Settling the West
#4
The first half of the American continent was settled
- In 263 years, from 1607 to 1870
The second half was settled in 30 years
- From 1870 to 1900
The main reason for the quick pace of settlement was
- Three major pieces of legislation
o All passed during the Civil War
 All without approval of the seceded South
All three bills were designed to help settle
- And populate the remaining territories
o And put them on the road to statehood
The motivation behind this push
- Was to connect the West coast
o With the rest of the country in the east
 And prevent California from seceding
 And taking Oregon and Nevada too
1st – The Homestead Act of 1862
- The Homestead Act granted settlers
o 160 acres (1/4 square mile) of land to settle
To qualify to receive this land settlers must:
- Be at least 21 and the head of a family
- Be a citizen or applying for citizenship
- Build a permanent structure on the land
- Live on the land for at least 6 months a year
- Farm the land for 5 years in succession
At the end of the 5 years, settlers would be given
- Title and deed to the land and would own it
Between 1862 and 1900,
- 80 million acres were awarded to homesteaders
o 600,000 families moved west to settle
Many settlers moving west were “exodusters”
- Former slaves moving to Kansas
o To escape discrimination in the South
 The black codes and the Klan
Only 10% of the available land was granted to settlers
- Most was settled by speculators, railroad agents
o Or agents of the territorial governments
Much of the land settled was not arable or good farmland
By 1889, demand for more land to settle was so great
- The government expanded the Homestead Act
o By opening Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma)
 2 million acres were given away in a land rush
 The “boomers” waited for the gun
o Before rushing in to claim their land
 The “Sooners” went in the night before
o To claim their land
Many of the settlers on the Great Plain built dugouts
- The lack of trees required settlers to use the land
o House were built into the sides of small hills
Settlers on the broad, flat plains of the prairie
- Built freestanding houses by stacking blocks of turf
o Called a sod home, or “soddy”
 Soddies were small but dark
 Were warm in winter and cool in summer
2nd – The Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864
- The acts granted land and money
o To the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific
Both railroad companies got:
- The right of way for the track and telegraph lines
o 10 square miles of land for each mile of track
 $16,000 for construction costs for each mile
For 150 miles for the most mountainous regions
- The grants would double (20 sq. miles and $32,000)
175 million acres were granted to the railroads
- And $60 million in additional low cost loans
The grants began a race between the two companies
- To complete first transcontinental railroad
The Central Pacific started eastward from Sacramento, Ca
- Cutting their way through the Sierra Nevada mountains
o Blasting level roadbeds for track and tunnels
 Using Chinese immigrant as labor
 Recruited directly from China for the job
The Union Pacific headed westward from Omaha, Nebraska
- Using a combination of Civil War veterans
o Irish immigrants, African Americans and Mexicans
The transcontinental railroad was completed May 10, 1869
- When both companies reached Promontory Point, Utah
o Within 15 years, there were 5 transcontinental routes
Fraud, corruption and scandal would erupt over the construction
- In 1872, a scandal broke involving
o The Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier
Credit Mobilier, a construction company
- Created by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1867
o Gave shares of stock to congressmen
The Congressmen would approve federal subsidies
- To pay for the cost of railroad construction
o The price of their stock continued to rise
 While the railroad builders made huge profits
 And no track was laid
The Credit Mobilier Scandal was one of the worst scandals
- In US history, damaging the reputation of
o Politicians and businessmen
Much of the land granted to the railroads would be sold
- To immigrants recruited from Europe
o Some would be turned into national parks
 Eventually the government would take back
 Over half of the land granted to the railroads
3rd – The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862
- Gave 30,000 acres of public land
o To the states for each member of Congress
The land or proceeds from the sale of the land
- Would be used to establish and finance
o Agricultural “land grant” colleges
 These colleges taught agriculture, engineering
 And even military tactics
These “land grant” colleges would be established in every state
- Most would be known by their designation
o As A&T, A&M, Technical or State colleges
Agricultural researchers helped develop
- Grains for arid soil, techniques for dry farming
o These innovations enabled the great plains
 To become “the breadbasket of the nation”