The West - Railroads!!! - Team 9 Titans Lincoln Middle School

The West - Railroads!!!

03/22/2011

Respond for a homework pass/bonus points!!!
Use your initials ONLY!!!
Explain why the railroads are the key to understanding the development of the American West?
Respond with one answer... (other students add to the conversation...)

Comments

HAMH.

03/22/2011 14:35

Railroads were the key to understanding the development of the American West, because it brought people, which caused many people to settle near them. They were also key, because it opened up the west and starting helping with importing and exporting goods, like agriculture and cattle.

03/22/2011 14:46

Railroads are key to understanding the development of the West because with railroads came people.People from all over came to the west for a better life.Asians and African-Americans were those people who came to the west.Asians help bulit the transcontinental railroad and did dangerous tasks to complete the railroad.African-Americans became cowhands and earned just as much as a white cowhand. African-americans did still faced racisim but being in the west was much better than fearing for your life 24/7. If people such as Asians and African-americans did not come to the west then the transcontinental might not have been completed. If people did not migrate to the west than therefore the west could not have expanded

mmm

03/22/2011 15:00

Railroads are the key to understanding the development of the American West because they basically revolutionized the entire nation. Creating the transcontinental railroad was the start of a chain reaction. After the railroad was completed, it attracted people to move out West and discover new things. Laws would be made, states would spring up, new methods of farming and living would be discovered, as well as the existence of Native Americans. When people moved West, they discovered that the land was good for farming and ranching. Ofcourse though, the railroad played some purpose into all of this. Without the railroad, the farmers and ranchers wouldn't have been able to make a living. They couldn't ship their goods off to sell them without the railroad. Ofcourse, this started the Long Drive, which was the long journey that conastantly consisted of herding the cattle 1,000 miles or more to meet the railroad so they could ship them off and get paid. Not only did railroads ship cattle and farmgoods, but they also shipped gold and silver. Transportation played a vital role in the survival of mining communities. Gold and silver had little value unless they could reach factories, ports, and markets. Wagons and buggy's hitched to horses could not move people and goods fast enough to meet the demands, but railroads did. In addition to uniting the West and East coasts, railroads also attracted people to move out West. Enough people were attracted to move out West that new states began to spring up, and little towns were created along the tracks of the railroads. These towns, called Boomtowns, relied on the railroad for transportation of everything. People, food, animals, clothes, supplies, everything. Without the railroad, people could have starved, or not made a living. When you think of the West, you think of violence and cowboys and outlaws. Well, the railroad also has a part with that too. Because people relied so heavily on the railroad to ship things, there was some valuable cargo on the train. Jesse James, a former confederate solder, who had turned into an outlaw, was famous for the first train robbery. Ofcourse, not everyone who moved West was good natured, so naturally there were some criminals among the people. Boomtowns were often violent and chaotic. There was no law, and especially no law enforcers. Men carried around guns and drank and gambled and most likely cause trouble. If It weren't for the railroad, the Boomtowns wouldn't have survived. If the railroads hadn't made people move west, we wouldn't have discovered the existence of Native American life. The railroads caused massive amounts of trouble for the Native Americans. Including the Americans barging in and stealing their land, killing off their food source(buffalo), and then trying to get rid of Native Americans when it was their land to begin with. You see, if the Railroad hadn't been built, we would have never had the advantage of knowing all this. Americans wouldn't have decided to move West, there was nothing out there but land and no contact with the outside world. But with the railroad there, it basically linked the whole nation together, a month's journey could then be taken in 6 hours, information and shipments could be transported quicker, people could go to a different state without the threat of starvation ad distance. The Railroads truly were the key to understanding the growth of the American West.

An C

03/23/2011 07:42

Railroads did a lot for theAmerican Nation. It help contruct new towns and cities.Many different type of people like Asian-Americans worked in mines and help find gold. African Americans started to live a better life than before.So 'lots of things happend in period of time so they were a BIG key in American history.

SRR

03/23/2011 13:11

Railroads were the beginning of developing the west, I think of it as a chain reaction or time line. First the Railroads were built, then train stations, and houses. Americans also discovered natural resources such as silver and gold. The railroads didn’t just bring people to and from places they helped make the Nation what it is today.

eck

03/23/2011 19:01

Railroads where the key to westward expansion because it provided a new way of transportation and new towns across the country.The railroads allowed people to travel from the West to the East. In my opinion it was the beginning of modern day technology we have today.The railroad provided a new life for many people.Out in the West you were free to live your own life with no one controlling you.The West was particularly important to African-Americans from the South who escaped to the West be free of the Jim Crow Laws.These towns that were put up as the railroad was being built were called boomtowns.Most boomtowns had more men than women and many boomtowns were violent.So,not only did the railroad provide a new way of life for many,it also helped to make more profit and find great fortunes.Many people in the West struck Gold and Silver.This started a crazy demand of people trying to get to the West.Most people used the Railroad as their way of transportation to the West.Many people used the railroad for a way of transporting cattle to places such as New York where they were in high demand.Railroads where the start of a new life for people all across the country.Without it people would have no way of transportation and would not be able to reiceive items needed to survive(food,clothing etc.). Although for the most part the railroad was a huge part of the expansion of the American West and had many good factors to it , it was the Native Americans worst nightmare.They lost the thing they loved the most in life, their land.But ,eventually things calmed down with the Native Americans.If the railroad had never existed we wouldn't be where we are today.The railroad was not only a big part of the American West but the new begining of America.

The West - Railroads!!!

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