The United States forced the Native Americans to sell their land to the government and move to other places in the Midwest. Most Farmers raised cattle, pigs, and chickens. If the farmers lived near the Mississippi river or other big lakes the could ship their products to the Southeast and the Northeast.
Full Answer
Why did German immigrants move to the Midwest?
The majority moved to the Midwestern "German triangle," between Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Many were farmers in their homeland and pursued the same livelihood in the Midwest. Living in close proximity to other Germans encouraged these immigrants to maintain traditional customs and language.
How does the Midwest affect the world?
The Midwest represents one of the most intense areas of agricultural production in the world and consistently affects the global economy. In 2007, Midwestern states had a market value of crop and livestock products sold of over $76 billion, encompassing corn, soybean, livestock, vegetables, fruits, tree nuts, berries, and nursery/greenhouse plants.
How did westward migration affect the Great Plains?
Westward migration tended to skip the Plains for the Pacific Coast, and it was not until the late 1800s, when most American Indians had been subjugated, barbed-wire fencing had been introduced, and railroads had penetrated the interior, that the Plains experienced rapid settlement by farmers, ranchers, and tradesmen.
How did the westward expansion affect the lives of farmers?
Some of the operators took advantage of the situation and cheated the farmers. With costs depleting the value of their crops, farmers often had nothing left to pay their debts and live on. As the population of the West increased, dusty trading posts and modest towns became vibrant cities.
Where did farmers settle in the Midwest?
It was the Great Lakes along with the valleys and ports that made the Midwest a lucrative place for settlement. In 1863 the Homestead Act was passed. However, Minnesota was the only state that had any good farmland for homesteading purposes.
How are farmers in the Midwest affected by the Great Depression?
In the early 1930s prices dropped so low that many farmers went bankrupt and lost their farms. In some cases, the price of a bushel of corn fell to just eight or ten cents. Some farm families began burning corn rather than coal in their stoves because corn was cheaper.
What were the main problems facing farmers in the South and the Midwest after the Civil War?
After the Civil War, drought, plagues of grasshoppers, boll weevils, rising costs, falling prices, and high interest rates made it increasingly difficult to make a living as a farmer.
How did the Great Depression affect farmers in the Midwest and the South?
Farm prices had fallen to all-time lows, and farm income had shrunk by nearly 60 percent, aggravating debt and tax burdens and undermining the vitality of rural service centers.
What problems did farmers face during the Great Depression?
Farmers who had borrowed money to expand during the boom couldn't pay their debts. As farms became less valuable, land prices fell, too, and farms were often worth less than their owners owed to the bank. Farmers across the country lost their farms as banks foreclosed on mortgages.
What kind of problems did farmers face?
Several basic factors were involved-soil exhaustion, the vagaries of nature, overproduction of staple crops, decline in self-sufficiency, and lack of adequate legislative protection and aid.
What was one effect of hard times for farmers?
Crop prices fell, and the debts of farmers increased. The depression added more woes to the lives of farmers. As crop prices fell, the income of farmers also decreased. They could not pay their debts and had to borrow more money to survive.
What problems did farmers face throughout the 1920's?
What problems did farmers face in the 1920s? The demand for food dropped, so farmers' incomes went down. They could not afford payments on their farms, so they lost their land.
Why was farming difficult in the Great Plains?
Nature was unkind in many parts of the Great Plains. Blistering summers and cruel winters were commonplace. Frequent drought spells made farming even more difficult. Insect blights raged through some regions, eating further into the farmers' profits.
Which best explains why farmers in the Great Depression?
Which best explains why farmers in the Great Depression could not repay their loans? The price of crops was too high.
Why did farmers destroy their crops during the Great Depression?
Government intervention in the early 1930s led to “emergency livestock reductions,” which saw hundreds of thousands of pigs and cattle killed, and crops destroyed as Steinbeck described, on the idea that less supply would lead to higher prices.
What was the economic effect of the Great Depression on America's farmers?
What was the economic effect of the Great Depression on America's farmers? Farmers grew more and more crops despite drought conditions. Farmers could not pay taxes or repay money they had borrowed. Farmers stripped away natural grasses that held the soil in place.
What was the economic effect of the Great Depression on America's farmers?
What was the economic effect of the Great Depression on America's farmers? Farmers grew more and more crops despite drought conditions. Farmers could not pay taxes or repay money they had borrowed. Farmers stripped away natural grasses that held the soil in place.
Why did farmers destroy their crops during the Great Depression?
Government intervention in the early 1930s led to “emergency livestock reductions,” which saw hundreds of thousands of pigs and cattle killed, and crops destroyed as Steinbeck described, on the idea that less supply would lead to higher prices.
Which best explains why farmers in the Great Depression?
Which best explains why farmers in the Great Depression could not repay their loans? The price of crops was too high.
Why was life difficult for farm laborers during the Depression?
Wages fell to 9 cent /hr, farmers who tried to unionize was met with violence from employers and government authorities.
When did the Plains experience rapid settlement?
Westward migration tended to skip the Plains for the Pacific Coast, and it was not until the late 1800s, when most American Indians had been subjugated, barbed-wire fencing had been introduced, and railroads had penetrated the interior, that the Plains experienced rapid settlement by farmers, ranchers, and tradesmen.
What were the major factors that contributed to Chicago's growth in 1890?
By 1890 Chicago, not even 60 years old, had become the second largest city in the country, and the Midwest accounted for 29 percent of the country’s manufacturing employment and nearly one-third of its value added by manufacture.
What were the natural resources of the Northwest Territory?
The Plains were to develop primarily agriculturally, but the Northwest Territory, blessed with both fertile soil and valuable natural resources (coal, oil, iron ore, and limestone), would develop both industrially and agriculturally. Northwest Territory 1785–87.
What was the Northwest Territory?
The Northwest Territory , created by the Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787, with the Ohio Company of Associates' purchase (c. 1787) and township schemes. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Read More on This Topic. United States: The Midwest. There is no such self-effacement in the Midwest, that large triangular region justly regarded as ...
What is the Midwest?
Midwest, also called Middle West or North Central States, region, northern and central United States, lying midway between the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains and north of the Ohio River and the 37th parallel. The Midwest, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, ...
When did the Midwest join the United States?
The Midwest. The Northwest Territory entered the United States in 1783 at the conclusion of the American Revolution and was organized under a series of ordinances that set the precedent for the admission of future territories into the Union. The Great Plains entered the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
Is there self-effacement in the Midwest?
There is no such self-effacement in the Midwest, that large triangular region justly regarded as the most nearly representative...
Why are farmers not making money?
Unfortunately, though farmers began to produce more crops for the market, most were not making more money because of lowering crop prices and high costs of services. Many farmers began to feel they had no control over the process.
Why did cattlemen drive through the Great Plains?
During these years, however, the homesteaders were building their small farms on the range. They objected to having cattle herds driven through their land and towns, and conflicts arose between the cattlemen and the farmers. Due to the lack of trees in the region, farmers on the Great Plains did not have the necessary materials to erect wooden fences , and despite a few violent conflicts, many cattlemen continued to drive the herds through the Plains.
How did cattle ranching start?
The Texans practiced open-range cattle ranching, in which cattle from many different ranches roamed free over vast, unfenced areas. The only way to tell which ranch a cow was from was by its brand, the ranch symbols burned into its hides. Cowboys rounded cattle up every year for slaughter, separating them by their brand. Huge ranches with millions of open-range cattle prospered in Texas until the American Civil War (1861–65; a war between the Union [the North], who were opposed to slavery, and the Confederacy [ the South ], who were in favor of slavery) interrupted the cattle trade. After the war an estimated five million cattle roamed the Texas plains untended. At that time there was great demand for meat in the rapidly growing cities of the eastern United States, and new railroad lines were available to transport the meat to market. The huge herds of Texas were of little value in Texas, but they would be worth a great deal in the eastern United States.
What was the purpose of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry?
Its aim was to advance the political, economic, and social interests of the nation's farmers. Kelley, a clerk for the Bureau of Agriculture, had seen the problems faced by U.S. farmers. He resolved to set up an organization to assist farmers by bringing them together to discuss problems and to learn about new agricultural methods. Six of Kelley's associates joined him in forming the group, and the following year he traveled to his native Minnesota to set up the first local Grange (a local lodge providing social and educational facilities as a chapter of the national society). Letters were sent to interested farmers around the country, but response was slight. Before 1870 only a handful of local Granges were established, mostly in Minnesota and Iowa, and in 1871 only scattered chapters could be found in nine states.
What is an organization of workers formed to protect and further their mutual interests?
An organization of workers formed to protect and further their mutual interests by bargaining as a group with their employers over wages, working conditions, and benefits.
How did new technology help farmers?
New methods of transportation allowed more products to be grown, and new technology for farming and processing foods made it possible for farmers to grow more food. Unfortunately, it would be decades before the country's economic and political systems would adapt to the new capacity of its farms.
What was the lack of transportation in the Appalachian Mountains?
Before the 1850s, the lack of transportation in all areas west of the Appalachian Mountains made it nearly impossible for farmers and ranchers to sell large quantities of their products. This is illustrated in an 1852 U.S. Senate report showing that a farmer using wagons on existing dirt roads to ship his crop to a market 330 miles away was likely to spend the entire value of his crop on the cost of transporting it. Transporting by railroad reduced the cost by an estimated 90 percent.
How did the wave of Scandinavian immigration take place?
On how the wave of Scandinavian immigration was self-propelling: "It took place in a much subtler, slower way, largely through chain migration...small groups of two or three families would leave together, with five or 10 years between groups."
What was the role of Scandinavians in the Civil War?
The Civil War service of Scandinavians in the Union would integrate them into American society and even helped lay the foundation for Scandinavian-Americans to play a prominent role in politics around the Midwest. Nearly half of Minnesota's governors have been first- or second-generation Scandinavians.
What is the Stoughton Heritage Mural?
The Stoughton Heritage Mural highlights the role Norwegian immigrants played in the Dane County community.
What did the Muskego manifesto say?
In the " Muskego manifesto ," published in 1845 in a Christiania (Oslo), Norway newspaper, a group of Norwegian immigrans in Muskego declared that despite the hardships they faced, they still valued the American ideals of liberty and opportunity, and did not regret their decision to plant new roots in the U.S.
How many animals did the Union slaughter in Chicago in 1890?
1890 - The Union Stockyards in Chicago slaughter 9 million animals in a year. Chicago becomes known as the "hog-butcher of the world".
When did the first American Indians arrive in the Midwest?
c.10000 B.C. - First American Indians arrive in what is now the Midwest. c.1200 - Monks Mound at modern-day Cahokia, Illinois is completed. Marks the height of the Mississippian culture in that area. 1673 - Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explore the Midwest and Mississippi River. Most of the region becomes part of New France until 1763.
Who invented the steel plow?
1837 - John Deere develops a steel plow that is well-suited for cutting the Midwestern sod. 1847 - Cyrus McCormick begins producing mechanical reapers in Chicago and sells them to Midwestern farmers. 1858 - Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas debate seven times in their U.S. Senate campaign.
What was the purpose of the Northwest Ordinance?
1787 - After the region east of the Mississippi passes to the United States, the Northwest Ordinance is passed to organize the settlement and governance of the area. 1803 - Louisiana Purchase places the Midwest east of the Mississippi under U.S. control. Lewis and Clark launch their expedition in 1804.
Why did farmers tear up grassland?
Farmers tore up even more grassland in an attempt to harvest a bumper crop and break even . Crops began to fail with the onset of drought in 1931, exposing the bare, over-plowed farmland. Without deep-rooted prairie grasses to hold the soil in place, it began to blow away.
What did the settlers believe about the Great Plains?
Many of these late nineteenth and early twentieth century settlers lived by the superstition “rain follows the plow.” Emigrants, land speculators, politicians and even some scientists believed that homesteading and agriculture would permanently affect the climate of the semi-arid Great Plains region, making it more conducive to farming.
What Caused the Dust Bowl?
The Dust Bowl was caused by several economic and agricultural factors, including federal land policies, changes in regional weather, farm economics and other cultural factors. After the Civil War, a series of federal land acts coaxed pioneers westward by incentivizing farming in the Great Plains.
What was the name of the drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the United States that suffered severe dust storm?
New Deal Programs. Okie Migration. Dust Bowl in Arts and Culture. SOURCES. The Dust Bowl was the name given to the drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the United States, which suffered severe dust storms during a dry period in the 1930s.
How much topsoil was blown off the Great Plains during Black Sunday?
As many as three million tons of topsoil are estimated to have blown off the Great Plains during Black Sunday. An Associated Press news report coined the term “Dust Bowl” after the Black Sunday dust storm.
What was the impact of the Dust Bowl on the economy?
The Dust Bowl intensified the crushing economic impacts of the Great Depression and drove many farming families on a desperate migration in search of work and better living conditions.
How did dust affect people?
Dust worked its way through the cracks of even well-sealed homes, leaving a coating on food, skin and furniture. Some people developed “dust pneumonia” and experienced chest pain and difficulty breathing. It’s unclear exactly how many people may have died from the condition.
