Sept 25th-Sept 29th

[6Hannah]

• Discussing the posts of the forum post leaders
• How did the Homestead Act help settle the Great Plains?
• What challenges did settlers/farmers face on the Great Plains?
• How did settlers/farmers solve some of these problems?
• Indians. Farmers and some of the Chinese workers didn’t like the railroad
• The railroad gave the people more access to go west/ move west
• Government gave railroads land grants; 170 million acres
• Map of the “Railroad Growth” between 1870-1890
• Chart of railroad mileage
  • Went in the entire Us from 9000 to 129000
• Land speculators “stole” much of the land that was set aside for the Homestead act
  • Speculator: A person who trades commodities, bonds, equities or currencies with a higher than average risk in return for a higher-than-average profit potential
• Life on the great Plains was not easy; lonely, bad weather, grasshopper Plagues, hard work, Native Americans, Lack of trees, railroad prices, debt
• Insect Plagues hit farms hard in the 1870’s and became extinct as of 1902
• Article about the Insect Plague
• Map of the rocky Mountain Locust in North America
• The entire famer’s family is working outside on the field
• Native American Attacks
  • Attacks on settlers in the mid-late 1800s in many parts of America
  • Attacks were common, but they were also sporadic, and usually involved a fairly low number of casualties
• Lack of Trees occurs sod houses

Tuesday

• Talking about weekly blogs, form posts and comments
•  Pictures of the houses in the 1800’s
• Railroad prices and debt
  • Railroad charged farmers high prices due to lac competition
  • Many farmers mortgaged their farms to buy more seed and supplies
  • Crop prices fell due to overproduction
  • After the Civil War, the amount of money in circulation went down, so money became more valuable which made it harder to pay back debt
  • Farmers wanted the money in circulation
    • This would cause inflation which would be good for cop prices
• Graph of production of corn and prices in 1870-1900
• Cartoon about farmers and railroads
• The Grange
  • The National Grange of the order of Patrons of Husbandry
    • (taking care of the farmer’s land, animals and families)
  • Organization in the US that encourages families to work together to promote the social, economic and political well-being of farmers
  • Started after Civil War (1867) and is still around today
  • Part of more than 2100 hometowns across the United States
  • Nonprofit organization
• Cartoon about The Grange
• Granger Laws
  • In Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois- in the late 1860’s and early 1870’s
  • Designed to fight back against railroad abuses
  • Munn v Illinois 1877 Supreme Court supported farmers
• Interstate Commerce Act 1887
  • Allowed the US Government to supervise railroads
  • Required railroads rates to be “fair and just”
  • Set up Interstate Commerce Commission to carry out law
  • Failed to help farmers at first because of long legal process & resistance from the railroads
• Cartoon about Government and their relation to the railroads
• Populist Movement- Omaha Platform- 1890’s
  • Give people a greater voice in government
  • Increase money supply in circulation-Silverites= currency be redeemable in silver as well as gold

Wednesday

• No school

Thursday

• Graduated income tax=higher income=higher taxes
• Direct election of Senators instead of chosen by the legislators
• Single terms for President/ Vice President
• Secret ballot
• 8 hour work day
• Poster
• Cartoon of “How to help famers out of Debt”
• Importance of giving people a voice in the government
• Chart of increase money supply in circulation
  • Competition of Gold Bugs and Silverites
• William Jennings Bryan
  • Nebraska Congressman, leader
• Cartoon of “the survival of the fittest”
• The Wizard of Oz- video about the original idea
  • Gold Standard vs Bimetallism
• Direct election of Senators- Democracy
• Single terms for President and Vice President- changes
• Secret Ballot
• Reason for 8 hour work day
  • Being over worked
  • Getting tired
  • Don’t seeing your family
  • Grabby
• Restrictions on immigration

Friday

• Group test