1. Incentives to Go west

2. Let’s Review
By the mid-1800s, many Americans felt the need for change, for a fresh start.
Many migrated westward in search of opportunity

3. Incentives to Go West
Morrill-Land Grants
land grants from states to schools tied to agriculture and mechanical arts
(Texas A&M, Oklahoma A&M etc..)

4. Incentives to go west included:
Homestead Act
For approximately $10, settlers could have 160 acres of western land if they met certain criteria:
American citizens who were 21 years or older or the head of a household
Built a home on their lot and lived in it at least 6 months out of the year
Farmed the land for 5 years or more

5. Incentives to Go West
Pacific Railways Act
granted railroad companies10 square miles of land on either side of each track laid west

6. Railroads Open the West
An easterner bound for the California gold fields in 1849 couldn’t have made it by train alone…
By 1860, rail lines extended from the Atlantic Coast across the Mississippi

7. Railroads Open the West
California’s gold rush of 1849 produced a population explosion in the West
Created need for better transportation and communication between East and West
People wanted a transcontinental railroad that would span the entire continent

8. Transcontinental Railroad
Connected the east coast with the west coast
Two companies were directed to construct the railway and telegraph lines:
Central Pacific Railroad Company: started in Sacramento, California and moved east
Union Pacific Railroad Company: started in Omaha, Nebraska and moved west

10. Transcontinental Railroad
Construction of the railroad provided many jobs for immigrants, ex-soldiers, and freed slaves
Work was very strenuous and dangerous
Faced Indian attacks, harsh weather, and injuries from dynamite blasts

13. Transcontinental Railroad
Took 7 years to complete
Both railroad companies met at Promontory Point on May 10, 1869; President Grant connected the two lines with a golden spike
Time zones were created to keep trains on time

14. Transcontinental Railroad
With the completion of the transcontinental railroad, towns sprang up along the routes
Served the transportation needs for industries like mining and lumbering
Much faster travel time cross country