What economic opportunities drew large numbers of people to the great plains in the 1800s

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How the Industrial Revolution change European society?

While many of the people were farmers, the industrial revolution gave the same many opportunities to work in factories. Factories and mills brought the people back to work and the beginning of stable jobs boosted the economy.


You the people is the beginning of the preamble of the?

Try We the People of these United States, ...


In which area were women and people of color not allowed the same opportunities as others?

education and employment


How did the industrial revolution encourage the urbanization of the north?

Industrialization leads to urbanization by creating economic growth and job opportunities that draw people to cities. The urbanization process typically begins when a factory or multiple factories are established within a region, thus creating a high demand for factory labor.


Why do most people migrate within and emigrate from southwest Asia and north Africa?

to take advantage of job opportunities

What economic opportunities drew large numbers of people to the great plains in the 1800s
[Cattle, horses, and people at the fair with stables in the background] Popular Graphic Arts

The completion of the railroads to the West following the Civil War opened up vast areas of the region to settlement and economic development. White settlers from the East poured across the Mississippi to mine, farm, and ranch. African-American settlers also came West from the Deep South, convinced by promoters of all-black Western towns that prosperity could be found there. Chinese railroad workers further added to the diversity of the region's population.

Settlement from the East transformed the Great Plains. The huge herds of American bison that roamed the plains were almost wiped out, and farmers plowed the natural grasses to plant wheat and other crops. The cattle industry rose in importance as the railroad provided a practical means for getting the cattle to market.

The loss of the bison and growth of white settlement drastically affected the lives of the Native Americans living in the West. In the conflicts that resulted, the American Indians, despite occasional victories, seemed doomed to defeat by the greater numbers of settlers and the military force of the U.S. government. By the 1880s, most American Indians had been confined to reservations, often in areas of the West that appeared least desirable to white settlers.

The cowboy became the symbol for the West of the late 19th century, often depicted in popular culture as a glamorous or heroic figure. The stereotype of the heroic white cowboy is far from true, however. The first cowboys were Spanish vaqueros, who had introduced cattle to Mexico centuries earlier. Black cowboys also rode the range. Furthermore, the life of the cowboy was far from glamorous, involving long, hard hours of labor, poor living conditions, and economic hardship.

The myth of the cowboy is only one of many myths that have shaped our views of the West in the late 19th century. Recently, some historians have turned away from the traditional view of the West as a frontier, a "meeting point between civilization and savagery" in the words of historian Frederick Jackson Turner. They have begun writing about the West as a crossroads of cultures, where various groups struggled for property, profit, and cultural dominance. Think about these differing views of the history of the West as you examine the documents in this collection.

To find additional documents in Loc.gov on topics related to the West, use such keywords as West, ranching, Native Americans, and pioneers, or search using the names of states or cities in the West.

Documents

  • The Architecture of the West
    • Denver, Colorado, 1898
    • Pueblo de Taos, New Mexico, 1891(?)
    • Old Mission Church, Los Angeles, California, between 1880 and 1899
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, 1896
    • The Old Carreta, Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico, 1890
    • A Mexican Home (ranchita), between 1880 and 1897
  • As Some Things Appear on the Plains and Among the Rockies in Mid-Summer
  • Beef and Beans
    • John Robinson
    • Lee D. Leverett
    • Henry Young
  • The Extermination of the American Bison
  • I Will Go West
    • Edward Riley
    • Elizabeth Roe
  • American Indian and Oklahoma Territories Maps
    • Indian territory.
    • Map of the Indian and Oklahoma territories.

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What economic opportunity drew large numbers of people to the Great Plains?

What economic opportunities drew large numbers of people to the Great Plains beginning in the mid-1800s? The economic opportunities showed up was the chance to acquire more gold and other riches. All the settlers wanted to make it big in the west coast.

What drew people to the Great Plains?

European immigrants flooded onto the Great Plains, seeking political or religious freedom, or simply to escape poverty in their own country. Younger sons from the eastern seaboard - where the population was growing and land was becoming more expensive - went because it was a chance to own their own land.

How did the government encourage the development of the Great Plains?

In 1862 the government encouraged settlement on the Great Plains by passing the Homestead Act. For a small registration fee, an individual could file for a homestead—a tract of public land available for settlement.

What were the factors that contributed to the development of the Great Plains as a major agricultural region?

The population of the Great Plains grew steadily, new farming methods and inventions in the nineteenth century improved agriculture, and gardens. These are some of the factors that contributed to the development of the development of the Great Plains as a major agricultural region.