Transcontinental Railroad

Reservations

Federal land set aside for Native Americans

Manifest Destiny

the god-given right to expand west

Union Pacific

the group of workers that built from west to east, began in Omaha, Nebraska. Hired Chinese immigrants.

Central Pacific

this group started working from east to west. Started in Sacramento, California. Hired Irish Immigrants as well as Civil War veterans.

The Transcontinental Railroad

this railroad made it easier for people to fulfill Manifest Destiny and also made it easier to transport goods across the country. This method was faster and cheaper than boats and horse carts. Had many negative effects as well as positive.

This was the goal of the Federal Government's policy toward Native American Indians during the late 1800s

to destroy the tribal identity of Native Americans

Promontory Point, Utah (1869)

was when the Union and the Central Pacific met in Utah and put a golden spike to connect both the tracks to start the railroad.

Chinese immigrant workers

were immigrants from China and also built the Great Wall of China.

Cowboys

workers who took care of the ranchers' cattle and brought them to be transported to markets

Positive Effects of the Transcontinental Railroad

City populations in the West grew. Further developing the region and creating new states They were able to trade quicker Goods were shipped in quicker It provided a new source of transportation faster than all others Shows booming cities More goods that can be shipped to other states Railroad is cheaper and easier for less fortunate people to afford to fulfill Manifest Destiny Managed to achieve Manifest Destiny (sea to sea) Connected the states Made traveling easier and quicker The people in the east can now travel west to fulfill manifest destiny

Negative Effects of the Transcontinental Railroad

Many deaths Weather which affects the workers Underpayment Not enough supplies for the West Hard labor Native American land was invaded Buffalo were nearly hunted to extinction which severely affected the Native Americans. Native Americans had their promised land taken away from them The lands that the Native Americans lived and hunted on were changed forever because of this railroad The Native Americans got into fights with the workers Many Chinese workers were brought in as slaves to the Railroad Many buffaloes in their herds would die by the train coming through The plains were too dry for agriculture

The Homestead Act (1862)

Passed in 1862, it gave 160 acres of public land to any settler who would farm the land for five years; this was aimed to encourage people to settle in the West

Miners

a group that came to the West in search of gold and silver to send back to the east

Ranchers

a group that herded cattle to be sold to Northern and Eastern markets

Dry Farming

a new approach to farming, to plant seeds deep in ground where there is moisture

The Dawes Act (1887)

an act that aimed to assimilate Native Americans into American society by "Americanizing" Native Americans, including breaking up reservation land into plots of farmland for these individuals to farm

Assimilation, "Americanize"

blending

Buffalo Hunters/Decrease in Buffalo Population

buffalo were killed to make way for the railroad and when the trains were on the tracks the trains killed lots of buffalo.

Boomtown

communities that grew suddenly due to rumors of gold and silver being found in the area

Ghost Town

communities that were abandoned when the ore was gone

Farmers

farmed land in the west and created dry farming

Settlement in the West

people moving and living in the west

The decline of Native Americans living on the Great Plains

the Homestead Act, the mass killing of buffalo, and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad contributed to this

Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad and westward settlement upon Native Americans

the Native Americans hunting land was changed forever, buffalo were killed to make way for the railroad, the Native Americans got into fights with the workers that claimed the land that was theirs and they were forced into reservations.