United States History: 1877 to the Present

Reshaping the Nation and the Emergence of Modern America: 1877 to the Early 1900s

USII.3

The student will demonstrate knowledge of how life changed after the Civil War by

a) identifying the reasons for westward expansion;
b) explaining the reasons for the increase in immigration, growth of cities, new inventions, and challenges arising from this expansion;
c) describing racial segregation, the rise of “Jim Crow,” and other constraints faced by African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South;
d) explaining the rise of big business, the growth of industry, and life on American farms;
e) describing the impact of the Progressive Movement on child labor, working conditions, the rise of organized labor, women’s suffrage, and the temperance movement.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Begin the lesson with a question about why westward expansion occurred.
Explain that new opportunities and technological advances led to westward migration following the Civil War.
Introduce the reasons for westward expansion which included:

Opportunities for land ownership
Technological advances, including the Transcontinental Railroad
Possibility of wealth created by the discovery of gold and silver
Adventure
A new beginning for former slaves

Explain that in 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act that gave 160 acres of public land to the head of families or individuals over 21. Non-citizens could also acquire the land if they intended to become a citizen.
Discuss that in 1860, there were no railroads west of the Missouri River. Building a transcontinental railroad would allow people to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. To reach this goal, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act in 1862. Thousands of immigrants and African Americans were hired to build the railroads.
Explain that the 1849 California gold rush was the first of many gold rushes in the West. Throughout Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and the Dakotas, the search for gold, silver, and other metals continued.
Discuss that many people were attracted the West and its adventure as exhibited through the life of the cowboys.
Explain that many African Americans were attracted to the West and the idea of a new beginning. Many African Americans went into farming and ranching.
Give each student (or pair of students) a blank physical/political map of the U.S. during the time period 1865 to 1900 and a question regarding the route of the Transcontinental Railroad, the emerging areas of urbanization, the removal of American Indians (First Americans) to reservations, or the major physical features of the United States. Allow students to use their textbook and/or atlas to research and answer their question. Have students create a symbol(s) for the answer, place the symbol(s) on their map in the appropriate place(s) and include these symbols in a map legend. Some suggested questions for this map activity include the following:

What were the major industries of the Northeast region of the United States after the Civil War?
What two cities in the northeastern United States became industrial powerhouses after the Civil War?
Where did the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad meet?
In which part of the country was steel manufacturing concentrated?
What was the route of the Union Pacific Railroad?
What was the route of the Central Pacific Railroad?
What raw materials were mined in the western part of the United States?
Which industrial city became a center for the meat packing business?
What were the primary locations for Indian Reservations by 1890?
What states experienced large numbers of Chinese immigrants?

After they have answered the first question, give each student or student pair a new question. Check the accuracy of students' answers as they progress throughout the activity. Encourage students to make their map colorful and to include a title and legend.
Once students have answered all the questions and completed their maps, have them use the maps to draw inferences about the historical time period. In a class discussion, prompt them to consider the impact of railroad expansion, growing urbanization, and settlement patterns during this time. Also have them consider what influence physical features of the landscape had on industry, farming, and urbanization.
A sample grading rubric for this lesson is available. For the Sample Grading Rubric: Illustration of a U.S. Map, CLICK HERE.

WEB SITES

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/westward.html
Collection of Web sites on the westward expansion

http://www.americanwest.com/pages/awexpans.htm
American westward expansion

http://www.snowcrest.net/jmike/westexp.html
Westward expansion

http://www.nps.gov/jeff/museum-of-westward-expansion.htm
Museum of Westward Expansion

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/
PBS Resources and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad

http://www.cprr.org/
Central Pacific Railroad

http://bushong.net/dawn/about/college/ids100/
History of the Transcontinental Railroad

http://www.lucernevalley.org/local/m_gs.htm
Gold and silver mining

http://www.archaeolink.com/american_gold_rushes_gold_rush_h.htm
Western gold and silver rushes

http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/african/west/west.htm
African Americans and the Old West

http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/slatta/essays/blackcowboys.htm
African American Cowboys

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