Do Now : How did the gold rush and the coming of the railroad affect the West? Mining and Railroading Read the chapter summary.

Why did merchants often follow miners? What caused large numbers of miners to suddenly leave a boomtown?

Chapter 19, Section 2 Notes Comstock Lode – 1859 gold strike in Sierra Nevada by Henry Comstock; thousands of prospectors who migrated to other areas of the West in search of gold and silver The mining boom developed a number of problems: loss of forests, water pollution, and racism The most significant effect of the gold and silver boom on development in the West was a “population boom” that came with it Foreign miners faced many challenges such as mobs forcing Mexicans to leave their claims

Boomtowns: Do they exist today? Ghost Towns: For Example: Garnet, Montana, now a ghost town, was founded in 1895 and swelled to 1,000 people by By 1905, the population was under 150.

Transcontinental Railroad In 1863 two companies raced to build lines across the country Mostly workers took the job which paid little and was grueling With the fresh in Americans minds, people saw the railroad as a symbol of Just some additional information for the sake of knowing… Central and Union Pacific immigrant unity Civil War

THE WILD, WILD WEST Word Search Answer Key homesteadersLittle Bighorn Pike’s PeakCentral/Union Pacific reservationPromontory Point ranchesgold DodgeTranscontinental buffalo/bisonChisholm Charles Crockerspike goldenbrand Sitting Bull/Crazy Horse

MAKE A DECISION Making decisions involves these steps: Determining what decision is to be made and gathering the information needed to make it Identifying the available options and the possible consequences of each one Evaluating the options and choosing one How do you think gold rushers and railroad builders followed these steps in one form or another? Think of a decision in your life. How might these steps help you solve it?