The document provides a timeline of key events in American history between 1849 and 1887, including:
- The Gold Rush of 1849 that attracted hundreds of thousands of people to California.
- The 1851 Fort Laramie council where US officials asked Plains nations to stop following buffalo herds and settle permanently on protected lands.
- The discovery of the rich Comstock Lode silver mine in 1859 in Nevada that produced $300 million worth of silver.
- The establishment of cattle drives in the 1860s that moved herds from Texas to railheads in the North, lasting 2-3 months.
- The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 connecting Sacramento, CA to Omaha,
The document provides a timeline of key events in American history between 1849 and 1887, including:
- The Gold Rush of 1849 that attracted hundreds of thousands of people to California.
- The 1851 Fort Laramie council where US officials asked Plains nations to stop following buffalo herds and settle permanently on protected lands.
- The discovery of the rich Comstock Lode silver mine in 1859 in Nevada that produced $300 million worth of silver.
- The establishment of cattle drives in the 1860s that moved herds from Texas to railheads in the North, lasting 2-3 months.
- The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 connecting Sacramento, CA to Omaha,
The document provides a timeline of key events in American history between 1849 and 1887, including:
- The Gold Rush of 1849 that attracted hundreds of thousands of people to California.
- The 1851 Fort Laramie council where US officials asked Plains nations to stop following buffalo herds and settle permanently on protected lands.
- The discovery of the rich Comstock Lode silver mine in 1859 in Nevada that produced $300 million worth of silver.
- The establishment of cattle drives in the 1860s that moved herds from Texas to railheads in the North, lasting 2-3 months.
- The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 connecting Sacramento, CA to Omaha,
The document provides a timeline of key events in American history between 1849 and 1887, including:
- The Gold Rush of 1849 that attracted hundreds of thousands of people to California.
- The 1851 Fort Laramie council where US officials asked Plains nations to stop following buffalo herds and settle permanently on protected lands.
- The discovery of the rich Comstock Lode silver mine in 1859 in Nevada that produced $300 million worth of silver.
- The establishment of cattle drives in the 1860s that moved herds from Texas to railheads in the North, lasting 2-3 months.
- The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 connecting Sacramento, CA to Omaha,
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Chapter 17
Timeline By Sophia Guidara and Amy Juckett
1849 - Gold Rush
The Gold Rush of 1849 excited the nation. It attracted miners from all over the world to California to the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains to the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory. Gold was found in the Sacramento River Valley in early 1849. By the end of 1849, 100,000 people lived in the California territory. Two billion dollars worth of gold was found by the end of 1852.
1851 - Big Talk
In 1851, thousands of people gathered near Fort Laramie in Wyoming for a big talk with US officials. The officials wanted nations of many Plains to stop following the buffalo. If the people would settle permanently, the government promised to protect their lands.
1859 - The Comstock Lode
In 1859, two Irish prospectors found gold in the Sierra Nevada. Although they had found the gold they were looking for, Henry Comstock said the claim was on his property. The found was later known as the Comstock Lode. Bluetinted sand stuck to all of the equipment and made it difficult to dig out gold. The blue mud appeared to have had silver in it. This was one of the richest silver mines ever. The Comstock Lode produced $300 million worth of silver and made Nevada a big state of mining. A tent city near mines grew into the boomtown of Virginia City.
1860 - Cattle Drives
In the 1860s, ranchers began rounding up the cattle. They hired skilled riders, called cowhands, to move the cattle to railroads in Kansas, Missouri, and Wyoming. The ideal time to begin a cattle trail was during the spring because the grass grew tall and rivers were full from spring rains. A cattle drive is the herding and moving of cattle over long distances, usually by following cattle trails. The cattle drives lasted two to three months. In one year, 600,000 cattle would be moved to the north.
1860- Transcontinental Railroad
In 1862 Leland Stanford and his partners got the right to build a line east from Sacramento, California. The railroad was called Central Pacific. The other railroad Union Pacific would build west. the men hired 10,000 chinese to help them. They battled through snow, winds, and avalanches which made them stop working. On May 10, 1869, the two lines met in Promontory, Utah.
1862- Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was created in 1862. It offered 160 acres of land for anyone who lived on the land for five years. The Congress wanted to give poor people the chance to also farm. Only a few people had enough money to make the change. Some large companies took large plots of land illegally. 160 acres was not enough to be able to grow enough food in order to make a profit. Only one homesteader was able to stay all five years.
1864- Navajos The Navajo indians lived in the south west raising cattle,sheep and horses. They would raid other farms in order to get more live stock. To stop them the farmers called the army. After multiple wars, they were beat in Arizona. The soldiers took them on a long walk to the Pecos River. They battled years of disease and hunger.
1867- Cow Towns
Joseph McCoy had a great idea in 1867. This idea was Cow Towns. He believed that after months of riding cowboys needed a shower and a warm bed to sleep in. Cattle needed to be pened before they ship east. The first cow town was built in Abilene Kansas this was were the Chisholm trail and the Kansas Pacific Railroad met. Dance halls, saloons and hotels were all over the towns. Some times there were bar fights and gun fights. Some towns banned pistols.
1867- National Grange
Most farmers lived in poverty or in the middle of the country with nobody around. Granges are farmers that meet for sewing bees, lectures and other farming events. In 1867 some of the granges got together and formed the National Grange. It started as an educational movement but then changed into an economic protest. Granges demanded same low rates as railroads and warehouses that were give to big time farmers. They than elected state officials to wright laws limiting these rates.
1870- Buffalo The buffalo started to decrease in the 1870s due to the native americans hunting. Railroad builders made hunters kill the buffalo so then they could eat. They also killed buffalo to make robes that went for high prices.One hunter could kill over 2,000 buffalo a month.
1887- Dawes Act
In 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Act, hoping to improve Native American life. The act tried to turn the Native Americans into farmers, giving the males 160 acres to farm. It also set up schools. However, the Dawes Act failed. Few Native Americans went to farming, many sold their land cheaply, and federal agents replaced native leaders.
