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When the Homestead Act was passed, settlers were guaranteed ownership of their plot of land if they could make something productive out of it. For the majority, this meant farming. Families traveled to the west, excited to fulfill the American Dream and create a life of their own out of nothing. The idea of farming brought them great opportunity and hope to sustain their own needs on their own independent land.
To Americans in the 19th century, cowboys were men on horses who chased outlaws and saved pretty women. This highly romanticized view of these men made the
American Cowboy a heroic figure. The ideal cowboy wore flannel shirts, boots, and a large hat. They carried a gun and always had a lasso at hand.
When gold was discovered in California, Americans became very excited. Many believed that this was their chance to make it big and gain a lot of wealth. This headline reads "Inexhaustible Gold Mines in California", as many believed that the gold would never run out. To Americans, mining was exciting and represented a an opportunity to become rich very quickly.
Many of the miners during the Gold Rush were foreigners as it was easier to transport the Chinese to the west coast then to bring people from America's east coast. Companies hired out
After the Civil War, Americans began considering expanding into the west of the nation. They were inspired by the vast land and excited by its opportunities. This excitement of Manifest Destiny helped to create the American Dream, or the ability to create something out of nothing. The settlers who moved west were anxious to create a life of their own in this new land. The US government had its own expectations of the new land too, as it had the Transcontinental Railroad built, and the Indians moved onto reservations. Word of the west traveled to those in the east, and the myths of the newly conquered land flooded households. However, as Americans traveled and settled west, they learned that their expectations were not quite reality.
workers to mine the gold. Individuals who came independently often turned back home having found nothing, or very little wealth.
The life of cowboys consisted of very little other than herding cows. These men, Americans and foreigners, drove cattle northeast towards railroads so they could be brought east. This job was fairly unexciting, however the men often faced hardships as far as the weather and conditions of the west.
Farming in the Plains revealed to be very challenging. The landscape was incredibly dry and there was minimal rainfall. Families struggled to keep their crops growing and producing, and when they succeeded, storms often destroyed their harvests. Sandstorms such as the one pictured were a common problem in the dry environment, along with locusts and tornadoes.
American hunters did not understand how essential the Buffalo were to the Native Americans. The Natives knew how to use every part of the Buffalo efficiently and they were a large part of their lives. The American hunters saw
To the Americans who wanted only to continue expanding west, the Native Americans were a nuisance. They were thought of as savages who were highly uneducated and violent. Many Americans believed that the Indians should not be considered people, as they were far too "uncivilized."
When hearing of the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, Americans became excited about what was to come. Many dreamed of traveling far west very quickly. In this picture, the builders are putting in the final
Movies and books took inspiration from the west and strongly romanticized the life of the west to create exciting stories. Buffalo Bill created a circus type show that romanticized cowboys and the Native Americans. He traveled the country performing these shows, "educating" others about
the Buffalo as easy target practice and killed many for fun. They over hunted the animals to bring furs east for industry. This high rate caused the Buffalo to become endangered, also affecting the Native Americans.
spike of the railroad, finishing the construction. To them, the railroad represents innovation and progress for America, ready to reach out west.
As homesteaders came to settle the land in the west, they imagined a grand open land. This land represented opportunity and the American Dream. The settlers hoped to conquer this landscape and create something wonderful out of it.
the west. These shows along with other forms of Westerns gave Americans an exciting view of the west, projecting duels and other supposed typical western ideas and activities.
As Americans started to travel west, they were met with challenges of the land. Mountains made building the railroad more difficult, and the barren, dry landscape made settling a challenge. This vast emptiness earned the west the name of the Great American Desert.
When thinking of the wildlife of the west, Americans thought of the Buffalo. They saw these animals and thought of them as little more than big creatures roaming the west. They thought little of the possible uses or functions of the buffalo in the environment.
This picture depicts chief Sitting Bull standing with Buffalo Bill. Sitting Bull had joined Buffalo Bill on one of his tours and rode a horse during the openings. However, he left the show at the end of the season because he believed that the show did not depict his culture properly. Sitting Bull's exit from the show shows how inaccurate the season had been.
As settlers traveled West, they encountered the difficult terrain of the Great American Desert, making farming and the construction of a railroad very challenging. Those who participated in building the railroad and in mining the discovered gold were often not Americans, making the practices not as American as those in the West believed they were. When dealing with the Native Americans, the US government treated them very unfairly and forced them out of their native lands, against the American standard of freedom. Also, those who traveled west often came with the thought of the American Dream. They hoped to make something out of this vast and empty land, but many independent miners went home empty handed, and about 2/3 of homesteaders came back East with failed plots of land. However, not all was failed, the expansion to the West allowed American to claim the frontier for the nation while many still did pursue the American Dream, allowing for the nation to grow as a whole, just as many had imagined and hoped for.
Big Colorado. 1853. American Antiquarian Society. Westward Expansion. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. <http://www.teachushistory.org/Westward/ps-bigcolorado.htm>.
Buffalo at Water. 1905. Detriot Publishing Company, Detriot. Old West Legends. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. <http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-buffalohunters.html>.
Butcher, Solomon. Homesteaders. 1880. Nebraska State National Society. The West. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/seven/w67i_plow.htm>.
"Inexhaustible Gold Mines in California." El Dorado 1849: n. pag. The West. PBS. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/three/63_01.htm>.
Lange, Dorothea. Family in Garden. N.d. Library of Congress, Washington DC. KCET. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. <https://www.kcet.org/departures-columns/from-small-farming-to-urban-agriculture-el-monte-and-subsistence-homesteading>.
Map Dividing US West. N.p.: n.p., n.d. The West. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/two/62_07.htm>.
Mining Life in California. 1857. Library of Congress, Washington DC. Library of Congress. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001700332/>.
1969. National Archives. The West. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/five/65_05.htm>.
Poster of Buffalo Bill's Show. Digital image. American Experience. PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/oakley-show/>.
Roundup. N.d. New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe. Cowboys Real and Imagined. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. <http://kcsantafe.com/cowboys-real-and-imagined/>.
Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill. 1885. Library of Congress, Washington DC. American Experience. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/oakley-sitting-bull/>.
Sitting Bull. N.d. Library of Congress, Washington DC. The West. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/six/66_11.htm>.
Steele, F. M. Where We Shine. 1897. Library of Congress, Washington DC. The West. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/five/65_10.htm>.
Texas Sand Storm. 1894. Colombia University. Drought Research. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. <http://ocp.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/drought/nineteenth.shtml>.
Trail of the Hide Hunters. Digital image. The West. PBS, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/five/65_08.htm>.
Waud, Alfred R. Work on the Last Mile of the Pacific Railroad. 1869. Library of Congress, Washington DC. Library of Congress. US Government. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001695508/>.
Indian tribes were often forced into signing treaties that they did not understand, moving them to reservations such as the ones here mapped out. America moved tribes of Natives, often breaking up their organization and restricting them to a plot of land. Although many tribes did not follow the treaties, they were being treated unfairly and were forced out of their own land several times as America's priorities continued to change.
The work on the railroad ended up being extremely dangerous. Many non-Americans occupied these jobs, as they were easy to get across the Pacific from Asia. Explosives were used to help build the railroads, killing many. Also, while constructing the railroad, workers had to deal with difficult terrains, and the Native Americans.