ipl-logo

Discussion Questions On The Transcontinental Railroad

438 Words2 Pages

Leah Kurland 5/7/18 US-1/CPE Transcontinental Railroad Focus / Comprehension Questions (14 pts) Directions: Read the handout , watch the video clip and answer the following questions in complete sentences, including a proper topic sentence. Post your responses to the Schoology drop box provided. Video Notes: - Great plains → vast; untouched - Takes 6 months to cross - Lincoln signs transcontinental railroad into effect; 2,000 miles long - The Union Pacific starts from Omaha - Central Pacific starts in Sacramento - They meet in Utah; promontory point - Government doesn’t have enough money; pay companies in federal land - Must dig through the mountain; use Chinese laborers for the most deadly jobs - Use an explosive to demolish …show more content…

Discuss President Abraham Lincoln’s involvement in the transcontinental railroad. President Abraham Lincoln became involved in the transcontinental railroad when he signed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862. “Lines from Chicago would be extended out to Omaha, Nebraska.” ( 3. Explain how the railroad was funded. The railroad was funded by government loans and the companies were paid in federal land, since the government did not have enough money. 4. What groups provided labor for the railroad’s construction? Describe the role of Chinese workers in its construction. The Chinese provided a majority of the railroad’s construction. Their role was to blast the rocks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in order to create a path for the railroads. 5. Explain why Native Americans were angered by the transcontinental railroad. Native Americans were angered by the transcontinental railroad because they were there before the whites arrived. Once built, the railroad would be trespassing across their main hunting spots. 6. Identify the place where the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads met. The Union Pacific and Central Pacific met at Promontory Summit to finish the final part of the track. The Union Pacific started in Omaha, Nebraska and Central Pacific started in Sacramento,

Show More
Related

  • Positive And Negative Effects Of The Transcontinental Railroad On Native Americans

    412 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Transcontinental Railroad definitely changed the lives of Native Americans forever. For example, conflicts arose as the railroad project continued westward. Because of this, military were brought in to fight the Native Americans. They were forced to relocate from their lands. This resulted in widespread destruction of their cultures and way of life.

    Read More

  • How Did Judah Build The Central Pacific Railroad

    1748 Words  | 7 Pages

    The American 16th president Abraham Lincoln approved the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, giving building contracts to only two railroad companies. The railroad later becomes a symbol of unity between the broken American nation. The construction of the railroad helped build the foundation of the transportation

    Read More

  • What Role Did Baltimore And Ohio Railroad Play In The Civil War

    651 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the map below, retrieved from Wikipedia, this is illustrated. This connection route was over 10,000 miles long, it stretched over 13 states. Its size was extremely important for its time, it was one of the first. It had 75 locomotives, 2000 freight cars, and 100 passenger carts. It offered more than $30 million in assets.

    Read More

  • Transcontinental Railroad In Abram

    83 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 1862 Miners began to invade the rocky mountains and plains, clashing with Indians, the Lakota Siox massacre or capture 1000 people on the Minnesota Frontier. John Henry goes to the mine to get money for his family in a time of need. The captain tells John Henry that the mountain is caving in but John tells him that its just his hammer suckin wind.

    Read More

  • How Did The Railroad Contribute To The Civil War

    848 Words  | 4 Pages

    The railroad was first designed by George Stephenson whose original idea was to use steam to run the train and make transportation faster. When the US started using railroads and trains they purchased them from the Stephen Works company from Britain. “In the 1850s a boom in railroad development across the North was changing business organization and management and reducing freight costs. Railroads were influencing a rise in real estate values, increasing regional concentrations of industry, the size of business units and stimulating growth in investment banking and agriculture.

    Read More

  • Transcontinental Railroad Thesis

    383 Words  | 2 Pages

    Each railroad company got one side of the country. The Union Pacific got the East side of the country, starting at Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific got the West side of the country, starting at Sacramento, California. Both companies joined tracks on May 10, 1869 in Promontory Point, Utah. During the time of the building, The Civil War

    Read More

  • Failure Of The Transcontinental Railroad

    870 Words  | 4 Pages

    The driving force behind the transcontinental railroad was the competition between two railroad companies, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific. The government would pay each company sixteen thousand dollars for every mile of track laid. This got the companies moving as fast as they could. The Union Pacific started in Omaha Nebraska on flat terrain. The Central Pacific started in Sacramento California and had to find their way through the Sierra Nevadas.

    Read More

  • Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper Outline

    1080 Words  | 5 Pages

    Central Pacific Railroad started from San Francisco, and used Chinese laborers for their work, pushing through the Sierra Nevada mountains. In 1867, to encourage quick progression, Congress deemed the land remaining between the two companies, which was the Utah plains, to be paid at mountain rate. This motivated the Union Pacific crew to lay 360 miles of track, and the Central Pacific crew to lay 425 miles of track within the year (Stockwell, 2011). Unfortunately, this hasty pace came at a cost.

    Read More

  • The First Transcontinental Railroad Essay

    2249 Words  | 9 Pages

    At the start of 1869, the distance between the two companies was a mere four miles. Former Civil War General and newly elected president Ulysses S. Grant forewarned the two companies that the federal government will withhold their grants and funding if they did not decide on an endpoint. The two companies immediately arranged their meeting area to be Promontory Summit,

    Read More

  • How Did The Civil War Affect The Economy

    791 Words  | 4 Pages

    Because of the rapid settlement of the western land in the 1850s, Congress wanted to enforce a transcontinental railroad to replace America’s current weak transportation system—horse-drawn carriages were still used and soldiers often had to walk. But due to the constant competition between the Northern members and the Southern

    Read More

  • How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Build Westward Expansion

    957 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Transcontinental Railroad played a pivotal role in western expansion, making transportation from one end of the country to the other convenient and timely. However, the making of the Transcontinental Railroad affected many aspects other than transportation, such as: the Native Americans and their homeland, the economy of the U.S., and the citizens of America as a whole. Though the railroad can be credited with business growth and linking the country together, some of the events of building the acclaimed railroad adversely affected the country. The most effective way to prevent repeating the same mistakes is to review why they were mistakes in the first place.

    Read More

  • Transcontinental Railroad In Westward Expansion

    546 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Transcontinental Railroad played a significant role in the settlement of the American West. As of May 10th, 1869, this railroad became the area’s newest and fastest mode of transportation. Its first obligation was to bring settlers in at very low cost, and, sometimes, even free of charge. The types of people that began to migrate West were those who were searching for a better life. One which contains less poverty and more opportunities.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Impact Of Railroads In America

    821 Words  | 4 Pages

    With the advent of the railroad, many of these issues disappeared. Railroads had a major impact on advancing the American economy, transforming America into a modern society, and improving an antiquated transportation system. The building of railroads created rapid economic growth in America. Railroad companies employed more than one million workers to build and maintain railroads. At the same time, coal, timber, and steel industries employed thousands of workers to provide the supplies necessary to build railroads (Chapter 12 Industrialization).

    Read More

  • How Did The Railroads Affect The Economy

    891 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1694, Thomas Savery invented what would revolutionize the united states indefinitely, he called it the steam engine. This invention lead to the first steam engine locomotive which many would say was a beneficial turning point in the industrialization of america’s economy,allowing the steam engine to be used on the railways. Although the railroads did impact the United States and certain groups in positive ways,there were also negative effects that occurred. During this time period, there were many chinese immigrants that entered the United States who made up most of the workers that built the tracks.

    Read More

  • Mexican American War Research Paper

    889 Words  | 4 Pages

    In between California and the rest of the country were the Great Plains which were not heavily populated so there was no easy way of trade and transportation to the growing western territories. A group of men called the “Big Four” which consisted of Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins, decided what the country needed was a transcontinental railroad. Their company, The Central Pacific Railroad company would hire 15,000 Chinese men to work on constructing the railroad due to the fact that they would work for less than the average American. This made transportation cheaper and quicker than ever

    Read More

More about Discussion Questions On The Transcontinental Railroad

Open Document