APUSH Gilded Age notes
Unit 10: The Gilded Age
Economic & social changes 1865 – 1920
Part one: The Last Frontier
The Final settlement of the Trans-Mississippi West
Historiography
THE FRONTIER THESIS:
Frederick Jackson Turner
The Significance of the Frontier in American History – July 12, 1893
1890 Census – no more defined frontier line; had pockets of settlement spread out
Turner Thesis: spirit and success of US is directly tied to westward expansion; a turning point in American Identity
American Identity: created at the juncture between civilization and wilderness
Americans had an identity distinct from Old World
Characteristics: individualism, opportunity, democracy
SIGNIFICANCE: Turner had concluded that the first period of American History had ended (1890 – after the West)
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS TO ANSWER (potential DBQ’s!):
How would other schools of historiography view the West?
How accurate is Turner’s thesis?
What is your historiographical view of the West’s importance in American History?
Five Important Groups
1. Miners
2. Railroads
3. Ranchers
4. Farmers
5. Native Americans (Plain Indians)
Consider what brought them to the West, what brought about the conflicts and why, and how those conflicts got resolved
1) Miners
California Gold Rush 1849 lead to an influx of miners seeking fortune
Placer Mining: wash debris away to get mineral
Problems – erosion, mountain collapse
Quartz Mining: go into the interior of the mountain to extract rocks and minerals
Problems – explosions, cave ins, dangerous gases
SIGNIFICANCE:
produced boomtowns (which lasted as long as the gold supply did) some became skiing destinations (use debris trailings to smooth the slopes or create a mountain) others had casinos but most became ghost towns brought first whites, Africans, Asians out West money made by big corporation or people involved in getting supplies to miners (the miners didn’t make much)
2) Railroads
Pull Factor: desire in to expand industry,
Economic & social changes 1865 – 1920
Part one: The Last Frontier
The Final settlement of the Trans-Mississippi West
Historiography
THE FRONTIER THESIS:
Frederick Jackson Turner
The Significance of the Frontier in American History – July 12, 1893
1890 Census – no more defined frontier line; had pockets of settlement spread out
Turner Thesis: spirit and success of US is directly tied to westward expansion; a turning point in American Identity
American Identity: created at the juncture between civilization and wilderness
Americans had an identity distinct from Old World
Characteristics: individualism, opportunity, democracy
SIGNIFICANCE: Turner had concluded that the first period of American History had ended (1890 – after the West)
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS TO ANSWER (potential DBQ’s!):
How would other schools of historiography view the West?
How accurate is Turner’s thesis?
What is your historiographical view of the West’s importance in American History?
Five Important Groups
1. Miners
2. Railroads
3. Ranchers
4. Farmers
5. Native Americans (Plain Indians)
Consider what brought them to the West, what brought about the conflicts and why, and how those conflicts got resolved
1) Miners
California Gold Rush 1849 lead to an influx of miners seeking fortune
Placer Mining: wash debris away to get mineral
Problems – erosion, mountain collapse
Quartz Mining: go into the interior of the mountain to extract rocks and minerals
Problems – explosions, cave ins, dangerous gases
SIGNIFICANCE:
produced boomtowns (which lasted as long as the gold supply did) some became skiing destinations (use debris trailings to smooth the slopes or create a mountain) others had casinos but most became ghost towns brought first whites, Africans, Asians out West money made by big corporation or people involved in getting supplies to miners (the miners didn’t make much)
2) Railroads
Pull Factor: desire in to expand industry,