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Mail
The Pony Express begins to deliver mail. -
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United states Expands
Despite the Civil War in the first half of the 1860s, the United States grew in population: from 31 million in 1860 to 38 million in 1870. -
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The First Transcontinental Railroad is Completed
The first transcontinental railroad is completed when the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads join their tracks at Promontory Point, Utah. The railroad rapidly affects the ease of western settlement, shortening the journey from coast to coast, which took six to eight months by wagon, to a mere one week's trip. -
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railroads and cattle
Rail lines were extended westward to Dodge City, Kansas in 1871. Longhorn cattle were being driven from Texas through Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to rail heads at Abilene Kansas and Dodge City – drives of from 1,200 to 1,500 miles, moving from ten to twenty miles per day. -
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Barbed Wire
Ranchers can now use barbed wire fences to keep their cattle from ranging free. -
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Wild Bill Hickok is shot .
Wild Bill Hickok is shot and killed while playing poker in Deadwood, South Dakota. -
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The Battle of Little Bighorn
Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his men are wiped out by Sioux forces while attempting to control the Great Plains and confine all Indians to reservations. The battle symbolizes the strength of the Sioux resistance, and the US Army is forced to pursue a long war of attrition, rather than go head to head with the Sioux forces. -
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The Dawes Severalty Act is Passed
The Dawes Act calls for the breakup of the reservations and the treatment of Indians as individuals rather than tribes. It provides for the distribution of 160 acres of farmland or 320 acres of grazing land to any Indian who accepted the act's terms, who would then become a US citizen in 25 years. The act is intended to help the Indians to integrate into white society, but in reality helps to create a class of federally dependent Indians. -
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The Massacre at Wounded Knee
After an excited Native American fires a rifle shot, US Army troops massacre 300 Indians, including seven children. The massacre is the symbolic final step in the war for the West, and after Wounded Knee the Indians succumb to the wishes of the federal government, resigning themselves to reservation life. -
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U.S Gov. Announcement
The U.S. Government announces that the Western lands have been explored. -
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Westward Expansion