The first transcontinental railroad in north america was built in the 1860s, linking the well developed railway network of the east coast with rapidly growing california. The railroad company hired sharpshooters to control the bison. This transcontinental railroad worksheet is suitable for 4th 5th grade. Some of the worksheets displayed are the first transcontinental railroad, transcontinental railroad fact, lesson plan for teaching american history westward, full steam ahead the transcontinental railroad, the transcontinental railroad how did it change american, grade 4 social studies. The transcontinental railroad history of railroads and. Excursionists on the union pacific railroad the car works and machine shops in omaha a glimpse of mormon immigrants. Westward expansion during the 19th century required speedier ways to communicate and transport people and goods between the east and west coasts. Most important, it offers full text access to the linda hall librarys. Slaves left the southern states and went to the free northern states and canada, where they could be free. The transcontinental railroad webquest uses an amazing website created by linda. The student will demonstrate research skills by using a variety of reference. History westward expansion the first transcontinental railroad stretched from the east coast of the united states to the west coast. Improve your students reading comprehension with readworks.
Three competing private companies built the railroad, one starting in the east, the other two in the west, allowing the railroad to meet in the middle. Middlehigh school lesson plan the chinese exclusion. The animals were the main source of food for the plains indians. Getting to the west was possible, yes, but it wasnt exactly easy. The route of the transcontinental railroad, between the two stars that mark omaha and.
The site offers visitors a brief history of the building of the transcontinental railroad as well as information on the history and technology of 19th century railroads. Clipper ships and the pony express were a beginning. At a signal from one of the other officials present on this historic day, rice poured the water into the. Transcontinental railroad 1869 primary source worksheet by. Path to freedom the underground railroad was a secret organization of routes and safe places used by slaves to escape to freedom. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The union pacific railroad only managed to lay 40 miles of track by the end of 1865, but with the civil war drawing to a close, they could finally build a workforce equal to the task at hand. The decline continued after the completion of the railroad. The union pacific and the central pacific both won government contracts to work on the railroad. The impact of the transcontinental railroad on postcivil. In this lesson students will explore the technological advances made during westward expansion of the. It was here on may 10, 1869 that california governor stanford drove the golden spike or the last spike, that symbolized the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. To close, revisit the four opening statements and ask if there are any students who would like to change their dot placements and explain why.
In his hand was a bottle of water from the atlantic ocean that he had brought from the east coast. Westward expansion lesson plan 6 3 the city university of new. The pacific railroad act of 1862 was signed by president abraham lincoln and licensed two railroad companies to build the first transcontinental railroad that would connect the eastern and the western parts of the united states see the fact file below for more information on the first transcontinental railroad or alternatively, you can download our 20page first continental railroad. Worksheet socratic seminar handout on the chinese exclusion act 1882 is a watershed. Thepanamarailroad 93 sanitation 105 themanatthehelm 118 theorganization 3 theamericanworkers 145 thenegroworkers 154 thecommissary 164 lifeonthezone 178 pastisthmian,projects 194 thefrenchfailure.
It was 1,776 miles long and served for the atlantic and pacific coasts of the united states to be connected by. The first transcontinental railroad was built crossing the western half of america and it was pieced together between 1863 and 1869. Chinese workers on the transcontinental railroad utah education. The transcontinental railroad for kids ulysses grant was the 18th american president who served in office from march 4, 1869 to march 4, 1877. This is a reading comprehension worksheet for teaching or revising food related vocabulary. Showing top 8 worksheets in the category transcontinental railroad. January 1863 central pacific railroad breaks ground on its portion of the railroad at sacramento, california. Students analyze archival material such as photos, documents, and posters, to understand the who was involved in constructing, and the lasting phenomenon of. Study 41 terms transcontinental railroad questions. Youll need to know why the united states wanted to construct the railroad, how long.
The union pacific relied mainly on irish workers, many of whom were famine immigrants and fresh off the battlefields of the war. January 1863 central pacific railroad breaks ground on its portion of the railroad at. Reading, money, fractions, sight words, multiplication. Choose from 500 different sets of transcontinental railroad history flashcards on quizlet. All the questions on this quiz are based on information that can be found on the page at first transcontinental railroad. There were many immigrants arriving in the united states. The first transcontinental railroad arizona geographic alliance. Facts, information and articles about transcontinental railroad, an event of westward expansion from the wild west. This worksheet allows students to use a primary source document to learn about the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 this activity is very easy to use. Start studying transcontinental railroad questions. Explain how the east and west heard the last spike being pounded into the rail. For webquest or practice, print a copy of this quiz at the first transcontinental railroad webquest print page. Present your class with wellorganized information regarding major causes, players, and effects the railroad had on the face of an expanding america. The teacher will act as a guide and project the website on the screen.
Your class can learn about the laying down of these tracks by reading a short passage. Readings, photos of chinese artifacts, worksheets, and activities. No longer would people travel in long wagon trains that took months to reach california. The impact of the transcontinental railroad nehedsitement. The central pacific railroad and the union pacific railroad lines met at promontory summit, utah. However, there was a time in our nations history when the train was the biggest advancement in transportation technology. Transcontinental railroad worksheets printable worksheets. The transcontinental railroad was completed in six years. The transcontinental railroad worksheets learny kids. Some of the worksheets for this concept are the first transcontinental railroad, transcontinental railroad fact, lesson plan for teaching american history westward, transcontinental railroads the west, grade 4 social studies instructional task the, full steam ahead the transcontinental. I can describe reasons why railways were constructed across the great plains to the west. The transcontinental railroad on july 4, 1870, a boston trade official named alex h. The central pacific would build east from california. History buffs and railroad enthusiasts alike will enjoy learning about the transcontinental railroad with this wild west worksheet.
Access thousands of highquality, free k12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students. The trip across the overland trails followed by settlers could take four to six months, however, and were treacherous on foot or by wagon. Overview using a variety of maps, students assess the need for a transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. The transcontinental railroad completed in 1869, the transcontinental railroad connected the eastern united states to the west. Teamwork and competition on the transcontinental railroad.
All you have to do is print off the primary source from the following website for classroom use or direct students to the website to answer the worksheet questions. Reading comprehension worksheets, reading is a very big portion of our daytoday lives, and improving your comprehension shouldnt come at the price of depriving yourself of the pleas. Test your railroad knowledge the transcontinental railroad. They could now travel faster, safer, and cheaper by train. They may use the caamps document analysis worksheet or other primary document analyses strategies. The transcontinental railroad crosscurricular focus. How central pacific laid ten miles of track in one day back. In this american railroads worksheet, students respond to 22 fill in the blank questions about the building of the. The first transcontinental railroad 1869 lesson objective. The first transcontinental railroad primary source documents. Transcontinental railroad as the main idea, and economics, physical features, and humans as subtopics for organization of details. The first transcontinental railroad in the united states was built in the 1860s. One of the important events during his presidency was the completion of the transcontinental railroad on march 10, 1869. The move west was greatly effected by the first transcontinental railroad.
Students will log on to stanfords website chinese railroad workers in north america project. Displaying top 8 worksheets found for the transcontinental railroad. The miles of rough terrain and wilderness that separated the east from the west might as well have been a giant fence dividing america into two. The railroad took 7 years to complete and is a 1,907mile contiguous line. Thank you for choosing our westward by rail program. The new railroad was much safer and faster and finally linked the east with the west. Transcontinental railroad fact sheet prior to the opening of the transcontinental railroad, it took four to six months to travel 2000 miles from the missouri river to california by wagon. Describe why the meeting place of the two railroad tracks was so far west, even though the western part of the railroad was begun two years earlier.
Learn transcontinental railroad history with free interactive flashcards. Along the way, people who were against slavery, called abolitionists, would. The first transcontinental railroad primary source documents document 1. The impact of the transcontinental railroad on postcivil war america neh lesson plan for tcrr july 20 submitted by thomas haim below is my curriculum project. Chief promoter of a transcontinental railroad was asa whitney, a new york merchant active in the china trade who was obsessed with the idea of a railroad to the pacific. The coming of the transcontinental railroad tcrr, the first communication revolution in the united states. To understand why the government decided to build a railroad railway linking the east and west coasts of america to assess what the consequences of this railroad would be. Transcontinental railroad westward expansion webquest with key this 6 page document contains a webquest and teachers key related to the basics of the transcontinental railroad in america. I also tried to establish a foundation of earlier activities and assignments before getting to the dbq assessment. Pupils then respond to five questions related to the text.
From the chamber of commerce of newyork to the chamber of commerce of san francisco, on the completion of the pacific. Transcontinental railroad worksheet for 4th 5th grade. Who built the transcontinental railroad and why was it important. The possibility of railroads connecting the atlantic and pacific coasts was discussed in the congress even before the treaty with england which settled the question of the oregon boundary in 1846. A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country. The linda hall library transcontinental railroad website was created with generous support from the bnsf burlington northern santa fe foundation. The quiz has five multiplechoice questions about the transcontinental railroad. Transcontinental railroad webquest route and timelinestudents will gain knowledge about the building of the transcontinental railroad by completing a map and timeline webquest on the central pacific and union pacific. Nea transcontinental telegraph and railroad, grades 68. For chinese americans, all our reference points begin from here. As a new yorker in the mid1800s, the west was like narnia.
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