Group+4

Read pp. 643-645 on miners and cowboys.

a. Who were the Fifty-niners? Fifty-niners: people who went west to CA and CO and other western states to search for gold. Unfortunately, there was more miners than minerals, so many people returned home without their desired treasures.

b. Once surface gold had been extracted, what happened to mining operations in the West? Lead by stockholders because so expensive, there was a big industry boom in the West. The era of big business eventually came to the mining industry.

c. What roles did women play on the mining frontier, and what benefits did they enjoy? Women had economic opportunities like running boardinghouses. Western states (Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado) were the first to give women the vote.

d. How did mining in the West play into the currency issue in politics? The mining of the West played into the issue between political parties through the debate over silver and gold as currency.

e. How did the transcontinental railroad change the cattle-herding and meat-packing industry? Due to the ease of transporting cattle via train, meat became more of an abundance and the meat packing industry flourished as a result.

f. What eventually spelled the end of the long cattle drives? It was no longer needed because of the use of barbed wire fences kept the cattle from roaming.