During the 1800s, the settlers, who were Americans by origin, were looking for more land, which they found in the West. The native Indians were occupying the lands. Year later, their lands were claimed by the Americans, and they chased them away. The settlers were aided by the government since it supported their claims. The government, later on, went to war with the Indians, which they won. This caused thousands of settlers to move to the west in hope of finding fertile lands.
In 1862, Congress authorized the Homestead Act, which gave every citizen, or foreigner, who wanted to gain citizenship to the West, the right to claim ownership of government land (Arax, 2009). It stated that every person could be allocated 65 hectares. In order for one to gain ownership of the land, they were required to show proof that they could build a house and farm on the land allocated for five years. They only had to part with 10 dollars to record the deal.
The settlers could not purchase farmland from their land of origin since they were too expensive for them to afford. The settlers who descended from the East found it challenging to farm and build houses in the West since the land was covered with wide flat grasslands unlike the hills and forests in the West (Arax, 2009). Without the trees, there was no timber to build their houses. They turned to building their houses from mud and rocks with grass-thatched roofs. This was due to the lack of enough trees to be used for building and fuel. Some people built their houses nearly underground (Arax, 2009).
sit on rough wooden benches for long distances. It was also dangerous since the railroads were prone to raids by the Native Americans or bandits. The common means of transport was using animals such as horses. Most of the settlers knew how to ride a horse, and that is how they moved from one point to another. As shown in the picture, the use of horses was common because it was one of the available and convenient forms of transportation.
Technology solved most of their problems. The invention of new farming equipment for digging deep wells and pumping water to the surface was done during this period. Barbed wire was also invented in 1874, which aided in keeping the cattle in one centralized area with a fence they cannot easily destroy and go to the farms to destroy the farmers’ crops (Arax, 2009). These are some of the events and accomplishments made in the 1800s. In the 18th century, technological advancements in agriculture commenced, and it was what the people from the West used on a daily basis since they heavily relied on agriculture to fend for themselves (Arax, 2009).
References
Arax, M. (2009). West of the West. New York: PublicAffairs.
Waterandpower.org. (2016). Water and Power Associates. Retrieved 19 February 2016, from http://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_Views_of_Pasadena_%28Page_2%29.htmlatera ndpower.org
