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The
Transcontinental Railroad Mini Unit Study
Considered one of the
greatest technological achievements of the nineteenth century,
the First Transcontinental Railroad joined together the eastern
and western halves of the United States. The idea for such a railroad
was promoted heavily by Theodore Judah, who successfully lobbied
Congress to pass the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, authorizing
land grants that would make the construction possible. The Central
Pacific Railroad was built from Sacramento, California eastward
and the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha westward, until they
met in the middle at Promontory, Utah in 1869. Trips from New
York City to California that used to take months not took just
one week to complete. The establishment of the railroad dramatically
changed not only commerce and travel in the United States, but
permanently changed the landscape of the West as new towns and
cities formed and grew along the busy rail lines. The era of the
stagecoach and Pony Express had come to an end as America marched
to the new beat of the Industrial Revolution and the continuing
siren call of Manifest Destiny.
In this mini unit study, you can: read an overview of the history
of First Transcontinental Railroad, read a short biography of
Theodore Judah, learn about the four famous men that financed
the project, see a map of the route of the transcontinental lines
by the 1880’s, explore the “Golden Spike”, view
a timeline of key events, look at an early train schedule, hear
first-hand accounts of the work and first trip across country,
see an interactive account of the railroad, play the “Great
Railroad Race” and work on a variety of railroad related
projects.
Reading
Transcontinental
Railroad overview:
Overview
Biography of Theodore Judah:
Theodore
Judah
Learn
about the four famous responsible for building the railroad:
The Famous Four
Read
about the famous "Golden Spike" that marked the completion
of the project:
The
Golden Spike
Look
at a timeline of events in the building of the railroad:
Timeline
of Events
Primary
Sources
Read eyewitness
excerpts about the building of the railroad from a book written
in the 1800's:
Building
the Railroad
Read an account of the railroad's completion:
Completing
the railroad
View
an early train timetable:
Train
Schedule
Multimedia
Watch the story of the Transcontinental Railroad unfold before your
eyes:
Multimedia
presentation
Play the "Great Race" and try your hand at building the
railroad in this interactive game :
The
Great Race game
Look at an early
photo of a city that got its start as a camp for Union Pacific workers:
Cheyenne,
Wyoming
Assignments
and Projects
Use the
teacher's guide that is a companion to the PBS video "Transcontinental
Railroad". It is not necessary to view the video to complete
the various activities and assignments that can be used with late
elementary students to high schoolers (some adaptations may be needed
for younger students):
Activities are grouped
into 4 categories: history, economics, geography, and culture.
Go
to Activities
Recommended
Resource
My
Name Is America: The Journal Of Sean Sullivan, A Transcontinental
Railroad Worker
This book is another nice entry in the Scholastic series, "My
Name is America." This story features a 15-year-old young man
named Sean Sullivan, who travels to Omaha from Chicago with his
father to work on building the Transcontinental Railroad. In his
journals, he writes about the skirmishes with Indians, prejudice
among and between immigrant workers and management and the role
of the Chinese laborers. He also describes the race between the
two railroads to lay tracks the fastest, including a lot of detail
about what his workday is like. Maps and photos are included.
Book (Hardcover)
Authors: William Durbin
Lists at: $10.95, Amazon Price: $8.76
Read
more about the book on Amazon
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