1. Westward Expansion and the Impact on Native Americans
Unit 6
SSUSH 12

2. The Transcontinental Railroad
Construction began in 1863 by 2 railroad companies through private donations and grants from the US government
The companies employed immigrants (many were Chinese) to build the railroad
Many died due to dangerous working conditions
The railroad cut travel time by horse and wagon (6 months) to 6 days by train

3. Westward Expansion and Native Americans
By the 1860s, the US gov’t was forcing many Native Americans onto reservations
White settlers were pushing the buffalo to the brink of extinction
Natives had no choice but to fight
In 1875, gold was discovered in South Dakota where the Lakota Sioux tribe lived and miners started moving into their territory
Sitting Bull, leader of the tribe, assembled an army to fight back
Battle of Little Big Horn occurred in where 2,000 Natives were killed

4. Wounded Knee Massacre
Sitting Bull was later killed and it caused natives to flee the area. US troops were ordered to round the natives up and place them in reservations
Wounded Knee Creek was the gathering point for capturing natives
On December 29, 1890 an accidental shot led to a massacre of more than 200 Lakota Sioux
THE WOUNDED KNEE MASSACRE ENDED THE NATIVE ATTEMPT TO STOP WHITE SETTLERS.