Transcontinental Railroad

What drove Americans West in greater numbers in the latter 19th century?

• cheap, fertile farmland

• new railroads

• gold and silver rushes

• fresh start, opportunity

• search for a Northwest passage

Where did most cattle trails begin and end?

• St. Louis; San Francisco

• Texas; railroad heads

• Chicago; New York

• Mexico; Canada

What resources were scarce for homesteads in the West?

• water

• fertile soil

• wood

• company

• land

What inventions helped settle the West?

• train

• wind mill

• barbed wire

• social & political clubs

• meat packing plants

Which two railroad companies built the transcontinental railroad?

• Central Pacific

• Union Pacific

• B&Q Railroad

• California Pacific

• American Pacific

Who primarily financed the transcontinental railroad?

• federal government

• state & local governments

• railroad companies

• private investors

Which groups comprised the primary labor forces working on the transcontinental railroad?

• Irish and Chinese

• Black and Irish

• Soldiers and Chinese

• Immigrants and Japanese

• Native Americans and Mexicans

When was the transcontinental railroad completed?

• 1865

• 1869

• 1873

• 1899

Which two groups did the railroads bring into the West in the largest numbers?

• cowboys

• railroad workers

• homesteaders

• gold seekers

• buffalo hunters

Which Western outlaw was charged with twelve murders by age of 18?

• William Bonney (Billy the Kid)

• Black Bart

• Dalton Gang

• Jesse James