Transcontinental Railroad: The Move West

Across the Continent. "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way"

Frances Flora Bond Palmer, American (born England), 1812 - 1876. Published by Currier & Ives, New York. http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/308328.html

Map of the United States

Need To Know: 1. The Great Plains:

-grasslands-dry and hot summers-harsh winters

2. Transcontinental Railroad: 1869 Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads came together at Promontory Summit, Utah.

-First time country is connected3. Homestead Act:

-Government offered 160 acres FREE -5 years and improve the land

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Map_of_the_Great_Plains.png

Transcontinental Railroad

http://www.tcrr.com/Transcontinental-Railroad-map-wiki.jpg

Homestead Act

• Survey the text: what features do you notice? (dates, etc.)

• What questions do you have? • Read the text to try to answer those questions and

gain a basic understanding • Respond/discuss: what’s happening here? • Reread more carefully, this time, focusing on the idea

of opportunity – Describe the opportunity in one word/phrase – Write words/phrases within the text that create this power

The Homestead Act

• What is the purpose of this act?• The Homestead Act was meant to insure

that United States citizens who actually wanted to farm land were the recipients of the government's largess. –Who else might have wanted to profit

from this deal, and how? How is the law trying to prevent various abuses?

The Pacific Railway Act

• Individually read The Pacific Railway Act

The Pacific Railway Act1. What is the purpose of this act?

2. What is the Union Pacific Railroad Company empowered by this act to do?

3. What will be the most difficult terrain on which to lay track? What other difficulties do you foresee in terms of crews of men living and working in a variety of environments as they lay tracks?

4. Why do you think the government is providing for the building of telegraph poles along the length of the railroad?

5. What does the government promise to do if American Indian tribes claim title to this land?

6. In Section 3 the act provides the railroad with more land than what is needed to give it a right of way. Why will this land fronting the railroad tracks be even more valuable than land given to homesteaders at a distance from the railway?

Government and Migration • How are these two acts related?

• What month and year did Congress pass each of these two acts? Why do you think they were passed within months of each other? (Contextualization: What major event is happening during this time?)

• In what ways are these acts mutually beneficial both to settlers and the railways?

• How do the acts transfer power?

• What role does the railroad have on the idea of opportunity (American Dream) on Homesteaders?

Debrief

What are the consequences of the development of the railroad? Positive and negative?