The Transcontinental Railroad

The Transcontinental Railroad — page 3 — Columbus landing in the Americas with the Spanish flag in 1492 In just a short time the United States doubled in size In 1803 the United States bought a big chunk of land from France France had claimed the plains between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River But now the United States owned that land The deal was called the Louisiana Purchase By 1848 the country spread all the way from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean 6

The Transcontinental Railroad — page 4 — The Changing Face of North America However North America was not empty when Europeans first arrived In 1492 Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas North America was already home to millions of people They had lived there for thousands of years These people became known as Native Americans But actually they belonged to hundreds of different nations As the border of the United States crept westward white settlers followed Some of the first white people who moved west of the Mississippi were fur trappers and traders Other westward travelers wanted land for farming and raising animals Some white settlers thought it was their religious duty to move west This belief was part of an idea known as the Manifest Destiny In 1848 gold was discovered in California After that discovery many more people moved west hoping to get rich 7

The Transcontinental Railroad — page 5 — Fights sometimes broke out between Native Americans and white settlers As white people moved to the West they met the Native Americans who lived there Sometimes these meetings were friendly But often the interactions were angry or even deadly Tensions were rising White people were taking control of Native American lands The Native American population was quickly decreasing because of the settlers The face of North America was changing A Hard Journey During the early and mid-1800s people could travel from the East to the West in two ways Both were 8

The Transcontinental Railroad — page 6 — long dangerous and uncomfortable One method was by sea A traveler could sail on a ship down around South America That journey took about six weeks The sea could be dangerous especially at the southern tip of South America Seasickness and cramped quarters made the trip miserable Some people sailed to Central America instead They got off the ship and crossed Central America to the Pacific Ocean Then they got on another ship and sailed north Crossing 9 PERSPECTIVES A Small Part of Our Once Great Country This quote comes from a 1793 letter to the US government from a group of Native American chiefs It shows how this group of Native Americans felt about white settlers moving into their land Our only demand is the peaceable possession of a small part of our once great country Look back and view the lands from whence we have been driven to this spot we can retreat no further because the country behind hardly affords food for its present inhabitants And we have therefore resolved to leave our bones in this small space to which we are now confined

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