Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History: the American West, c.1835-c.1895 Student Book (EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY (9-1))

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Settlers built 'sod houses', while they lived out of doors - people did their cooking on an open fire. John O’Sullivan, editor of the New York newspaper ‘The Morning Post’, first used this phrase to express the long held belief that white Americans had a God-given right to occupy the entire North American continent. The government realised that 160 acres was not enough to sustain people. The Timber Culture Act of 1873 gave farmers another 160 free acres if they grew some trees. Realising that the Indians never fought during the Winter months, the army decided to mount a Winter Campaign to try to catch them by surprise and force them into submission. Unit 3: Modern World Source Enquiry: Option 3C The transformation of British Society c1951-1979 (5HA03/3C)

This Act offered anyone prepared to settle in the West 160 acres of land for free provided they built a home and farmed the land for five years. Dirt and disease Outdoor toilets and open wells. The sod houses leaked, and fleas and bedbugs lived in them 'by the million'. It was impossible to disinfect the floor. As a result the death rate, especially from diphtheria, was high. This Act allowed farmers to buy 640 acres of land at a cheap price in areas where there was little rainfall and irrigation schemes were needed to farm the land People had to make the most of any trip to their nearest town, where the women talked of the harvest and the men smoked corncob pipes and talked politics.

Following the death of the Mormon leader, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young decided to take the Mormons away from the persecution they faced in the East and to build a new life for them at the Great Salt Lake. The Waddell and Russell freight company established the Pony Express. Relay stations were set up across north America and riders carried mail from one station to the next. Option 11: Medicine in Britain c1250 – present and the British sector of the Western front, 1914 -1918: Injuries, treatment and the trenches. Unit 3: Modern World Source Enquiry: Option 3B War and transformation of British Society c1931-1951 (5HA03/3B)

Wells Fargo established the stagecoach which allowed travellers to pay to be transported by stagecoach.Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religion, and his brother Hyrum were shot and killed while imprisoned for destroying a printing press. Unit 3: Schools History Project Source Enquiry Option 3C: The impact of war on Britain c1914- c1950 (5HB03/3C) Unit 3: Modern World Source Enquiry: Option 3A War and transformation of British Society c1903-1928 (5HA03/3A)

This treaty between the US Government and the Indian tribes redefined the Indian homelands. The treaty stated that these lands would belong to the Indians and that they would not be entered by white settlers. The Indians were to be given provisions for a period of ten years as compensation for the loss of land. Cattle ranching had been firmly established in Johnson County since the 1870s and many ranch owners had become wealthy and influential. During the 1880s they wanted more land and tried to buy-out small time ranchers and farmers. Those small-time ranchers and farmers who resisted were accused of cattle-rustling and some were hanged. A travelling shoe-maker or tinker might pass through who would provide or mend household items, but usually families just had to make do. The women collected 'buffalo chips' for fuel, stoked the stove, and made their own candles and soap. 'I have often wondered how my mother stood it', wrote an early settler. Unit 1: Schools History Project Development Study Option1A: Medicine and public health in Britain, C50AD to the present day (5HB01/1A)

American West Timeline

The transcontinental railway was completed. A ceremony, known as the ‘golden spike ceremony’ because a golden spike was used to join the East and West railways, was held at Promontory Point in Utah.