FOA: 4/18/16 Why did merchants often follow miners? What caused large numbers of miners to suddenly leave a boom town? 3. Based off of the map on page 522 in your textbook, which states could we guess might have the most ghost towns?

Label notes… Opening the West

The Gilded Age The word gilded means covered with gold, but it also means that the inside is not gold. Gilded Age (time period): end of the Civil War through 1900s

The Gilded Age Positives: More railroads New factories New inventions More immigrants Discovery of new mines New farms and ranches in the Great Plains But the Gilded Age had a dark side. Not everyone benefited from the country’s growth in technology, industry, and population.

Industrial Revolution During the Industrial Revolution, machines started to replace hand tools, and factories began to replace craft shops. After the Civil War, even greater changes took place in American industry. Inventors developed new technologies, and business owners found new ways to run their businesses.

Free Enterprise The free enterprise system in the United States grew by leaps and bounds! Free enterprise is an economic system in which businesses have the freedom to offer for sale many kinds of goods and services.

Transcontinental Railroad

Expanding Rail Transportation Even when Abraham Lincoln was President, plans were being made to connect railways that would allow one to travel from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. Railroads had been built from the Atlantic coast to Nebraska. Now, the goal was to connect a railway from Nebraska to the Pacific coast.

Why Build a Transcontinental Railroad? Growth of West Coast West Coast gold and silver Shorter trip to move West Connect East with West for business Solidify the Union Achieve Manifest Destiny

Getting Started… Choosing a route Conquering the Sierra Nevada Congress ordered surveys in 1853 Debates between north and south about route No free-state politicians would approve funds for a railroad that would spread slavery Conquering the Sierra Nevada Giant, rocky, snowy obstacle for the engineers

What Made it Possible? Pacific Railway Act Passed July 1, 1862 Created Union Pacific to build road from the East and meet the Central Pacific Provided companies 5 alternating plots of land on each side of the road for each mile along the route Allowed $16,000 for each mile of flat land, $32,000 for hills, and $48,000 for mountain terrain Revised in 1864 to allow companies more land and privileges

Two Railroad Companies In 1862, Congress gave two companies the right to build a transcontinental railroad. Transcontinental = across the country/continent The government also gave them the land and loaned them money. The Union Pacific Railroad built west from Omaha, Nebraska. The Central Pacific Railroad built east from Sacramento, California.

The Central Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad

Building the Railroad The majority of the Union Pacific track was built by Irish laborers, veterans of both the Union and Confederate armies, and Mormons who wished to see the railroad pass through Ogden, Utah. Chinese workers built most of the Central Pacific track. Most of the men received between one and three dollars per day, but the workers from China received much less. Eventually, they went on strike and gained a small increase in salary.

The Railroads Meet On May 10, 1869, the two railroads met at Promontory, Utah. A golden spike with a prayer written on it was used to complete the first transcontinental railroad.

Significance of the Railroad…Aka, we will see most of these effects later in the week... Biggest and best engineering project of its time Made the country smaller Helped spur interest in Homestead Act Improved communication The beginning of the end for Native Americans Led to other transcontinental railroads and shorter branches

Building the Transcontinental RR Answer these in your composition book or a scrap sheet of paper: 1. 2. 3. 4.