THE CHANGING NATION Crossing the Continent

Transcontinental Railroad  There was no way to cross the US in the 1850’s, except by stagecoach or sailing around South America or through Central America.

 The Pony Express started delivering mail in 1860 from Missouri to California in 10 days. Riders rode on horseback 75 miles, then handed his mail pack to the next rider.

 The Pony Express was put out of business when the telegraph was invented by Samuel Morse. Morse code messages could be sent from coast to coast in just a few minutes.

 The best way to link the East and the West was to build a railroad across the continent- transcontinental railroad

The UNION PACIFIC RR and the CENTRAL PACIFIC RR raced against each other. The CENTRAL PACIFIC built tracks going east from Sacramento, California The UNION PACIFIC built track west from Omaha, Nebraska EAST WEST

 The UNION PACIFIC had an advantage building across the flat plains of Nebraska.  The CENTRAL PACIFIC had a difficult job building through the rough Sierra Nevada Mountains in CA.

 Both teams had troubles  Finding workers  Conflict with Native Americans as tracks cut across Indian hunting grounds

 On May 10, 1869, the tracks of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific met at Promontory Point, Utah Territory.  A special golden railroad spike was made to symbolize the success of the project.

Pioneers and the Great American Desert  In the mid 1800’s the plains were seen as dry grassland with few trees, harsh weather, and low rainfall.

 The government wanted to encourage pioneers to settle on the Great Plains and turn it into farmland  The government wanted to give the land away. Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in It gave free land to American citizens and immigrants who would start new farms on the Plains.

 A person could claim 160 acres of land for about $10 if they farm the land and live on it for 5 years.  These new settlers were called homesteaders.

 Before they could plant crops, homesteaders had to rip up the grass sod on their land. This gave the pioneers the nickname “sodbuster”.  They used the sod to build their homes.  The soil ended up being very fertile (not like the desert they thought it would be).

 News of the great fertile soil on the Plains spread to Europe. Families from Germany, Norway, Russia, and other countries came by boat to live on the Plains.  Many African Americans moved to the Plains also to start new lives as farmers.

 Life on the Plains was hard:  Bitter cold  Deadly blizzards  Tornadoes  Hailstorms  Flooding  Blazing heat  Little rain  Fires  Dreaded grasshoppers that ate everything in its path

 The new railroad lines brought thousands of people to Washington, Oregon, and California. Many important cities were created such as Seattle, WA and Los Angeles, CA.

Cowboys and Miners  Cowboys were needed to drive cattle to the East where they could be sold for huge profits.  Cattle was driven from Texas to towns along the railroad. The RR took the cattle to eastern cities.

 Cowboy life was adventurous and dangerous. They worked 16 hours a day on horses, 7 days a week, for 2-3 months  Many cowboys were Mexican-American or African-American

 Cattle drives ended by the late 1880’s because conflicts between ranchers and farmers who wanted to keep cattle off their land.

 Many people moved West to find gold  The California gold rush changed the West as thousands of people moved to California to search for gold. Miners searched for gold from the mountains to the deserts.

 Small mining camps often grew into booming towns of diverse people.  Overtime boomtowns grew into important cities such as Denver, Colorado and Sacramento, CA.

War in the West  Settlers moving to the Great Plains in the 1860’s led to conflicts between new settlers and Native Americans.  The US supported the settlers and wanted the land to be used for RR, growing farms, ranches, and new towns

 The government decided to move Native Americans off their land to reservations (land set aside for Indian use)  Most Native Americans realized they could not defeat American troops and moved willingly

Chief Sitting Bull of the Lakota refused to make peace with the whites and move to a reservation Colonel George Custer of the US cavalry was sent to defeat Sitting Bull and his tribe.

 A young warrior named Crazy Horse led the Lakota in a victory at Little Big Horn.  This was called “Custer’s Last Stand” because Custer was killed along with his entire troop of more than 200 soldiers.

 By the 1900’s the US had all Indians on reservations