railroads transform the nation an industrial society 1860-1914 chapter 20, section 2
TRANSCRIPT
Railroads Transform the Nation
An Industrial Society1860-1914
Chapter 20, Section 2
Guess How This Relates?
Essential Questions
• How can a transportation system influence a countries’ economy?
• Who funded the building of the transcontinental railroad? Why?
• Who helped to build the first transcontinental railroad?
• How did the building of the transcontinental railroad impact the United States?
Why Build A Transcontinental Railroad?
• Encourage Settlement of the West
• Develop the Economy of the United States
• Bring Natural Resources of the West to Eastern Factories
• Connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific (Manifest Destiny)
Central Pacific Railroad &Union Pacific Railroad Co.
• U.S. Government Hired 2 Companies to Build the Transcontinental Railroad
• Central Pacific Railroad: – Start in Sacramento
California & Build East
• Union Pacific Railroad:– Start in Omaha
Nebraska & Build West
Central Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
Railroad Companies Needed $$$ to Build Across
the U.S.• U.S. Government
Gave Union Pacific & Central Pacific $$$ Millions in Loans
• U.S. Also Gave 20 Miles of Land for FREEFREE for Every 1 Mile of Track Built
• Railroad Companies Sold the Extra Land! $$$ Money & New Customers!
Central Pacific Railroad• Sacramento,
California: Built from West to East
• Faced a Labor Shortage:– No Workers– Most Workers left to
Become Miners (Gold Strikes)
• Hired Chinese Workers to Replace Them
Benefits of Hiring the Chinese!
• Chinese Workers Turned Out to Be Great Workers!
• Hardworking, Efficient, & Fearless
• Chinese Culture/Custom Drinks TEA!– Boiled Water– No Bacteria! – Workers Were Never Sick!
• Over 10,000 Chinese Were Hired by the Central Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
• Omaha, Nebraska: Built East to West
• Hired Mostly Irish Immigrants
• Why Irish? Any Ideas?
Building the Transcontinental Railroad
Transcontinental Railroad
• Central Pacific
• Chinese
• California
• Union
• Pacific
• Irish
• Nebraska
Promontory Point, Utah
• May 10th, 1869
• Transcontinental Railroad was Completed at Promontory Point, Utah
• What Was the Story?
Extension of the Transcontinental Railroad
(1869-1900)
How Did Railroads Alter Time?
• All Communities Used to Calculate Time Based on the Sun (Solar Time)
• Railroads Changed All of That!
• Railroads Created Standard Time Zones
Standard Time Zones in U.S.
What Time Is It?
• If it’s 5pm in New York, What Time is it in Denver, Colorado?
• If it’s 5pm in New York, What Time is it in Los Angeles, California?
• If it’s 7am in Fargo, North Dakota, What Time is it in New York?
• If it’s 6:15 am in Tucson, Arizona, What Time is it in Boston, Massachusetts?
Economic Benefits of the Transcontinental Railroad
• Railroads Carried Natural Resources from the West to Eastern Markets
• Lumber, Livestock, Cattle, Grains, Minerals, Etc…
• Eastern Cities Manufactured Natural Resources, Sold Products to the West & the World
• $$$ for the U.S.!
Railroads Settle the West
• Railroads Were Lifelines for Settlers
• Trains Provided Lumber, Farm Equipment, Food, & Other Necessities
• No Longer Did Settlers Have to Live Near Water:– Just Had to Live Near a
Railroad!
• More Exploration & Settlement of the West!
What Was the Railroads Impact on Native
Americans?
Proposed New Transportation Railway
System in U.S.
Essential Questions
• How can a transportation system influence a countries’ economy?
• Who funded the building of the transcontinental railroad? Why?
• Who helped to build the first transcontinental railroad?
• How did the building of the transcontinental railroad impact the United States?