Modern Times Glencoe / Mcgraw-Hill, 2008 Altho
Settling the West, 1865 to 1890 Chapter 4a, Pages 154 to 179 The American Vision: Modern Times Glencoe / McGraw-Hill, 2008 Although the Civil War had inflicted massive casualties on the entire nation, and left the South’s infrastructure damaged, the nation as a whole experience growth during the second half of the 1800s. The fighting of the war had been mostly in the southeastern parts of the country. West of the Mississippi, and north of the Mason- Dixon Line, railroads, telegraph lines, and factories continued to expand. People settled new land and began to farm it. In the West, three opportunities attracted settlers: mining, ranching, and farming. The initial wave of gold mining, the California Gold Rush, lasted from 1848 to 1856, but more and bigger discoveries of lead, coal, iron, copper, and other minerals began in 1859, when silver ore was found in Nevada. In the 1870s, mining began in Colorado, South Dakota, and Montana. Boomtowns grew near mining discoveries. These cities expanded their populations in a single year from near zero to many thousands. The inhabitants of these town were mainly men between the ages of 17 and 40. There were few women, children, or older people. Because of this imbalance, crime and violence were common. Another problem was the slow growth of proper law enforcement: it took time to establish sheriffs and police. Until a city government could be established, volunteers formed ‘vigilance committees’ to keep the peace. Near the boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona, silver was discovered in 1877. The population quickly swelled to 14,000.
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