Lesson 59
Do Now:
How was the first transcontinental railroad built? Who started building the
Railroad in the West? What were the working conditions like for those
building the Railroad in the west? Who started building the Railroad on
America’s Great Plains? What were the working conditions like for those
building railroad in the Great Plains? Besides the weather conditions, what
other dangers did those building the Railroad face? Where did the two
Railroad companies finally meet? What message was sent over the
telegraph lines after the railroad was finished? What impact did the
Railroad have on the Great Plains?
Motivation:
For six years, two railroad companies laid track. One company started in
the east and headed west. The other company started in the west and
headed east. The plan was to meet somewhere in the middle. Rivers,
plains and mountains had to be crosses. Each side was racing to put down
the most tracks before they met. In December of 1863, the crews of the
Central Pacific Railroad began working on the railroad in Sacramento,
California. Most of the workers were Chinese immigrants. The Chinese had
made the long trip to America for a chance to earn a decent living. For six
years, they pushed East. Sometimes they had to blast tunnels through
solid rock or hang out over the edges of cliffs to set dynamite. The Union
Pacific Railroad started building railroad tracks in Omaha, Nebraska. These
Black Americans, Irish and German immigrants pushed their way across
the Plains and up through the high Rockies. In the summer, many
workers fainted from the heat. In the winter, many died from the cold.
Snowdrifts as high as 40 feet were common obstacles. As the railroads
crossed the country, they cut through the hunting grounds of many Indian
tribes. Angry Indians began attacking railroad crews and supply trains. On
May 10, 1869, the two companies met at a place in Utah called
Promontory Point. The President of the Central Pacific Railroad, Leland
Stanford, pounded a gold spike into the ground. That last spike would hold
together the last two sections of rail! “From the Atlantic to the Pacific, the
country is linked by rail.” By the 1890’s, five rail lines ran across the Great
Plains to the West Coast. Hundreds of towns sprung up along their paths.
Beef cattle were brought to the cattle towns. Crops were brought to the
farm towns. From the towns the cattle and crops were shipped east. By
1900, the frontier disappeared as the machines of the East destroyed the
prairies.
CQ’s/Notes:
Watch: Clashes between Indians and Settlers in the Great Plains (2 min)
Watch
1. What group of people did the railroad and white settlers in the Great
Plains negatively impact?
a. Although the railroads brought good things to the white
settlers, the Plain Indians were not happy.
b. Many of the Indians were nomads; they followed roaming
buffalo herds and hunted them from horseback.
2. Why were the buffalo so important to the Plains Indians?
a. The buffalo was life itself.
b. No part of the animal was allowed to go to waste,
c. The Indians ate buffalo meat.
d. They used the skins for clothing and coverings for their tents.
e. They made tools and weapons from the bones.
f. Buffalo droppings became fuel for the Indian’s fires.
3. Compared to the Indians, how did the railroad companies view the
buffalo?
a. Unlike the Indians, others saw the buffalo as a cheap source
of food for their workers.
b. Railroad companies also saw the buffalo as a cause for
trouble. Sometimes the buffalo tore up track as they moved
from one place to another.
4. Who did the railroad companies hire to deal with the “troublesome”
Buffalo?
a. To deal with the buffalo, railroad companies began hiring
hunters.
b. One of the hunters hired was “Buffalo Bill” Cody.
5. What was special about “Buffalo Bill” Cody?
a. In one 18-month period, Cody killed more than 4,000 buffalo.
He did this while working for the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
6. What impact did the Railroad have on the buffalo?
a. Shooting Buffalo became a popular sport.
b. In the 1860s, there had been 15 million buffalo on the Great
Palins.
c. In the 1890’s there were only a few thousand buffalo left.
Watch: Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse (5 Min) & The Aftermath of the Battle
(2min)
7. Who was Sitting Bull?
a. Sitting Bull was an Indian warrior, medicine man and chief of
the Sioux Indians.
b. He earned his name when he was 12 years old and had forced
a buffalo calf to sit back on its haunches.
c. When white men came to the plains, Sitting Bull told his
people to follow the animals far into the hills and leave the
“strangers” alone.
d. Although other Indians agreed to the white man’s treaties,
Sitting Bull would not.
e. He sent his war chief, Crazy Horse, into battle against General
Custer. It was a Sioux victory, but not for long.
f. When forced to a reservation, Sitting Bull moved to Canada.
8. What was Canada like for Sitting Bull and his people?
a. There was no food in Canada. The weather was cold. The
Indians were starving.
b. Rather than return to a reservation, Sitting Bill spent several
years traveling with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show as a
real, live Indian Chief!
Watch: Wild West Show (3 min)
9. What happened to Crazy Horse in the end?
a. Finally, Crazy Horse was forced to live on a reservation.
b. Reservation agents feared that Crazy Horse would lead an
uprising.
c. When Crazy Horse was 60, soldiers and police came to arrest
him.
d. He turned to avoid arrest and was shot and killed in the back,
on the reservation.
e. The days of the great Indian tribes were over.
HW: Answer CQ’s and e-mail.