2.  Gold was discovered in California in 1849.  The Comstock Lode, a Bonanza, was later discovered.  People who moved west to mine are called miners.  Immigrants, such as Mexicans, Chinese and the Irish, went to work in the mines.  Immigrants were treated poorly with long hours, low pay and very dangerous work.

4.  Many African Americans moved to the West from the 1840s to late 1890s.  They were escaping the difficult life in the South where Whites practiced Jim Crow Laws and denied African Americans their new Constitutional Rights.

7.  People staked their claim by finding a section of land that was marked.  Then they registered the piece of land with the government.  After cultivating the land for five years, it was theirs for free.

9.  People moved West to stake their claim.

14.  Railroads brought growth and new settlement all across the West.  The railroads enabled people, supplies, and mail to move quickly and cheaply and safer across the plains and the mountains.  The largest cities and towns developed where major railroad lines met.  Because of their rapid growth, western territories began to apply for statehood. Nevada, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington all became states from 1864 – 1890.

15.  The lumber industry grows, because wood is needed to build the train tracks.  The steel industry grows because steel is needed to build the tracks.  The coal industry grows because coal is needed to fuel the train.  The growth of these industries opens thousands of new jobs for workers.

16.  Nativist sentiment turned many against the Chinese, who they feared would steal jobs since they were willing to do tough jobs for low wages  The Workingman’s Party was formed and lobbied for anti-immigration legislation against the Chinese  In 1882, The Chinese Exclusion Act passed, cutting off Chinese immigration for over 60 years

17.  Japanese immigrants were invited over to work in US pineapple plantations in Hawaii  Pineapple plantation work was difficult, dangerous- many Japanese laborers moved to the west coast seeking opportunity  The success many of the Japanese met with made others unhappy- many segregation laws are targeted against them  The Japanese émigré community impolred the Japanese government for help- the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” was an informal agreement between the US and Japanese govt’s to stop Japanese segregation if no new immigrants entered the country