What You Will Learn
Miners and railroad builders led to settlement of the West. Native
Americans struggled to maintain their way of life. Western
farmers faced many challenges.
Chapter 17 Focus Question
As you read this chapter, keep this question in mind: How did the
growth of big business affect the development of the West?
Section 1
Mining and Railroads
Section 1 Focus Question
How did mining and railroads draw people to the West? To begin
answering this question,
. Find out about the boom and bust of the gold and silver rushes.
. Learn about the railroad boom.
Section 1 Summary
Americans rushed west after gold was discovered. Railroad
companies helped open up the West to settlement.
Boom and Bust
After the Civil War, the western frontier stretched from the
Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. It took in mountains,
prairies, and forests. It was home to Spanish settlers and Native
Americans. Settlers heading west passed over the Great Plains,
which they thought were barren.
The trickle of settlers headed west became a flood when gold
was discovered in California in 1842. Would-be miners spread
from California to South Dakota.
In 1859, silver was found in the Sierra Nevada on land
claimed by Henry Comstock. The Comstock Lode became one of
the richest silver mines in the world, worth $300 million. But the
money did not go to Henry Comstock. Only big mining companies had the expensive machinery required to mine the ore deep
underground. Comstock sold his mining rights for just $11,000.
By the 1880s, western mining had become big business.
Miners lived in boomtowns that sprang up overnight and often
disappeared just as quickly. Boomtowns provided food,
board, and equipment, all at greatly inflated prices. Women who
joined the mining boom could make a good living running
restaurants, laundries, and boarding houses.
Almost half of all miners were foreign-born. Foreign miners
often faced hostility. For example, laws restricted Chinese miners
to claims abandoned by others.
.
Mining towns sprouted so fast that law and order were hard
to find. People formed groups of vigilantes, or self-appointed law
keepers, to hunt down people they considered criminals and to
punish people as they saw fit. Eventually, residents of western
towns brought in judges and sheriffs as part of their push to
become U.S. territories.
In some mining towns, all the ore was soon extracted. Mines
shut down and miners moved away. Businesses failed and merchants left. Boomtowns became ghost towns. √
The Railroad Boom
Before 1860, the railroads stopped at the Mississippi River. The
federal government offered the railroad companies subsidies, or
grants of land and money, to extend their lines. For every mile of
track they laid, railroads got ten square miles of land next to the
track. Very quickly, the railroads owned over 180 million acres, an
area the size of Texas. They also received federal loans.
In 1862, Leland Stanford and his partners won the right to
build a railroad line eastward from Sacramento. Their company,
called the Central Pacific Railroad, was to build the western
portion of the transcontinental railroad, a railroad line that
spanned the continent. At the same time, the Union Pacific
Railroad was building west from Omaha. The two railroads hired
thousands of workers, including native-born whites, Mexican
Americans, African Americans, and immigrants from Mexico,
Ireland, or China, to build each line. The work was hazardous, and
the pay was low. Finally, on May 10, 1869, the lines met in
Promontory, Utah.
With the transcontinental railroad in place, the West became a
fixed part of the U.S. economy. Goods flowed between the East
and the West, and railway stops turned into towns that grew
rapidly. Eight western territories became states in the period from
1864 to 1890. √
Check Your Progress
1. What was the Comstock Lode?
2. How did railroads come to own millions of acres of land?
Section 1 Notetaking Study Guide
Question to Think About As you read Section 1 in your textbook and take notes, keep
this section focus question in mind: How did mining and railroads draw people to the
West?
Use these charts to record key information from the section. Some information has been
filled in to get you started.
The Discovery of Gold and Silver in the West
The Comstock Lode
. Discovered in Nevada in 1859
. Importance: one of the richest ________________________________.
. Effect: made __________ a center for _______________.
The Boom Spreads
. Few prospectors became rich because ___________________________________
________________________________________________.
. By the 1880s, western mining had become ______________________________.
Life in Mining Towns
. Tent cities arose around mining camps and quickly became boomtowns.
. Nearly half of all miners were ________________________.
. Because mining towns grew so quickly, it was hard to find ______ and _________.
So, miners formed groups of ____________, who ________________________
and ______________________________.
. As towns grew, local residents looked for more lasting forms of _________________.
. In some towns, all the ore was soon extracted, and mines _______________, miners
______________, businesses ____________, and merchants ___________.
The Railroad Boom
Aid to Railroads
. To encourage the growth of railroads, the _____________________ offered railroads
_____________, which are ___________________.
. Railroads also received _______________________.
The Transcontinental Railroad
. A transcontinental railroad is a railroad line that _______________________.
. In ________, the _______________ Railroad won the right to build a line eastward
from ___________. The ____________ Railroad would build west from ________.
. The railroads hired thousands of workers, including 10,000
. On May 10, _________, the two lines met in ________________________.
Effects of the Railroads
. On population: _______________________________
. Political Changes: ________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________.
Refer to this page to answer the Chapter 17 Focus Question on page 273.