Incentives to Go west

Let’s Review By the mid-1800s, many Americans felt the need for change, for a fresh start. Many migrated westward in search of opportunity

Incentives to Go West Morrill-Land Grants land grants from states to schools tied to agriculture and mechanical arts (Texas A&M, Oklahoma A&M etc..)

Incentives to go west included: Homestead Act For approximately $10, settlers could have 160 acres of western land if they met certain criteria: American citizens who were 21 years or older or the head of a household Built a home on their lot and lived in it at least 6 months out of the year Farmed the land for 5 years or more

Incentives to Go West Pacific Railways Act granted railroad companies10 square miles of land on either side of each track laid west

Railroads Open the West An easterner bound for the California gold fields in 1849 couldn’t have made it by train alone… By 1860, rail lines extended from the Atlantic Coast across the Mississippi

Railroads Open the West California’s gold rush of 1849 produced a population explosion in the West Created need for better transportation and communication between East and West People wanted a transcontinental railroad that would span the entire continent

Transcontinental Railroad Connected the east coast with the west coast Two companies were directed to construct the railway and telegraph lines: Central Pacific Railroad Company: started in Sacramento, California and moved east Union Pacific Railroad Company: started in Omaha, Nebraska and moved west

Transcontinental Railroad Construction of the railroad provided many jobs for immigrants, ex-soldiers, and freed slaves Work was very strenuous and dangerous Faced Indian attacks, harsh weather, and injuries from dynamite blasts

Transcontinental Railroad Took 7 years to complete Both railroad companies met at Promontory Point on May 10, 1869; President Grant connected the two lines with a golden spike Time zones were created to keep trains on time

Transcontinental Railroad With the completion of the transcontinental railroad, towns sprang up along the routes Served the transportation needs for industries like mining and lumbering Much faster travel time cross country