Have you ever heard the term Manifest Destiny? What do you think it means? Examine the Words individually and write them down at the beginning of your notes for today

Expansion after the Mexican War

 Texas Revolution  Mexican War  Who won?  What were the results?

● 10 days before the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, James Marshall discovered gold at John Sutter’s sawmill in Sacramento. ● By 1849, 80,000 people arrived in California in search of gold- half were Americans, half international gold hunters ● Brought a wave of violence to California o San Francisco- 500 bars, 1000 gambling dens, burned to the ground 6x in 18 months o Thousands of murders- only 1 conviction in the 1850s o Xenophobia- hate or distrust of foreigners

 New increase in population in California and better access to resources instigated the creation of a transcontinental railroad  At this point, it took 5-6 months in a stagecoach to cross the country, and cost a passenger over $1000  Other options were to go around S. America- 18,000 miles; cross Panama and catch a ship in the Pacific  2 companies arose to compete- Central Pacific Co. and the Union Pacific Co.  Central Pacific built east from California  Union Pacific built west from Nebraska

In your groups- answer the questions for your document in your notes Be prepared to share your answer with the class

 What month and year did Congress pass each of these two acts? Why do you think they were passed within months of each other?  In what ways are these acts mutually beneficial both to settlers and the railways?  What other groups are involved that we haven’t discussed?

 2,000 miles of railroad track to lay- many of which over very rugged terrain  1 st spike driven in 1863  Union Pacific raced ahead at first- easy, flat terrain  Central Pacific had to start in the Sierra Nevada Mountains  Employed mostly Chinese immigrants  Chinese would be lowered down in baskets to drill holes for explosives- then hopefully were pulled up again before the blast  Agonizingly slow progress- using black powder and nitroglycerin- averaged 1 foot per day

 Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad companies raced towards each other- finally meeting in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869

 Timetables  Coordinating railroad shipments and departures forced the US to standardize time zones  Towns sprung up on the Great Plains along the railroad line  Uniting the East and West  Movement of Passengers  Trade goods and resources

Answer these questions in your entrance ticket for tomorrow  Why was this so important? ● What new opportunities and challenges was America facing now? ● Name some elements of American society that would be affected