TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Westward Expansion After 1865

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Objectives Explain how the discovery of gold and silver affected the West. Describe life in the western mining towns. Examine how railroads spread and helped the West to develop.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Terms and People vigilante – self-appointed law keeper subsidy – grant of land or money transcontinental railroad – railroad line that spanned the continent

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. How did mining and railroads draw people to the West? In 1865, the American frontier stretched from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of people moved west, hoping to find a new life. west

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The California gold rush of 1849 captured the American imagination. Before long, miners were racing into the Sierra Nevada, the Rockies, and the Black Hills, searching for gold. Gold!

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. In 1859, prospectors struck gold at a find that became known as the Comstock Lode. Comstock Lode located in Sierra Nevada contained both gold and silver was one of the world ’ s richest silver mines made Nevada a center of mining

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. After the Civil War ended, more and more prospectors rushed west. New discoveries seemed to be popping up everywhere. Montana Idaho South Dakota Colorado Alaska

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. With each new find, miners rushed to the site. Others soon followed, bringing supplies and opening stores. Mining camps quickly grew from tent cities to boomtowns.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. People from around the world poured into the boomtowns. Women, too, joined the mining boom, making money by opening restaurants and other businesses. Nearly half of the miners were foreign-born, from places such as Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, and China.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Few prospectors, however, struck it rich. Mining underground was difficult and expensive. Many miners eventually sold their claims to large mining companies. Profits prospectorsmining companies Profits

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Many boomtowns grew so fast that they had no real government. Vigilantes often imposed their own form of justice. As populations grew, some areas organized into territories subject to U.S. laws. U.S. Territories Colorado Dakota Nevada Arizona Idaho Montana

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The mining boom helped create a railroad boom. Before 1860, railroad lines ended at the Mississippi River. To encourage westward expansion, the government gave subsidies to the railroads to build new tracks. west

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Many of the new lines led to the boomtowns of the West.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The railroads also began work to fulfill a longtime goal — to build a transcontinental railroad that would stretch from coast to coast. Two railroads won the right to build from opposite directions, eventually meeting in the middle. Central Pacific Union Pacific

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The Central Pacific headed east from Sacramento. The Union Pacific headed west from Omaha.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Bad weather and the rugged terrain made work difficult and dangerous.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. It took thousands of workers and many years to complete the job. Laborers came from many countries around the world — including China.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Finally, on May 10, 1869, the two lines met at Promontory, Utah.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The new railroad lines brought even more settlers west. Several new states were soon carved from the rapidly growing region. Nevada1864 Colorado1876 North Dakota1889 South Dakota1889 Montana1889 Washington1889 Idaho1890 Wyoming1890