Conquest of the West from mid-1800s through 1900 Timeline

  • Growth of New Towns and Cities to Support Cattle, Mining, and Farming Industries

     Growth of New Towns and Cities to Support Cattle, Mining, and Farming Industries
    Mining really influenced the big cities because the gold rush began and people started to go out west in hopes of striking big. In a result of the mass amounts of people moving out west the Native Americans were forced out, witch began to cause wars.
  • Extinction of Buffalo in 1800s

    Extinction of Buffalo in 1800s
    In the 1800’s the buffalo almost became extinct for three main reasons one of them was to provide cheap food for the railroad workers that were heading west also there hides were very beneficial and valuable. Lastly that was one of the indians major food source so it was encouraged to hunt these animals so that the indians would have less food and in turn begin to migrate to other parts of North America.
  • Jesse James

    Jesse James
    Jesse James, was an outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer. Mr. James was born in Missouri on September 5, 1847 and he died on April 3, 1882. He is one of the most known gang leaders.
  • discoveries of large amounts of gold and silver

    discoveries of large amounts of gold and silver
    About 300,000 people came to find gold during this time, and their journeys were filled with many hardships. People seeking gold were often called the "forty-niners", because this happened in 1849.
  • Homestead Act

    Homestead Act
    The Homestead act provided settlers with 160 acres of public land, in exchange for a small fee, and a continuous residence for five years. This act was signed by President Abraham Lincoln before his assassination.
  • Transcontinental Railroad System

    Transcontinental Railroad System
    The 1,776 mile long railroad that connected the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for the very first time was pieced together between 1863 and 1869. The actual railroad was finished on May 10,1869, by creating this massive rail system the transportation of goods was made faster,cheaper and more efficient.
  • Shift from “long drive” to “cattle ranching”

    Shift from “long drive” to “cattle ranching”
    Long driving cattle was when cowboys herded thousands of cattle from plains to towns at one time, most long drives lasted about two weeks and was a dangerous job considering bad weather. indians etc. Cattle ranching was not possible prior to the invention of the Transcontinental railroad because the meat would spoil with the slow transportation methods of horseback.
  • Invetion of Barbed Wire

    Invetion of Barbed Wire
    In 1867 was the first pantent for barbed wire, by Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio. Barbed wire was the very first technology to keep cattle inside their pens.
  • Wild West Shows

    Wild West Shows
    The most famous show was Buffalo Bills show on May 19, 1883 Williiam R. Cody opened up Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Omaha, Nebraska.In the late 1800's, wild west shows consisted of horsemanship, roping and things like sharp shooting.These shows also gave impressions about Native Americans.
  • Dawes Ac

     Dawes Ac
    This act allowed the United States president to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians.Those who used the land lived separately from the tribe and would be granted U.S. citizenship.