funded the transcontinental railroad, the union pacific, and the Homestead Act.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics