1. Westward Expansion

2. Transcontinental Railroad
The goal of the Transcontinental R.R. was to connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
Two companies were commissioned to build the railroad:
Union Pacific
Work began in Omaha, Nebraska and headed west
Many were Irish immigrants and former soldiers from the Civil War
Central Pacific
Work began in Sacramento, California and headed east
10,000 Chinese immigrants were hired to work
After 7 years, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific finally met in Promontory Utah in 1869

5. Impact of Railroads
Before the railroads, each community determined its own time based on the sun travel’s in the sky
This was called “solar time”
Solar time caused confusion about railroad departures and arrivals
Railroad companies developed “standard time”
The U.S. was divided into 4 time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific

7. Railroads also linked nation economically
The railroads brought settlers to the frontier : parts of the West occupied mainly by Native Americans
Trains were a lifeline for settlers, bringing lumber, food, and other necessities
Railroads also linked nation economically
From the West, trains carried raw materials from to eastern cities for processing
From the east, came manufactured goods to be sold to westerners

8. Reasons to Go West Gold & silver strikes drew settlers west
Example: In 1859, 100,000 miners raced to Colorado – a mining camp grew to become Denver, CO
Boomtowns came as a result of the mining rush
Nevada, Colorado, and South Dakota grew rapidly and gained statehood

9. Free land was given away
Passed in 1862, The Homestead Act offered 160 acres of free land in the West to anyone who agreed to live on and improve the land for five years
Many headed west after the Civil War to start a new life

10. Plains Indians
Native Americans of the Great Plains fought to maintain their way of life as settlers poured into their lands

13. Geronimo
Chief Joseph
Sitting Bull

15. Manifest Destiny
Many Americans believed that the U.S. was meant to expand from coast to coast
A newspaper editor named John O’Sullivan gave a name to that belief: Manifest Destiny