Miner, Cowboy, or Farmer
(100 points)Imagine it is 1880. The Civil War has been over for 15 years. Economic conditions in the town you live in have deteriorated, and you are struggling to make ends meet. You decide to try your luck out west, where there is plenty of land and plenty of opportunity. Before leaving, you must decide what you will do out west—be a miner, a cowboy, or a farmer. Each presents its own opportunities and difficulties.
Write an essay in which you:
Tell what you would be—a miner, cowboy, or farmer.
Describe the opportunities you would have.
Describe the difficulties you would face.
Explain why you chose as you did.
Use the rubric on the following page to see how your teacher will score your essay. This graded assignment will be due in Lesson 4: Your Choice.
Answer: Compared to the life of the average twenty first century american, mining, farming and being a cowboy in the 1880’s all seem less than desirable. They all seem to come with more trouble than they are worth. But if it came down to it, farming would be the best idea. It is the most work but it is also the safest. Mining is a very dangerous job, and cowboys are also very dangerous.
Because of the the Homestead Act of 1862, you could claim a lot of land without being very wealthy and then own it for about five years before having to buy it which would give you time to get the farm started to be able to pay that off. Farmers would be able to have food and possessed lot of freedom to run things however they would like to run their business.
Name:
Date:
A farm requires fourteen hour days, because a lot of work was to be done. At the start of the farm, a farmer would have to sow the field for the soil to be able to be used in planting. After the soil was ready to go, the ground would have to be cleared, tilled, plowed, and planted. After the ground was ready, the seeds would be planted. Luckily, many new machines were able to help with all this work such as the mechanical harrows, improved plows, mowing and harvesting machines, and threshers. Having a large family would help with all this work, as so much needed to happen everyday. So any available hands were at work to keep the farm up and running. Wives, which is what I would be as I am a woman, would mend and sew, milked the cows, churned the butter, and cooked for the family.
However, farming was no easy job as it not only required long hours of work, but a long list of issues. The first being the water situation. Water wasn’t as plentiful as it was in other parts of America. People often had to drill extremely deep into the ground, around 200 to 300 feet, to find water that even still would not be enough to water the crops. Also the competition was tough, as there were many farmers in the same area. Since there was a lot of the same crops, farmers had to sell them at low prices to be able to sell their produce.
Farming is the safest job, but also the job with the high need to labor. However, heavy daily labor is a easy sacrifice for your life. Cowboys and Miners faced risky situations on the daily. Also as a woman, I don’t think I would have been taken as seriously as the other miners or cowboys as everyone back then was extremely sexist. Mining also ask for a lot of strength which I lack. In my opinion, farming would be the best idea.
Rubric
Category
1 point
2 points
3 points
4 points
5 points
Score
Content
The essay does not fulfill the assignment. Content is not developed and ideas are confusing. The essay is so inadequate and flawed as to be unacceptable.
The essay does not fulfill the assignment. Content is poorly developed and ideas are confusing. The essay fails to address several aspects of the assignment and demonstrates a lack of clear understanding of the concepts and facts. It contains serious flaws.
The essay fulfills the assignment, but content is not fully developed and/or ideas are not clear. The essay fails to address all aspects of the assignment and demonstrates a superficial understanding of the concepts and facts. It contains some flaws.
The essay fulfills the assignment. Content is developed and ideas are clear. The essay, however, demonstrates a less than thorough understanding of the concepts and facts and contains minor flaws. There is some room for improvement.
The essay completely fulfills the assignment. Content is well-developed and ideas are original and clear. The essay demonstrates a thorough understanding of the concepts and facts. It is accurate, relevant, and complete.
Organiza-tion
The essay is so disorganized that it is not understandable.
The essay lacks clear organization. It is difficult to understand.
The essay is somewhat organized but has significant flaws.
The essay is well-organized, with only minor flaws.
The essay is clearly and logically organized and easy to understand.
Spelling, Punctua-tion, and Grammar
The essay contains 10 or more errors in spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar.
The essay contains 7 to 9 errors in spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar.
The essay contains 5 to 6 errors in spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar.
The essay contains 3 to 4 errors in spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar.
The essay contains 2 or fewer errors in spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar.
Rubric
Category
Score
Content
____ X 16 = ____
Organization
____ X 2 = ____
Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar
____ X 2 = ____
Total Score:
To calculate the final grade for this assignment, add the scores for each rubric topic for a maximum score of 100 points. Notice that you will give greater weight to Content by multiplying the score for that category by 16. The scores for Organization and Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar are weighted by multiplying the scores for those categories by two.
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