Looking to the West 1860 -1900 Moving West

Looking to the West (1860 -1900) ◊Moving West

The West ◊ Push Factors • • Crowding back East Displaced farmers Former slaves Eastern farmland expensive • Ethnic and religious repression in Europe • Haven for outlaws ◊ Pull Factors • Government incentives ◊ Pacific Railway Act ◊ Morrill Land-Grant Act ◊ Homestead Act • Private Property ◊ Miners ◊ Ranchers ◊ Farmers

The Lure of the West When geographers study reasons for major migrations, they look at what they call push -pull factors-events and conditions that either force (push) people to move elsewhere or strongly attract (pull) them to do so. Here are some push-pull factors for moving west. “Push” Factors ◊ The Civil War had displaced thousands of farmers, former slaves, and other workers. ◊ Eastern farmland was too costly. ◊ Failed entrepreneurs sought a second chance in a new locations. ◊ Ethnic and religious repression caused people to seek the freedom of the west. ◊ Outlaws sought refuge. “Pull” Factors ◊ The Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864 ◊ Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862 ◊ Land speculators ◊ Homestead Act, 1862 ◊ Legally enforceable property rights

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN! ◊ The Myth of the Frontier ◊ “Manifest Destiny” ◊ Civil War over ◊ Adventure ◊ Resources ◊ Wealth (Gold, Cattle, Land)

Settlers From Far and Wide ◊ German-speaking immigrants arrived seeking farmland. They brought the Lutheran religion with its emphasis on hard work and education. ◊ Lutherans from Scandinavia settled the northern plains from Iowa to Minnesota to the Dakotas, many pursuing dairy farming. ◊ Irish, Italians, European Jews, and Chinese settled in concentrated communities on the West coast. They took jobs in mining and railroad construction that brought them to the American interior. ◊ After the Civil War, thousands of African Americans rode or walked westward, often fleeing violence and exploitation. ◊ Benjamin “Pap” Singleton led groups of southern blacks on a mass “Exodus, ” a trek inspired by the biblical account of the Israelites’ flight from Egypt to a prophesied homeland. Hence, the settlers called themselves Exodusters. Some 50, 000 or more Exodusters migrated west.

Pacific Railway Acts ◊ 1862, 1864 ◊ Large land grants to Union Pacific RR and Central Pacific RR ◊ 175 million acres

Morrill Land Grant Act ◊ 1862 ◊ State governments received millions of acres of land to: • Sell • Create land grant colleges for agricultural and mechanical arts

Homestead Act ◊ 1862 ◊ Small fee, settlers received 160 acres if: • 21 yrs old • Citizens or immigrants filing for citizenship • Minimum sized house • Lived on claim 6 months out of the year • Farm the land for 5 years in a row ◊ 372, 000 farms ◊ 80 million acres

Exodusters ◊ Free blacks looking for new start after the Civil War ◊ Most headed to Kansas (“pulled” by the Homestead Act and free land. ◊ Exodusters based on the biblical “Exodus” of the Hebrews from Egypt leaving bondage for freedom in the “Promised Land”

Exodusters - Nebraska Connection:

Homesteader Homes ◊ Built with available materials (sod) ◊ Small ◊ Functional as a shelter

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Homesteader lifestyle ◊ Difficult ◊ Subsistence farmers ◊ Some livestock ◊ Grasshoppers ◊ Storms ◊ Distance ◊ Lack of building materials

Homesteader Conclusion