USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -List some of the new technologies that encouraged settlement of the Great Plains. The transcontinental railroad opened up the region; steel plows and dry farming techniques allowed farmers to grow wheat in the hard, dry soil; windmills pumped water from the ground; barbed wire kept cattle away from crops.

Detailed explanation-2: -Railroads were an important technological advance that made it possible to settle the West. They could bring in supplies at an affordable price. They also made it possible for farmers to ship out their crops and ranchers to ship out their cattle.

Detailed explanation-3: -By the 1860s, Plains farmers were using steel plows, threshing machines, seed drills, and reapers. These new machines made dry farming possible.

Detailed explanation-4: -The widespread use of barbed wire changed life on the Great Plains dramatically and permanently. Land and water once open to all was fenced off by ranchers and homesteaders with predictable results.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Great Plains were sparsely populated until about 1600. Spanish colonists from Mexico had begun occupying the southern plains in the 16th century and had brought with them horses and cattle. The introduction of the horse subsequently gave rise to a flourishing Plains Indian culture.