Go West

Go West: The Impact of Railroads on Westward migration.

By Sonia Henze

Taylor Allderdice High School

Index:

Overview – This unit could supplement American History textbooks since many texts do not give extensive detail on the American West, specifically westward migration after the Civil war. Most elements are appropriate for high school students and some may be modified for middle school students.

Rationale –This project evolved through my participation in the Pittsburgh Teacher's Institute seminar and my reaction to several books on the transcontinental railroad. I was privileged to have the support of fellow institute teachers in the brainstorming phase.

Objectives –The Pittsburgh Public School communications and citizenship standards will be met within a student-centered environment in an effort to make the settlement of the West come alive. The main objective is to have students gain an understanding of the complexities surrounding migration and the expansion of the United States. Students will be able to assimilate the philosophy of the American government and the ideologies of the western inhabitants.

Strategies –Several lessons incorporate activities to teach aspects of the West through reading and writing. Detailed descriptions and resource lists are included.

Classroom Activities – The first activity introduces students to primary sources and viewpoints. Analysis of these records allows students to begin to think historically. Throughout the unit, students react to various perspectives on westward development.

Annotated Bibliography/Resources – Comments are given to help narrow the selection of resources.

Appendices – Sample assignment sheets and handouts.

Standards – The Pittsburgh Public School Communication and Citizenship standards.

Overview:

A recent USA Today article touted “Kids get Abysmal Grade in History” then detailed an ongoing problem in the American educational system. The message was simple; "at a time of heightened nationalism kids ought to know their history". (USA Today Fri/Sat/Sun May 10-12, 2002 cover) Since this article came out while I was participating in the Pittsburgh Teacher's Institute seminar; A Restless People: Americans on the Move, 1760-1900, I wondered if my students would be among the graduating seniors who did not "know the basics.” What could I do as a teacher to make history more exciting? How could I pass on information to spark the interest of my students and engage them in historical thinking?

My motivation for creating this unit came from a lecture by the history professor midway through the institute seminar talks. Map transparencies depicting “The Canal Era” and “The Growth of Railroads” were laid over a map of the United States. Then a discussion of content analysis ensued. The professor evaluated population shifts with respect to the rise of industry in the East. Our group could see a connection between transportation networks, economic growth and population shifts.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, I was exposed to a limited history of the West. Major events like the annexation of Texas and the admission of California were covered in school. Through my travels, I gained a fascination with western areas of the United States. Much of the West has only developed after the Great Depression yet people have been living on the land for centuries. I wanted to understand why states like Arizona were in the Unites States territory but not an official state until 1912. The modernization of the West intrigued me to explore popular myths and discover historical realities.

The West surely encompasses more than miners, cowboys and Indians. I considered what factors impacted the growth of the Trans-Mississippi West. I explored the history of transportation and soon found links to political, economic and social events in American History.

This is a unit of inquiry and skill building focusing on the student as an active participant in the quest for knowledge. Successful completion of the unit may not give students a perfect score on a standardized test but more valuable reading, analyzing and writing skills for college or a career.

My participation in A Restless People: Americans on the Move, 1760-1900 gave me the opportunity to develop a unit around the rise of technology and the impact of transportation on westward migration. This unit varies from traditional political history by focusing on primary sources that reveal social and cultural aspects of America.

This curriculum unit is an interdisciplinary approach to the movement of Americans after the Civil War to the turn of the century. I researched several periods to discover what prompted many Americans to give up what they had in urban areas East of the Mississippi to start a new life along the Western frontier. The main focus is post 1869 with the completion of the transcontinental railroad though some themes transcend several decades.

There are many articles, and books with innovative historical interpretations of United States history. Howard Zinn wrote A People’s History of the United States to include the voices of those who made history and were excluded from standard textbooks. In Walter Nugent’s recent publication, Into The West: The Story of its People, traditional stereotypes are replaced with stories from actual migrants. Patricia Limerick writes extensively on “new” western history and the treatment of western events in history texts.

Modern historians and writers are continually modifying previous conceptions of the West to include more than just the gold rush and Indian wars. Students could be enticed to discover facts about the West from recent historical interpretations then compare these accounts with reports from people who migrated west in the 1800’s.

Rationale:

By the census of 1890 the government director could not locate a continuous line beyond which the population thinned out to less than two persons per square mile. This inspired Fredrick Jackson Turner to write The Significance of the Frontier in American History showing the end of American westward development and possibly other opportunities. Turner proposed the thesis that the American character had been greatly enhanced and shaped by the presence of a vast frontier.

The Advance of the frontier has meant steady movement away from the influence of Europe, a steady growth of independence on American lines. And to study this advance, the men who grow up under these conditions, and the political, economic, and social results of it, is to study the really American part of our history…

Fredrick Jackson Turner

The Significance of the Frontier in American History, 1893

Turner projected, with the closing of the frontier, America would transform in the direction of gradual urbanization. Though his views set the canon for Western history, current scholarship includes more voices than just frontiersmen and European settlers.

As the American boundaries became clearer, so did the classification of American citizenship. The men and women who settled the western frontier after the Civil War embodied many characteristics of the “rugged individual.” Their inventiveness, mobility and democratic spirit shape local towns and the nation. Defining who was American changed as a result of massive immigration from China and migration of Europeans west.

What compelled so many people move from the East to the West during the later half of the 19^th century? I discovered the answers were as simple as “we settled where the railroad ended” but with most of American History there is more to the story. Around 300,000 people moved west during the Civil War in part due to legislation such as the Homestead Act. The greatest period of growth was between 1901 and 1913 as more than one million people flooded the West. (Nugent, 131) After the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 people founded western towns along the railroad much like eastern town that were settled along rivers. The consequence of this western development was more expeditious and prominent than gradual eastern evolution.

Teaching gifted students through the CAS (Center for Advanced Study) program in the Pittsburgh Public Schools allows me the opportunity to incorporate standards-based curriculum as well as higher-level college material in my American History course. Most of my students are exposed to United States History several times before entering my class in their junior year. I rely on each student to read extensively and conduct independent discovery prior to the daily class activity. My United States History course revolves around student discussion and inquiry with extensive research and student-led discovery. Although I have taught honors American History for several years, I still struggle with ways to interest my students in the details of history, which are often seen as “dry and boring”.

In order to immerse my students into the study of history I have learned to supplement the texts with intriguing primary sources. My honors course parallels the Advanced Placement program with college requirements and a heavy reading load. Many students who achieve success in my course will decide to sit for the Advanced Placement History exam in May or United States History SAT II in June. One of my goals throughout the course is to develop analytical abilities in all students so they can master both the content questions and the essay portions of these exams.

Teachers may want to use this unit after they teach antebellum sectionalism, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Many instructors make the transition from Reconstruction to political and economic aspects of the Gilded Age then move to a unit on diplomatic history at the turn of the century. Because of time constraints in an AP class teachers may skip or skim over details of the American West.

To incorporate more content on the West, teachers can show linkages between the lassiez faire attitude of the Gilded Age and the independent spirit of railroad developers and western migrants. The transcontinental railroad is a striking manifestation of the Industrial Revolution and the push for progress in America. Thought the financiers were wealthy and obtained government assistance, the men who laid the track were average individuals. Showing a contrast between worker and business owner will enlighten students to the economic disparity that lasted through the Progressive Era.

Objectives

The primary goal is to get students to think historically. Once they have some content, students can trace the evolution of historical thought. Secondary sources will be inspected for credibility and reliability. Students will explore the difference between primary and secondary sources then assess the usefulness of each type in the study of American History.

Upon completion of this unit students will have read several sources beyond the text, gained valuable research skills and learned from participating in a complex discussion. Literacy skills will be enhanced through independent reading and group discussion. Students will be encouraged to consult dictionaries and other references to better understand complicated readings.

Research skills will grow through the use of the Internet, school and local libraries. Students are more focused on multimedia than ever before. Teachers are challenged with computer proficiency and equipment constraints. Allowing students to be creative with computer programs may enhance content learning and technological skills. I have found many students gain an interest in history when they can plug information into a computer then share their knowledge with others. The class may also gain valuable insight to new advancements in technology they can further explore in college or in a career.

Specific social studies content standards are addressed throughout the unit. Specifically communication and citizenship standards as they relate to Social Studies. A complete list of the social studies content standards is included at the end of this unit.

Strategies:

After the Civil War, large streams of migrants moved past the Great Plains to areas of the Far West. Newspapers described the movement as a “flood tide”. Native Americans and Hispanics who populated much of the area were greeted by waves of men seeking their fortune. Large numbers of foreign immigrants from Germany, Ireland and Scandinavia moved west and clustered in familiar groups. African American “Exodusters” settled Kansas and areas further west becoming farmers, ranchers and cowboys. Women took on the task of uprooting the family and building a new life.

It is my belief that those who developed the West greatly shaped the American character at the turn of the century. Settlers had to endure dry summers and harsh winters on the Great Plains with the challenge of irrigation for survival. If the geography was adequate for life and weather suitable for growing food there was a good chance of clashing with Native Americans. Limited economic opportunity forced many homesteaders to grow their own food and live a nomadic life. Some men became cattle ranchers as the demand for beef grew but the cowboy life was also a struggle. Mining fostered westward expansion but at a great cost to the individual worker.

Students may have a basic understanding of immigration and migration patterns throughout American History. Associations can be made between westward migration and periods with particular population shifts such as the early 1800’s or the Great Migration. Why did people leave their country of origin or birthplace and move elsewhere? Were the forces pushing them away greater than the forces pulling them to the new land? To what extent did other mediating factors influence westward migration?

Students will learn historical facts and cultivate writing skills through a variety of multimedia activities. Teachers are encouraged to examine Ken Burns’ the West PBS video series when preparing to teach a unit on the West. The videotapes are extensive and probably too much to show in their entirety to a general survey course. Teachers may want to review additional resources like Geoffrey Ward’s book The West, the companion to the PBS series, or the website (http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest) to select video clips appropriate for their class.

My lessons will supplement the textbook by connecting major themes of immigration and migration to the development of the American West. I believe the role of the rugged individual is downplayed in textbooks to show the rise of the West as a direct result of federal government action. The practice of big business, the government and individuals will be explored.

Students can debate the impact of technology on society through a persuasive essay. (Appendix B) As the railroad transported people west to new settlements the western lands and the inhabitants transformed. As the West modernized what happened to its inhabitants? What were the costs of rapid development in a short period?

By taking on a character from the 1870’s students can persuade the government to continue supporting railroads or they can discuss the negative aspects of industrializing the frontier. Once students gain a basic knowledge of the West from the text and video clips, primary source analysis will be conducted. Through a persuasive essay and speech students will argue a specific point of view. They will need to research their character as well as the other side to effectively persuade the class to support their ideas. The class may want to vote on the various proposals and change the course of history.

A follow-up essay might be a chapter in the text. Through cooperative learning, several students write a fictional account of what happens next. If industrialization is halted in the West in 1900 how would history change? Students may put more emphasis on Native Americans, Chinese immigrants or poor settlers.

Presenting a timeline of events from the late 1800’s will allow students to draw conclusions about the West. A discussion of the relationship between agricultural advancements, economic fluctuations and political events will connect the developing West to the industrial East. The instructor may want to lecture on political aspects like the admission of states during election years. The class may also realize motivations of sectionalism and federalism. Regulation of the railroads as America’s first big business should be discussed. There are several Supreme Court cases evolving from trade that are directly related to railroad growth.

Within a political and economic framework, students should answer the following questions. Who peopled the West and why? Do Eastern political and social institutions move west with migrants? Do areas of the West develop unique American identities? What role does the government play in the transformation of western territories into states?

I will encourage students to consider myths about the Trans-Mississippi West then seek out primary sources to serve as reliable facts and the basis for their own historical interpretation. Students may be aware of the following myths, as they are prominent in Hollywood images.

Myth 1: Everyone was a cowboy.

Myth 2: The West promoted equality amongst all people; a perfect democracy.

Myth 3: Only the poor moved west and remained poor.

Walter Nugent looks at myths throughout the West in his book Into The West The Story of its People. He traces the traditional agrarian myth to its decline and shows connections between the myth of “the wild west” and the reality of “rugged individualism”. With regard to the development of the West, some myths may have elements of truth. Nugent feels the history of the West is incomplete as,“ the narrative is entirely Anglocentric.” (Nugent, 14) Throughout his book, Nugent traces political developments through the eyes of individuals. The development of the west comes alive through stories of the people who “go west” throughout the twentieth century.

From Nugent’s book and other sources in the bibliography, teachers can share stories of the working class settlers, Mexican immigrants and Mormons. Students may be persuaded to research Irish and Chinese railroad workers after viewing photos and reading diaries. They can trace the lives of these workers from the completion of the transcontinental railroad through the 1890’s. Students may not be aware of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the preceding discrimination, or the brutal treatment of Chinese workers in California. The Dawes Act limited Native American freedoms and may be another area of research.

I would have students define the frontier. Many historians talk about the frontier throughout American History yet they fail to define what they mean in terms comprehendible to teenagers. Students can draw conclusions about the frontier as it moves further west. Finally, they can debate Turner’s statement that the frontier has vanished by 1890. After reading Fredrick Jackson’s Turner’s thesis students may answer questions or discuss the content in groups.

Classroom Activities

Using the works of Fredrick Jackson Turner, Horace Greeley and other writers, I hope to clarify the effect of transportation on American Westward development from 1865-1895. “Up to our own day,” Turner says, “American history has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West.” Turner states that American institutions, economic and social development have gone through continuous rebirth allowing for a fluidity of American life that greatly shapes the American character into the 20^th century. I believe the history of the “Great West” has been an economic history of transportation, technology and migration.

How did American expansion shift from development along a frontier like the Appalachian Mountains or the Mississippi River to widespread internal settlements? Did these migratory patterns mirror the developments in transportation and technology or where people simply settling open land?

My original idea was to have a debate where political leaders and businessmen push for the transcontinental railroad while homesteaders and Native Americans fight to limit the government take over of their land. Then I found a similar activity on the PBS website. (http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest) Through this activity or maps and videos, students can gain an understanding of the struggle to build a railroad across the nation. Without this massive effort, the West may have remained economically and politically behind the East for decades.

I decided to have students start with a geography lesson. Locate the states in America in 1864. A political map of the Presidential election results may be used or a map showing geographical features. Students can relate sectionalism to statehood with details like the admission of Nebraska as a state in 1867 giving Lincoln three electoral votes. Teachers may want to have students trace proposed railroad routes on a map, especially if they choose to debate various plans.

Students may engage in several map activities to learn how geography affected transportation and then migration. I would have students compare a map of the United States in 1896 showing the admission of Utah, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. The Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) is open to white settlement around 1890. After students gain a visual understanding of western growth in a thirty-year period they can answer the following questions.

Questions:

1. Why were areas of the Trans-Mississippi West desirable to settlers?

2. Where did migrants establish cities? Did they last or were they “boom towns”?

3. What were the motivations for Eastern U.S. residents to move west? What was the strongest force; “push” factors, “pull” factors or something else?

4. Why are many frontier inhabitants seen as rugged individuals?

5. Did democracy move with the migrants as they settled the west?

6. What role did groups like unions or associations play in western settlement?

7. How important was the environment to those who lived in the west?

8. What were the occupations of most western migrants?

9. How did the Trans-Mississippi West differ from the East Coast by 1900?

10. What role did the government play in settling the western United States?

After students have researched primary sources and first-hand accounts of western settlers they may want to reflect on their learning. A good summation activity is a Fishbowl Discussion. (Appendix C) Students can debate the relevance of Turner’s frontier thesis or the persuasiveness of Greeley’s words. Ultimately, they will come to form their own conclusions about “the Great West”.

Works Cited

Ambrose, Stephen, E. Nothing Like it in the World: The Men Who built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-69. New York: N.Y. Touchstone. 2000.

Bain, David Haward. Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad. New York: N.Y. Penguin. 1999. (Describes the most difficult country ever conceived. Maps of proposed routes. Descriptions of Chinese labor and Mormon contractors.)

Cronon, William ed. Under An Open Sky: Rethinking America’s Western Past. New York: W.W. Norton 1992.

Greeley, Horace. An Overland Journey. Edited by Charles T. Duncan. New York: Knopf. 1964

Kennedy, David and Lizabeth Cohen and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant. 11^th edition. New York:N.Y. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1988

Kolodny, Annette. The Land Before Her: Fantasy and Experience of the American Frontiers 1630-1860. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 1984.

Limerick, Patricia. Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West. New York: Norton 1987. (She opens the debate on Turner’s scholarship as one-sided.)

______________. Something in the Soil: Legacies and Reckonings in the New West. New York: W.W. Norton. 2000.

McMath, Robert C. American Populism: a Social History. New York: Hill and Wang 1993.

Nugent, Walter. Into The West: The Story of Its People. New York: Vintage Books. 1999.

Turner, Fredrick Jackson. The Frontier in American History.1893.

White, Richard. “It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own”: A New History of the American West. Oklahoma 1991. (He gives a complete synthesis of current scholarship on the West.)

Internet Sites

http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/iht329633cm.html (Deals with The Chicago Defender and railroads in the role of the Great Migration.)

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest (PBS series produced by Ken Burns documenting many aspects of the West from Homesteaders to treatment of Native Americans. Sample lessons correlate to video clips.)

http://harpweek.com (The online collection of Harper's Weekly. Great Links to political cartoons and presidential elections)

http://www.womenofthewest.org (Great sources under the exhibit "There are no Renters Here" including photos and stories.)

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections ( Library of Congress compiled primary sources in the form of audio files, photographs and official government papers.)

http://www.gilah.uh.edu (Gilder Lerman Institute American History web site rich in African American History)

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Quad/6460/AmLabHist/index.html (Labor History site with specific links)

http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/SupremeCourtCases.html ( Includes full text of Supreme Court Cases; Munn V. Illinois, Slaughterhouse Cases, Wabash and other railroad rate cases)

Books

Derounian-Stodola, Kathryn Zabelle, ed. Women's Indian Captivity Narratives. New York: Penguin Group, 1998. Ten complete narratives spanning period 1682-1892. From the back cover: "The narrative of capture by Native Americans is arguably the first American literary form dominated by women's experiences. Many such captivity narratives were fact based but often transformed by authors or editors into spellbinding adventure stories, sentimental tales, spiritual autobiographies, or anti-Indian propaganda."

Fischer, Christine, ed. Let Them Speak for Themselves: Women in the American West, 1849-1900. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1978.

Friedlander, Amy. Emerging Infrastructure: The Growth of Railroads. Corporation for National Research Initiatives. 1995. (This book answers the questions – How did the railroad foundation develop? What were the driving technologies? How did an integrated infrastructure evolve?)

Gillis, Julia. So Far from Home: An Army Bride on the Western Frontier, 1865-1869. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1993

Galloway, John Debo. The First Transcontinental Railway. NY: Simmons-Boardman 1950. Reprinted 1983. “ The Central Pacific was built largely by Chinese laborers, imported for that purpose from Southern China.” (p. 144 ) The authors talk of peaceful Chinese men who work, “have no strikes that amount to anything and are very cleanly in their habits.” “They will gamble and do quarrel amongst themselves – but harmlessly.”

Gordon, Sarah H. Passage to Union: How The Railroads Transformed American Life, 1829 – 1929. Chicago: Elephant paperbacks. 1997. map of 1850 and 1860 lines – all east coast. (P. 120 ) Currier & Ives lithograph 1868. (p.132) “Despite the triumph of power that the railroads brought to the United States, the accompanying centralization of wealth left vast areas of the country with profound feelings of loss.” (p. 322 )

Kelly, Luther S. Yellowstone Kelly: The Memoirs of Luther S. Kelly. Edited by M. M. Quaife. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1973. (Years covered, 1865-1878. Kelly tells of his explorations on the Upper Missouri and its tributaries, including the Yellowstone and the new park established there.)

Leab, Daniel J. and Philip P. Mason, eds. Labor History Archives in the United States: A Guide for Researching and Teaching. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1992.

Love, Nat. The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as "Deadwood Dick." Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995. (The only black cowboy to write of his experiences driving cattle on the Chisholm Trail out of Texas. Also recounts adventures in Arizona and Dakota territories, etc.)

Ridge, Martin, and Ray Allen Billington, eds. America's Frontier Story: A Documentary History of Western Expansion. (The American Problem Studies.) Warrington, N.Y.:R. E. Krieger Publishing Co., 1980.

Millner, Clyde A., ed. Major Problems in the History of the American West: Documents and Essays. Lexington, Mass.: Heath, 1989.

Moynihan, Ruth B., and others, eds. So Much to Be Done: Women Settlers on the Mining and Ranching Frontier. (Women in the West.) Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990

Niederman, Sharon, ed. A Quilt of Words: Women's Diaries, Letters & Original Accounts of Life in the Southwest, 1850-1950. Boulder, Col.: Johnson Books, 1988.

Brett de Bary Nee and Victor G. Longtime California: A Documentary Study of an American Chinatown, (Stanford U Press, 1986) (After the completion of the transcontinental railroad there was no economic boom in California as expected, nor did land values rise. Steamship workers lost jobs and 10,000 Chinese workers were left in C.A. to find work and ended up as strike breakers in C.A. boot and shoe industry. Also employed in cigar making, slippers, woolens, and sewing. Riots and public outcry to Chinese quickly ensued.)

Schlissel, Lillian, ed. Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey. (Studies in the Life of Women.) New York: Schocken Books, 1982. (Four diaries describing overland journeys to the Pacific in the nineteenth century.)

Stewart, Elinore Letters of a Woman Homesteader. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989

Stratton, Joanna L., comp. Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981.

Stone, Richard D. The Interstate Commerce Commission and the Railroad Industry. New York: NY. Praeger pub, 1991. ( A few pages on before regulation and early regulation. “No other form of transportation has had the effect on this country that the railroads had in the middle and late 19^th century. Pp. 1-16.)

Stover, John F. Iron Road to the West American Railroads in the 1850’s. NY: Columbia U Press. (Large, detailed maps and charts.)

Williams, John Hoyt. A Great and Shining Road: The Epic Story of the Transcontinental Railroad. New York: Random House: Times Books. 1988. ( chapter on “The Chinese factor and the Indian threat.”)

Online Articles

The following sources were found in a database called Jstor. They may be used as background information for the instructor. Teachers may want to compare articles written in the 1920’s to those of the 1950’s, 1970’s and 1990’s to show varying points of view on western growth.

Hodder, Frank Heywood The Railroad Background of the Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 12, No. 1. (Jun., 1925), pp. 3-22.

Farnham, Wallace D. Grenville Dodge and the Union Pacific: A Study of Historical Legends The Journal of American History, Vol. 51, No. 4. (Mar., 1965), pp. 632-650.

Hill, Forest G. Government Engineering Aid to Railroads before the Civil War

The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 11, No. 3, Part 1. (Summer, 1951), pp. 235-246.

Arnesen, Eric "Like Banquo's Ghost, It Will Not Down": The Race Question and the American Railroad Brotherhoods, 1880-1920

The American Historical Review, Vol. 99, No. 5. (Dec., 1994), pp. 1601-1633.

Walker , Townsend Gold Mountain Guests: Chinese Migration to the United States, 1848-1882 (in Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations)

The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 37, No. 1, The Tasks of Economic History. (Mar., 1977), pp. 264-267.

Martin, Albro Railroads and the Equity Receivership: An Essay on Institutional Change The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 34, No. 3. (Sep., 1974), pp. 685-709.

Gutman, Herbert G. Work, Culture, and Society in Industrializing America, 1815-1919 The American Historical Review, Vol. 78, No. 3. (Jun., 1973), pp. 531-588.

Engerman, Stanley L. Some Economic Issues Relating to Railroad Subsidies and the Evaluation of Land Grants

The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 32, No. 2. (Jun., 1972), pp. 443-463.

Student Reading List

Ambrose, Stephen, E. Nothing Like it in the World: The Men Who Built The Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. New York:N.Y. Touchstone. 2000. The introduction and chapter one lay out the route and detail the sectionalist struggle. Chapter seventeen describes the completion of the railway and the immediate consequences. Detailed maps and photos of the railway.

Kennedy, David. Lizbeth Cohen and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant. New York:N.Y. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1988. Though treatment of the West is dispersed throughout various chapters; chapter twenty-four details railroad growth, chapter twenty-seven gives a description of Indian removal and the plight of farmers.

Henretta, James. W. Elliot Brownlee, David Brody, Susan Ware and Marilynn Johnson. America’s History. New York: N.Y. Worth Publishers. 1997. (Pp. 517-548.) These authors explain how the Industrial Revolution shaped the history of agriculture and linked rural America to the larger industrial society.

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Chapter 7 "As Long As Grass Grows or Water Runs." Here Zinn details his view of Indian removal, "as it has been politely called," so white developers could create a "continental empire."(pg. 125 )

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Chapter 10 “The Other Civil War” details the struggle of the poor in America after the panic of 1837 through the late 1800's. Zinn tells of how the courts favored big business and the government used eminent domain to give farmer's land to transportation companies. (pg. 239)

Audio Visual Aids

The West. PBS Series. An acclaimed multi-part documentary produced by Ken Burns and directed by Stephen Ives. (Color 16 hrs. 1996)

Appendix A

Timeline of Western Growth

1853 Gadsden Purchase

New York Central Railroad formed

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad completed

1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act

13,000 Chinese immigrants enter U.S.

1855 “Bleeding Kansas”

1856 Pottawatomie Creek

Western Union formed

1857 Dred Scott decision

William Kelly (PA) patents steel refining process

1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates

Cyrus W. Field lays first transatlantic cable

1859 John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry

Edwin Drake drills America’s first oil well

1860 Pony Express begins fast overland mail from Missouri to California (discontinued in 1861 with completion of transcontinental telegraph)

Abraham Lincoln wins election

1861 Fort Sumpter fired upon. Civil War begins.

30,000 miles of railroad track in the U.S.

1862 Pacific Railway Act authorizes Union Pacific Railroad to build a line from Nebraska to Utah to meet the Central Pacific

Morrill Land-Grant College Act provides for endowment of colleges of agriculture and industry

1863 Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address

West Virginia becomes the 35^th state

1864 The first comfortable railroad sleeping car is invented by George Pullman

Lincoln wins reelection

1865 Union Stockyard opens in Chicago, becomes the world’s largest meat-packing center

13^th Amendment ratified by 27 states

1866 Congress passes Civil Rights Act and 14^th Amendment

Sioux Massacre at Ft. Philip Kearny, Wyoming

Refrigerated railroad car produced

National Labor Union organized

1867 First elevated railroad in New York City

Ku Klux Klan formed in Nashville, Tennessee

1868 President Johnson impeached

Wyoming Territory formed

1869 Transcontinental railroad line completed in Promontory Point, Utah. Golden Spike hammered by officials of Union Pacific and Central Pacific railways

15^th Amendment passes Congress

Wyoming grants women suffrage

Knights of Labor formed in Philadelphia

1870 U.S. Census shows population at 39.8 million

1871 Civil Service Commission

Chicago Fire leaves 90,000 homeless

Indian Appropriation Act

1872 Credit Mobilier Scandal exposed by New York Sun

1873 Economic Panic, Congress passes Coinage Act eliminating silver as currency

Bethlehem Steel starts manufacturing in Pittsburgh, PA

Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner write The Gilded Age

1874 WCTU (National Woman’s Christian Temperance Union)

First electric street car operational in New York City

Joseph Gildden invents barbed wire

Greenback Party formed in Indianapolis, Indiana

1875 Specie Redemption Act reduces greenbacks in circulation

Congress passes Civil Rights Act guaranteeing all men the right to serve on juries

Andrew Carnegie builds first Bessemer steel mill

1876 Battle of Little Big Horn

1877 First general railroad strike in the U.S. in Pittsburgh and WVA Munn v. Illinois Supreme Court case upholds Granger laws

Reconstruction Era ends

Chief Joseph and Nez Perce sent to reservations

1878 Bland-Allison Act requires U.S. Treasury to buy 2-4 million worth of silver bullion for coinage

Greenback-Labor party created

1879 Ute Indians removed from Colorado

George B. Selden develops “horseless carriage”

1880 National Farmer’s Alliance formed in Chicago to unite farmers against discriminatory policies (forerunner of Populists)

1881 President Garfield shot in Washington, D.C.

Helen Hunt Jackson prints Century of Dishonor

Booker T. Washington initiates Tuskegee Institute

1882 Chinese Exclusion Act

1883 Pendleton Act established civil service commission

U.S. and Canada adopt four standard time zones

1884 The People’s Party formed from Greenback-Labor and Anti-Monopoly parties

1885 Contract Labor Act

Congress forbids unauthorized fencing of public lands in the west

Geronimo leads Apache people off reservation

1886 Haymarket Square riot in Chicago

American Federation of Labor formed; Samuel Gompers leader

1887 Interstate Commerce Act creates ICC to regulate transportation

Dawes Act

1888 Edward Bellamy publishes Looking Back

1889 South Dakota, Montana and Washington become states

1890 Sherman Antitrust Act declares illegal every contract, combination or conspiracy in restraint of interstate trade

Battle of Wounded Knee

1891 Indian Territory ceded to the U.S. by Sauk, Fox and Potawatomi tribes

1892 Populist Party formed

Homestead Steel Strike in Pittsburgh, PA

Chinese Exclusion Act extended ten years

1893 Financial panic as gold reserves fall below $90 million

1894 Pullman Railroad strike led by Eugene V. Debs

(series of strikes by miners, railroad workers and garment workers)

1895 Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act in effect; Supreme Court declares income tax unconstitutional with Pollack v. Farmers Loan and Trust Co.

1896 Plessy v. Ferguson allows for “separate but equal”

Bryan delivers his “Cross of Gold” speech

Appendix B

Persuasive Essay General Guidelines

Persuasive writing attempts to convince the reader that the point of view or course of action recommended by the writer is valid. To accomplish this, the writer must develop a limited topic that is well defined and debatable on both sides. When preparing to write a persuasive essay, one should research both sides of the argument in order to understand the strengths and weaknesses. Naturally, in a persuasive essay, more attention will be given to the positive aspects of the main argument.

Five paragraph Essay format

First paragraph is the Introduction. The initial topic sentence should be a strong statement of position to intrigue the audience and gain attention for the main argument. Note in this case, the topic sentence is not a statement of fact. Background information on the topic is useful to tell the reader what to expect. The introduction should raise questions that are answered later in the essay. The main problem or question should be addressed in the form of a thesis statement. What problem is the writer attempting to solve? A brief thesis statement makes the dilemma and the position on the problem clear.

Second paragraph Starts with a topic sentence for the first example or proof. Should be developed and supported by writer’s own ideas or primary source quotes.

Third paragraph contains the second example with a fully developed support of the thesis. Be sure to use topic sentences and adequate transitions. The reader should be able to follow a simple logical argument.

Fourth paragraph contains the third example with developed supports. The writer may want to include the other side of the argument and discredit the authors to further persuade the audience.

Fifth paragraph contains the conclusion. Here the reader can clearly see how the argument evolved from the thesis through the body with sufficient proofs and supports. As one closes the essay they want to remember they are trying to convince others to adopt their position. No introduction of new material should take place in the conclusion, simply restatements of earlier arguments. It is not a good idea to leave the reader with any unanswered questions. Make a solid statement. Go out with a bang.

Appendix C

Fishbowl Discussion

Objective: To allow students to engage each other in a lively discussion. (Standards 7,8)

Materials: A room where the chairs can be formed into a circle. Discussion prompts.

Evaluation: Students take notes during the discussion and write a reflective paper for the next class day.

I learned of this idea from an Advanced Placement Government conference where teachers were sharing ideas. This model works well with Honors or advanced students because the class sizes are limited. General education students may be given suitable readings and prompts at their level. If the topic is “hot” students of all levels will engage each other in a debate. The teacher should give clear expectations for the reading homework and prior to the start of the exercise.

To start, four chairs are placed in the center of a circle. Students enter the circle to begin the discussion. The teacher may have assigned students to read two different articles, perhaps varying viewpoints. Initially, two students from each side may occupy the center space. Only students “in the pit” can talk; the teacher becomes a referee. The observers around the perimeter must enter the core and bump another students from their seat. Students should not enter the “pit” with anything but their own notes from the reading.

The discussion should begin with students “in the pit” reacting to the readings or answers to probing questions given by the teacher. Often the students who did not read carefully will want to go first to simply get their participation points, but they will still have to mention a main idea from the reading. The teacher may decide to give more points to the “conversation starters” or “debate continuers” rather than award uniform points to all students regardless of participation.

As the Fishbowl Discussion evolves, the class transforms. Students will be bumped from the center based on the desire of the individuals around the circle to “have their say.” Once out of the speaking seat, students will remember other points from the reading or have another viewpoint. The competition to be “in the pit” will be heightened by the intensity of the debate. If students remain in the center the teacher may give additional prompts to provoke a reaction from the crowd. Often students will be motivated by participation points to develop higher-level arguments.

Appendix D

Essay Prompts

1. Analyze the influence of the following on the development of the West:

Technological advances in agriculture

Barbed wire

Government regulations

Immigration

2. Was the economic development of the Trans-Mississippi West dependent on the federal government or hardy individuals by the late 19^th century?

3. Explore reasons for the emergence of the Populist movement in the late 19^th century. Are they successful in achieving their goals by the turn of the century?

4. To what extent did the natural environment shape the development of the West beyond the Mississippi and the lives of those who lived and settled there? How important were other factors?

5. Explain how each of the following contributed to American nationalism in the years 1860-1877.

Homestead Act of 1862

National Banking Act

Morrill Tariff

Government support of railroads

Appendix E

Standards

Communications

4. All students write for a variety of purposes, including to narrate, to inform, and to persuade.

8. All students compose and make oral presentations that are designed to persuade, inform, or describe.

Citizenship

1. All students demonstrate an understanding of major events, cultures, groups and individuals in the historical development of Pennsylvania, the United States and other nations, and describe the patterns of historical development.

2. All students demonstrate understanding of themes and patterns of geography, know the location of major bodies of water, landmasses and nations, and describe the relationships between geography and historical, economic and cultural development.

3. All students describe the development and operations of economic, political, legal and governmental systems in the United States, assess their own relationships to those systems, and compare them to those in other nations.

4. All students examine and evaluate problems facing citizens in their communities, state, nation and world by incorporating concepts and methods of inquiry of the various social sciences.

5. All students develop and defend a position on current issues, confronting the United States and other nations, conducting research, analyzing alternatives, organizing evidence and arguments, and making oral presentations.

6. All students explain basic economic concepts and the development and operation of economic systems in the United States and other nations, and make informed decisions about economic issues.

7. All students demonstrate their skills of communicating, negotiating and cooperating with others.

8. All students demonstrate that they can work effectively with others.

9. All students demonstrate an understanding of the history and nature of prejudice and relate their knowledge to current issues facing communities, the United States and other nations.

10. All students demonstrate an understanding of the various roles they can play as citizens through participation in a community service project.

11. All students demonstrate the ability to resolve conflicts in peaceful ways, including but not limited to peer mediation, anger management, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving.