Making of america- The west 1839-1860 Flashcards
(12 cards)
Why was it difficult for people to travel to the west?
There were few routes mapped and the journey was 3000 miles
How did the overlanders travel to the west between 1839 and 1860
By wagons
Give three reasons as to why people wanted to travel to the west
The banking system in the USA had collapsed in 1837- many people had no money and were unemployed
Lands in the east were beginning to fill up.
Territories like Oregon and California ran advertising campaigns to encourage people to travel west
Give three issues and dangers of traveling to California and Oregon
Wagons got stuck and injuries like broken bones were common
Many people died of cholera or typhoid
Groups who arrived at the Rockies too late in the autumn had to spend winter on the plains or risk crossing the mountains.
In what ways could the mormon settlement of Utah be considered unique?
The mormon church decided how much land each family got.
Nobody was allowed to own water
The city had irrigation ditches
Describe the chain of events of the California Gold Rush
January 1848: Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill
February 1848: Mexico sold California to the USA
1849: Over 50000 Americans headed to California to “strike it rich”
October 1849: California applied to become a state
1850: San francisco grew to be a city of 34,000 and a busy trading port
1850-51: Huge numbers of Chinese people and miners went to find their own riches in California
Describe the conditions of mining settlements
They were male dominated and very violent
How did people profit off the gold rush?
Small-business owners could make a lot of money by selling shovels or gold-washing pans
After 1852, huge crushing mills were needed to extract the gold from the rock
How did the Californian gold rush have an impact on Native Americans in California?
They were pushed off land to make way for miners
How did the Californian gold rush have an impact on Plains indians?
The miners who travelled west cut right through plains Indians hunting grounds. The government was forced to sign the fort Laramie treaty in 1851 which promised not to disrupt Plains hunting or to settle on the plains
How did the Californian gold rush have an impact on America as a whole?
California became a free state very suddenly in 1850. This threw the delicate balance of slaves and non slave states into a crisis. It also led to demands to connect the country up fully with a railroad
Describe the stages of the Pike’s Peak gold rush and the breaking down relationship between USA and plains indians
- In 1858, a new gold strike was made at Pike’s Peak in Kansas territory
- This land was occupied by the Cheyenne
- Huge numbers of people came to Pike’s Peak- over 100,00 by 1859
- New mining towns like Denver needed food. This led to thousands more people settling in the eastern half of Kansas territory and establishing farms.
- The settlement of Kansas and Colorado broke treaties the USA had signed with Native Americans in the 1850s
- By 1860 war was inevitable
