How did the Transcontinental Railroad changed American settlements?
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Laying nearly 1,900 miles of track across the nation’s frontier was an incredibly difficult job. Workers used picks and shovels to level the land. They chopped down trees. Then they laid out the heavy metal rails and hammered in spikes to hold them in place. Show
“Workers were out there from sunrise to sunset,” says Lucas Hugie, a park ranger at Promontory Summit’s Golden Spike National Historical Park. “It was heavy labor all done by hand,” he explains. Most of the people working on the Central Pacific line were Chinese. Many of them—or their parents—had arrived during the California Gold Rush, which began in 1848. Victims of racism, the Chinese were banned from almost all jobs. With limited options, up to 20,000 Chinese people agreed to take the grueling, dangerous railroad work that few white Californians would accept. Even so, they were routinely paid less for longer hours than white workers. As they progressed eastward, these laborers were confronted with an incredible challenge: the Sierra Nevada mountains. The workers had to dig 15 tunnels through the peaks, most at high elevations and almost completely with hand tools. To loosen the rock, they would chisel holes into it, fill the holes with explosive black powder, then light a fuse and rush to take cover. While blasting was risky work, the Central Pacific crews were in even more danger from avalanches, which could strike in the mountains at any time. When the snow thawed after the especially hard winter of 1867, bodies of workers who’d been swept up in snowslides were found with their tools still in their hands. The ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869; completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. At center left, Samuel S. Montague, Central Pacific Railroad, shakes hands with Grenville M. Dodge, Union Pacific Railroad (center right). National Archives By 1881, it was routine to travel by train from eastern cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to San Francisco. The round trip that took Lewis and Clark two-and-a-half years in 1803 was now a nine-day journey. The consequences of this new technology were profound. Nothing in the West would ever be the same again. Guiding QuestionsHow did the Transcontinental Railroad change the U.S. economy? How did the Transcontinental Railroad affect immigration, labor, and the environment? Learning ObjectivesExamine the short and long term effects of the Transcontinental Railroad on the regions through which it passed. Analyze archival documents to illustrate the effect of the Transcontinental Railroad on the U.S. Evaluate the competing perspectives on the construction of the railroad.
Subjects & Topic: U.S. History Grade: 6-8 Content Standards NCSS.D2.His.1.3-5. Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments that happened at the same time. NCSS.D2.His.2.3-5. Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today. NCSS.D2.His.3.3-5. Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities. NCSS.D2.His.4.3-5. Explain why individuals and groups during the same historical period differed in their perspectives. NCSS.D2. His.5.3-5. Explain connections among historical contexts and people’s perspectives at the time. Preparation Lesson Activities To heighten student anticipation for learning about the railroads, share railroad-related poems and songs, or read a book aloud to the class. Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Page offers many terrific suggestions on its Trains Page, including "Death of the Iron Horse," by Paul Goble, which tells of the arrival of the rails from the point of view of the Native Americans.
Activity 2. When Is That Train a-Comin'? Where Is It Going?Share with the class an image of an 1881 Through Train Schedule. Give students the chance to review the schedule and make observations. Which cities were connected by the railroad? What information can be ascertained from the schedule? Which cities are served? Give the students a map of the U.S. on which they can indicate the cities being served and the connections between them. A printable map of the 50 states is available through the EDSITEment resource National Geographic Xpeditions. To emphasize the entry of new states into the Union after the growth of the railroads, students could use instead—or additionally, for comparison purposes—a map of the United States in 1880, available through a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed New Perspectives on The West. If desired, compare the 1880 map to a map from 1900 to demonstrate how many states were admitted to the Union in the interim. If desired, have students compare contemporary train routes with those of 1880:
Activity 3. Because of the Train a-Comin'?The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad led to an era of change for the U.S. Read and discuss with the class the following background on railroads and the West from the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory:
It is the student's or group's responsibility to describe the image or document. After it is described, each document should be displayed. When all the images have been revealed, challenge your students to create cause-and-effect connections based on the documents. Explain that railroads brought many changes and that significant change in one aspect of our society often has a "ripple" effect that changes other aspects. Give each group the opportunity to use photos and documents to create cause-and-effect ladders. The connections the students make are hypotheses based on the evidence at hand. An Example of a Cause and Effect Ladder:
Students can show cause and effect using as few as two photos or documents, or as many as they can justify through their explanations. Proceed from one group to the next, as each makes a different cause-and-effect connection. Activity 4. Because of the Train a-Comin'!After the students have created their cause-and-effect ladders, they will work with the Timeline of Events in the West, on the EDSITEment resource New Perspectives on the West, for the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s to look for events that validate student cause-and-effect hypotheses suggested in Activity 3. Divide the class into six groups, each assigned events as shown on the timelines provided. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view timelines.) Make sure each group has at least one strong reader. Give the students time to look over the list. Proceed chronologically as each group names one or more events that relate to the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Students should explain the connection based on the discussion in Activity 3. Further research on any of these events would make a good extension of the lesson. What are 3 ways the transcontinental railroad changed America?10 Ways the Transcontinental Railroad Changed America. It made the Western U.S. more important. ... . It made commerce possible on a vast scale. ... . It made travel more affordable. ... . It changed where Americans lived. ... . It altered Americans' concept of reality. ... . It helped create the Victorian version of Amazon.. How did the railroads change the settlement and economy of the US?Railroads became a major industry, stimulating other heavy industries such as iron and steel production. These advances in travel and transport helped drive settlement in the western regions of North America and were integral to the nation's industrialization.
What were two effects of the transcontinental railroad?The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 had a huge impact on the West. It encouraged further settlement in the West as it made travelling their cheaper and easier. It also encouraged the development of towns along the railroad, as the railroad made the west less isolated.
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