Transcript Transcontinental Railroad

Transcontinental Railroad
8th grade American Studies
Mr. Norred
The Transcontinental Railroad
• In 1862 President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act
creating two railroad companies to compete in completing a
railroad from coast to coast.
• Select where you would like to begin your learning.
Union Pacific
Construction
Central Pacific
Central Pacific Railroad
• The Central Pacific Railroad was lead by “the
big four”
– Leland Stanford, president
– Collis Huntington, vice-president
– Charles Crocker, field manager
– Mark Hopkins, treasurer
Route
• The Central Pacific started in Sacramento,
California and built eastward.
Central
Pacific
Problems
• Mountains (Sierra Nevada)
– Snow
– How do you get through mountains?
• Supplies
– Distance they had to travel from the east coast
• Took 3-7 months to receive them
• Financial
– The “big four” had to build the first 200 miles of
track with their own money
Workers
• With more and more workers leaving the
railroad to search for gold and silver, Crocker
hired some ten thousand Chinese.
– Why?
• Cheap
– Less than a dollar a day
• Worked jobs that others refused
• Performed with consummate skill under horrible
conditions
Quiz
• Who was not a member of the “big four”?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Charles Crocker
Collis Huntington
Theodore Judah
Leland Stanford
CORRECT!!!
• Nice job you remembered the “big four”
consisted of Hopkins, Stanford, Crocker and
Huntington. Theodore Judah had the idea of a
transcontinental railroad but was not a
member of the “big four”.
• Move on to the next question.
Are you sure??
• Maybe we should go back and review what we
learned. Make sure you look over the key
players of the Central Pacific Railroad.
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image is being sought.
Central Pacific Railroad
• The Central Pacific Railroad was lead by “the
big four”
– Leland Stanford, president
– Collis Huntington, vice-president
– Charles Crocker, field manager
– Mark Hopkins, treasurer
Quiz
• Click on all the problems the Central Pacific ran
into during construction.
Native Americans
Mountains
Lack of Money
Buffalo
Workers Leaving
Tornadoes
Supply Issues
Snow
• Return to the home slide and pick a new topic.
Union Pacific Railroad
• The Union Pacific Railroad was lead by:
– Thomas Durant, vice president and active head of
the railroad
– Oaks Ames, principal financial backer
– Grenville Dodge, lead construction
– John and Dan Casement, organized the workers
and handled money
Dodge
Durant
Route
• The Union Pacific started in Omaha, Nebraska
and built westward.
Union
Pacific
Problems
• Native Americans (Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho)
– Destroyed track
– Attacked workers
• Weather
– Rain brought floods, washed out the tracks
– Tornadoes
• Terrain
– Flood Plains
– The Snake River
Workers
• The Union Pacific had a difficult time finding
workers early on.
– Things changed in 1865.
• Civil War ended
– Ex-slaves needed work
– Former soldiers needed work
– Irish labor from New York
• Cheap
Quiz
• Through what states did the Union Pacific
build tracks?
A. California, Utah, Nevada
B. Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming
C. Nebraska, Colorado, Utah
D. California, Colorado, Utah
CORRECT!!!
• Nice job!! By using the map, you were able to
discover through what states the Union Pacific
laid track.
• Move on to the next question.
Are you sure??
• Maybe you should go back and review the
map of the route and look at what states the
track goes through.
Permission to use
image is being sought.
Route
• The Union Pacific started in Omaha, Nebraska
and built westward.
Union
Pacific
True or False
The end of the American Civil War had a large
impact on the Union Pacific Railroad.
True
False
Correct!!
• Nice Job!! The American Civil War provided
the Union Pacific with thousand of workers.
Former soldiers needed work and the Union
Pacific provided them jobs.
• Return to the home page and pick a new
topic.
INCORRECT!!
• Go back and review the problems the Union
Pacific faced. Finding workers was an ongoing
issue until the war ended.
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image is being sought.
Workers
• The Union Pacific had time finding workers
early on.
– Things changed in 1865.
• Why?
– Civil War ended
– Former soldiers needed work
– Irish labor from New York
• Cheap
Construction
• Jobs
– Surveyor
• Avoid steep grade
• find shortest route
– Graders
• Level and smooth track bed
• Tough work, 12 hour days
Construction
• Jobs Continued
– Rail Setters
• Laid the rails
• Tough physical work
– Spikers
• Laid spikes every 4 feet 8 1/2 “
• Spikes were 6 inches long
• Three swings per spike
– Tampers
• Followed with gravel or sand to fill between ties
Cost
• The government would provide subsidies for
the amount of track the companies laid
–Flat land
• $16,000 per mile
–Mountain country
• $48,000 per mile
Summary
• On May 10, 1869 the two companies met at
Promontory Point, Utah.
• The Central Pacific set a record of laying 10
miles of track in one day, a record that stands
today.
• Proceed to review question
Quiz
• If a company laid down 10 miles of track on flat
land and 20 miles over mountain country, how
much money would the government provide?
A.
B.
C.
D.
$800,000
$1,120,000
$480,000
$1,440,000
Are you sure??
• Maybe we should go back and review what we
learned. Make sure you look over what the
government pays for the different types of
land.
Permission to use
image is being sought.
Cost
• The government would provide subsidies for
the amount of track the companies laid
–Flat Land
• $16,000 per mile
–Mountain country
• $48,000 per mile
Correct!!
• Nice Job!! You figured out that the
government pays $16,000 per mile of flat land
and $48,000 for mountain country.
• Return home