Lesson 5: Mining, Railroads, and the Economy Flashcards
Consolidate Definition
to combine
Gauge Definition
the width of a train track
Lode Definition
a rich vein of gold, silver, or other valuable ore
Network Definition
a system of connected railroad lines
Pool Definition
a system in which several railroad companies agreed to divide up the business in an area and set prices
Rebate Definition
a discount
Subsidy Definition
a land grant or other financial help from the government
Transcontinental Railroad Definition
a railroad that stretches across a continent from coast to coast
Vigilante Definition
a self-appointed enforcer of the law
What event started the Western mining boom and the Western Gold Rush? What happened when this gold rush ended?
The western mining boom had begun with the California gold rush of 1849. When the gold rush ended, miners looked for new opportunities. A mere rumor sent them racing east in search of new strikes.
How was the the Comstock Lode found and founded in Nevada 1859? What was found in the heavy blue sand of the lode that proved to be valuable?
Two prospectors struck gold in Nevada in 1859. Then, another miner, Henry Comstock, appeared. “The land is mine,” he cried, demanding to be made a partner. From then on, Comstock boasted about “his” mine. The strike became known as the Comstock Lode. A lode is a rich vein of gold or silver. Comstock and his partners often complained about the heavy blue sand that was mixed in with the gold. It clogged the devices used for separating out the gold and made the gold hard to reach. When Mexican miners took the “danged blue stuff” to an expert in California, tests showed that it was loaded with silver. Comstock had stumbled onto one of the richest silver mines in the world.
Where did miners move to beside the Comstock Lode?
Miners moved into many other areas of the West. Some found valuable ore in Montana and Idaho. Others struck it rich in Colorado. In the 1870s, miners discovered gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In the late 1890s, thousands rushed north to Alaska after major gold strikes were made there.
How were boomtowns built so quickly? Who were most of the settlers in boomtowns? How did some women profit off boomtowns? How long did boomtowns generally last, and what happened to them after miners left? What is a ghost town?
Gold and silver strikes attracted thousands of prospectors. Towns sprang up almost overnight near all the major mining sites. First, miners built a tent city near the diggings. Then, people came to supply the miners’ needs. Traders brought mule teams loaded with tools, food, and clothing. Merchants hauled in wagon-loads of supplies and set up stores. Soon, wood-frame houses, hotels, restaurants, and stores replaced the tents. For example, it took less than a year for the mining camp at the Comstock Lode to become the boomtown of Virginia City, Nevada. Most settlers in the boomtowns of the mining frontier were men. However, enterprising women also found ways to profit. Some women ran boardinghouses and laundries. Others opened restaurants, where miners gladly paid high prices for home-cooked meals. Many boomtowns lasted for only a few years. When the gold or silver ore was gone, the miners moved away. Without the miners for customers, businesses often had to close. In this way, a boomtown could quickly go bust and turn into a ghost town. Still, some boomtowns survived and prospered even after the mines shut down. In these towns, miners stayed and found new ways to make a living.
What were some negatives of the surge of miners in the West, along with cattle ranchers and homesteaders? What happened as large companies took on mining?
The surge of miners in the West created problems, as did the arrival of cattle ranchers and homesteaders. Mines and towns polluted clear mountain streams. Miners cut down forests to get wood for buildings. They also forced Native Americans from the land. Foreign miners were often treated unfairly. In many camps, mobs drove Mexicans from their claims. Chinese miners were heavily taxed or forced to work claims abandoned by others. Few miners ever got rich. Much of the gold and silver lay deep underground. It could be reached only with costly machinery. Eventually, most mining in the West was taken over by large companies that could afford to buy this equipment. Furthermore, independent prospectors like Henry Comstock largely disappeared. They were replaced by paid laborers who worked for the large companies.
How did miners use vigilantes to keep the order in their towns? What were other ways miners tried to enforce the law?
Lawlessness and disorder often accompanied the rapid growth of a town. Stories have exaggerated the number of fights and killings that took place in these towns, but some towns actually were violent places. In response, miners sometimes resorted to organizing groups of vigilantes, or self-appointed law enforcers. Vigilantes tracked down outlaws and punished them, usually without trials. A common punishment was lynching.
Occasionally, vigilante groups did not form to fight crime. At least one San Francisco group organized to take political control of the city. Informal methods of governing gradually gave way to more formal arrangements.
Remember: In 1861, Colorado, Dakota, and Nevada were organized into territories. Idaho and Arizona followed in 1863 and Montana in 1864. The process of permanent settlement and government had begun.
In 1861, Colorado, Dakota, and Nevada were organized into territories. Idaho and Arizona followed in 1863 and Montana in 1864. The process of permanent settlement and government had begun.
How did Native American view railroads? How did miners view railroads? What was the impact of railroads?
To many Native Americans, the railroad was a terrifying monster, an “iron horse” belching black smoke and moving at stunning speeds. However, for the people of mining towns, railroads meant supplies, new townsfolk, and a rapid means of transporting their gold and silver. The West needed a transportation system that could carry heavy loads over great distances at a cost low enough to guarantee a profit. It is no wonder, then, that railroad companies raced to lay track to the mines and boomtowns. In time, the new technology of railroad transport opened the West and fostered economic growth for the nation.
What two companies were competing to see who could build the first continental railroad? How did it play out? How did the government provide financial support, or subsidy?
In 1863, two companies began a race to build the first transcontinental railroad. A transcontinental railroad is one that stretches across a continent from coast to coast. The Union Pacific Railroad started building a rail line westward from Omaha, Nebraska. The Central Pacific Railroad began in Sacramento, California, and built eastward. A local paper reported:
“With rites appropriate to the occasion … ground was formally broken at noon for the commencement of the Central Pacific Railroad—the California link of the continental chain that is to unite American communities now divided by thousands of miles of trackless wilderness.”
—Sacramento Union, January 8, 1863
The federal government helped the railroad companies because it felt that rail lines in the West would benefit the entire nation. The government’s aid came in the form of subsidies. A subsidy is financial aid or a land grant from the government. Congress lent money to the railroad companies and gave them land. For every mile of track completed, the railroad companies received twenty sections of land in the states along the route and forty sections per mile in the territories. By the time the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads were completed, they had received about 45 million acres of land. Often, both business and government ignored the fact that Native Americans lived on the land.
Remember: To build railroads, workers first had to lay wooden beams, or ties, then a layer of gravel to hold the ties in place. Finally, they used spikes to nail the rails to the ties.
To build railroads, workers first had to lay wooden beams, or ties, then a layer of gravel to hold the ties in place. Finally, they used spikes to nail the rails to the ties.
What was the process of building the Transcontinental Railroads? How did Immigrants and African Americans play a vital role in their construction? What were some difficulties?
Both companies had trouble getting workers. Labor was scarce during the Civil War. Also, the work was backbreaking and dangerous, and the pay was low. The railroad companies hired immigrant workers, who accepted low wages. The Central Pacific brought in thousands of workers from China. The Union Pacific hired newcomers from Ireland. African Americans and Mexican Americans also worked for each line. The railroad workers faced a daunting task. The Central Pacific had to carve a path across the rugged Sierra Nevada. The Union Pacific had to cut through the towering Rocky Mountains. Snowstorms and avalanches killed workers and slowed progress. At times, crews cutting tunnels through rock advanced only a few inches a day. Building the railroad forced workers to adapt to or modify environments as varied as forests, deserts, and mountains. In some places, the railroad was built around mountains. In other places, however, workers blasted tunnels through mountains with new technologies such as specialized tools and explosives to achieve their goals.
What was the golden spike at the end of the Transcontinental Railroad a symbol of? What was the impact of railroads on the West, urbanization, and the United States as a whole?
The Central Pacific and Union Pacific met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. Leland Stanford, president of the Central Pacific, dropped a solid-gold spike into a pre-drilled hole in the rail. In doing so, he joined the two tracks and united the country. The nation’s first transcontinental railroad was complete. With the Civil War fresh in their minds, people cheered this new symbol of unity. The words that were engraved on the golden spike expressed their feelings:
“May God continue the unity of our Country as the Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world.”
—Engraved on the Golden Spike
Before long, other major rail lines linked the West and the East. The railroads brought economic growth and new settlement all across the West. They enabled people, supplies, and mail to move quickly and cheaply across the plains and mountains. Wherever rail lines went, settlements—“railroad towns”—sprang up along the tracks. The largest towns and cities developed where major railroad lines met. Cities where sea and land transportation met, such as Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, experienced huge population growth with the coming of the railroads. Western cities, such as Denver, Cheyenne, and Wichita, grew when railroads were joined to the great cattle trails. Thus the railroad—the most advanced transportation system of its day—had a major impact on the urbanization of the United States.
How did the development of railroads increase Western statehood?
Because of their rapid growth, western territories began to apply for statehood. Nevada became a state in 1864; Colorado, in 1876; North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington, in 1889; Idaho and Wyoming, in 1890.
How did the Civil War enforce the importance of railroads?
The Civil War showed the importance of railroads. Railroads carried troops and supplies to the battlefields. They also moved raw materials to factories. After the war, railroad companies began to build new lines all over the country.
How did railroad production increase after the 1869 Transcontinental Railroad? What was unique about James Hill’s transcontinental railroad?
Railroad builders raced to create thousands of miles of new tracks. In the years after completion of the first transcontinental rail line in 1869, Americans built three more. James Hill, a Canadian-born owner, finished the last major cross-country line in 1893. His Great Northern Railway wound from Duluth, Minnesota, to Everett, Washington.
Unlike other rail lines, the Great Northern was built without financial aid from Congress. To make his railroad succeed, Hill had to turn a profit from the start. He encouraged farmers and ranchers to move to the Northwest and settle near his railroad. He gave seed to farmers and helped them buy equipment. He imported special bulls in order to breed hardier cattle. Not only was Hill’s policy generous, it also made good business sense. In the end, Hill’s railroad proved very successful even without government assistance, and it was a key to the development of the Northwest.
