What was the west like for the miners, cattlemen, and homest
Many Americans went to the west with high hopes of striking it rich. With
miners moving west they needed someone to help support them. The government decided that they needed some way to connect to the mines to bring mining supplies and food. This event lead to the expansion of the railroads. Others were in search of the free land that was given away with the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homstead Act brought many more to the west, which devastated many American cattlemen and ended the Cattle Kingdom.
A miner's life was extremely difficult. A very few ever struck it rich and when
someone did strike it rich they lost most of their fortune quickly. Miners came from all
over,mainly parts of Europe and the eastern part of the United States. Since there were
many miners in one area there were booms in a few major cities. The presence of the
Miners started the boom to move to the west and they needed settlers to