The Development of Great Plains

The Republican Vision

During Civil War: rigorous of federal power
- Hindered by 1873 depression, just like Reconstruction
The New Union and the World
- Looks towards Asia, Latin America (1894)
Integrating
- Infrastructure
- Corporations
- Tariffs
- Silver and Gold
Congress during the Civil War:
- Created a new national banking system
- Instituted a protective tariff
The New Union and the World
- After the Civil War, American sought to extend beyond its borders
  - Treaty of Kanagawa - US could refuel ships
  - Most Americans did not want conquest
  - Burlingame Treaty – protected US missionaries in China, emigration of Chinese to US (cheap labor)
Integrating the National Economy:
- RRs – began in the 1830s,
- Tariffs and Economic Growth: Tariff – tax on imported goods (largest source of revenue for the government) Republicans favored tariffs, protect industries
The Role of Courts:
- Munn v. Illinois – states could regulate certain businesses (RRs); later overturned
- Many Mexican Americans were forced to leave land in the southwest
Silver and Gold:
- in the 1870s (backing paper $ with gold)
- Hurt those in debt (less $ in circulation)
- Will become a major issue

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Land Acts: Homestead Act (1862)
- Land to those willing to move west and improve the property
Morrill Act (1862)
- Allowed states to sell land and use $ for colleges and universities
Mining Empires
- Comstock Lode -- Nevada
- Timber industries grew in the NW -- altered the environment
Cattlemen on the Plains
- Cattle Ranches
  - Long Drive -- herding cattle hundreds of miles north to RRs to sell
  - Barbed wire allowed farmers to abandon the Long Drive
  - Blizzard of 1886 - 1887 left many cowboys broke

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Western Myths and Realities
- Fredrick Jacksons Tuner's Frontier's Thesis
- The end of the frontier ended a unique era
- The frontier contributed to the American identity
  - Helped make American society different from Europe

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