GCSE-ready- Home
- Lessons
- GCSE & IGCSE History
- Development of the Plains, c1862 to c1876
Development of the Plains, c1862 to c1876
🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.
Railroads, homesteaders and the cattle industry transformed the Plains, and conflict with Indigenous peoples grew.
Settlement
The Pacific Railroad Act (1862) led to the First Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869. Railroads brought settlers, goods and markets.
The Homestead Act (1862) gave 160 acres free to settlers who farmed it for five years. The Timber Culture Act (1873) offered another 160 acres for planting trees.
Homesteaders faced shortages of water, wood and fuel, and harsh weather. Law and order improved with marshals and sheriffs as territories became organised.
The Homestead Act (1862) gave 160 acres free to settlers who farmed it for five years. The Timber Culture Act (1873) offered another 160 acres for planting trees.
Homesteaders faced shortages of water, wood and fuel, and harsh weather. Law and order improved with marshals and sheriffs as territories became organised.
Ranching and cowboys
After the Civil War, Texas had millions of cattle. Joseph McCoy made Abilene, Kansas, a railhead cattle town in 1867.
Charles Goodnight opened new cattle trails; John Iliff sold beef to railroad workers and reservations and started ranching on the Plains.
Cowboys drove herds north on long trails. Tension grew between ranchers and homesteaders, whose crops were trampled.
Charles Goodnight opened new cattle trails; John Iliff sold beef to railroad workers and reservations and started ranching on the Plains.
Cowboys drove herds north on long trails. Tension grew between ranchers and homesteaders, whose crops were trampled.
Indigenous peoples under pressure
Railroads, cattle and gold prospectors cut into hunting grounds. Government policy pushed tribes onto reservations.
Little Crow's War (1862): the Dakota rose in Minnesota after broken promises and hunger.
Sand Creek Massacre (1864): US volunteers under Colonel Chivington attacked Black Kettle's peaceful Cheyenne camp, killing mostly women and children.
Red Cloud's War (1866 to 68) over the Bozeman Trail ended with the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, creating the Great Sioux Reservation.
Little Crow's War (1862): the Dakota rose in Minnesota after broken promises and hunger.
Sand Creek Massacre (1864): US volunteers under Colonel Chivington attacked Black Kettle's peaceful Cheyenne camp, killing mostly women and children.
Red Cloud's War (1866 to 68) over the Bozeman Trail ended with the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, creating the Great Sioux Reservation.
Explain one consequence of the First Transcontinental Railroad (1869).
- It made travel west faster and cheaper.
- This brought many more settlers onto the Plains.
- It also helped the cattle industry and split the buffalo herds, harming Indigenous peoples.
Answer: It brought more settlers and markets, and disrupted Plains peoples.
Pacific Railroad Act 1862, railroad complete 1869. Homestead Act 1862 (160 acres), Timber Culture Act 1873. McCoy and Abilene 1867, Goodnight, Iliff, cowboys. Little Crow's War 1862, Sand Creek 1864, Red Cloud's War 1866 to 68, Fort Laramie 1868.
Check you have got it
Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.