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Students will Congress passed the Homestead Act of 1862 to encourage settlers to “go west,” claim land, and create a homestead. The same year,
Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act to authorize government bonds and land grants to corporations (rather than states) that would develop and build railroads across western lands. With the establishment of a greater population and improved transportation, many changes swept across the country. Procedures
LESSON 2ObjectivesStudents will analyze and interpret photographs and other images as primary sources using the same strategies employed in Lesson 1. Materials
Historical BackgroundPhotographs are a key primary source, and images of the ceremony at Promontory Summit and of railroad workers help people gain insight into the gravity and significance of the people involved in this event and the impact it had on America. This iconic photograph records the celebration marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, when Leland Stanford, a cofounder of the Central Pacific Railroad, connected the eastern and western sections of the road with a golden spike. This “joining of the rails” was the culmination of work begun when the Central Pacific began laying track eastward from Sacramento, California, in 1863, and the Union Pacific started laying track westward from Omaha, Nebraska, in 1865. To meet its manpower needs, the Central Pacific hired 15,000 laborers, of whom more than 13,000 were Chinese immigrants. These immigrants were paid less than white workers and, unlike their white counterparts, had to provide their own lodging. The crew had the formidable task of laying the track across California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, blasting fifteen tunnels to cover 1,776 miles with 4,814 feet of new track. A close study of the photograph reveals that the Chinese workers were excluded from the photograph. This absence encourages students to consider how photographs reflect choices made by the artist—and to question accepting photographs as complete or comprehensive records of historical events. Procedure
How did the Pacific Railway Acts influence Western settlement?How did the Pacific Railway Acts influence western settlement? It gave large land grants to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads which provided new avenues for migration into the American interior.
How did the Homestead Act and the transcontinental railroad impact the settlement of the West?The Homestead Act, passed in 1862, allowed settlers to claim 160 acres of land for free. Another important factor was completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869; the railroad led to much more rapid western migration and also facilitated economic development.
How did settlers acquire land in the West?The 1862 Homestead Act accelerated settlement of U.S. western territory by allowing any American, including freed slaves, to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land.
What was the primary purpose of the homestead and Pacific Railway Acts passed in 1862?The Pacific Railway Act, which became law on July 1, 1862, offered government incentives to assist “men of talent, men of character, men who are willing to invest” in developing the nation's first transcontinental rail line.
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