Ch 5.1
SECTION 1 Miners, Ranchers, and Cowhands
- To describe the geography and population of the West
- To explain how mining in the West led to settlement
- To describe the cattle industry
- To analyze how law and order was established in the West
Miners, Ranchers & Cowhands
Main Idea: Miners, Ranchers, and cowhands steeled in the West seeking economic opportunities.
- In 1859 miners found gold and silver in Colorado and Nevada. This drew as many as 100,000 miners to the West.
- In The population of Virginia City, Nevada jumped from 3,000 people in the 1860s to over 20,000 in the 1870s.
- Gold fever attracted miners from Europe, South America, Mexico, and China.
- Miners, Ranchers, and cowhands moved out to live in the west to find jobs.
- The area outside of the country’s towns and cities was called the frontier.
- White people began to move out to the frontier. The railroads played a huge part in this process.
- Trains brought natural resources from the west out east. They also brought miners, ranchers, and cowhands out west to build up the land.