1. The Transcontinental Railroad and its Impacts on the People of The West

2. The Homestead Act In 1862, Congress passes the Homestead Act. This law offered 160 acres of land to anyone who would live on it and cultivate it for 5 years. Half a million people moved west and homesteaded from 1862-1900.

3. The Transcontinental Railroad On May 10, 1869, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met at Promontory, Utah to complete the Transcontinental Railroad. The railroad made it possible for more people to go west.

4. The Workers of the Railroad Working on the railroad was brutal. Chinese and Irish immigrants, and civil- war veterans were exposed to diseases and unsafe conditions. Pay was poor, but Asians and African Americans made the least.

5. Funding the Railroad This project was one of the first public works projects paid for by the U.S. Government.

6. Transcontinental Railroad Time The railroad linked each part of the sprawling United States together. Time Zones were created to make train travel more efficient.

7. Conflicts with the Indians of The West The railroads influenced the government’s policy toward Native Americans. The goal was to open up more land to whites. Clashes occurred between settlers and Indians, sometimes with tragic results.

8. The Policy of Assimilation The Dawes Act – In 1887, Congress passed this law to assimilate Native Americans to mainstream American society, by breaking up the reservation system. Each native American household would get land for farming and grazing. The rest would be sold to settlers. “Americanization” was the goal but failed.

9. Ticket Out Respond to question number 4 on page 387 regarding the effectiveness of the Dawes Act.