Vocabulary: As you watch this video, look for these terms. Define them in your own words.
Dysentery
Formidable
Gradient
Inert
Nitroglycerin
Redundant
Stealthily
Treaty
Introduction: In 1869, the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of America, more than two
thousand miles apart, are linked by continuous metal rails. The
Transcontinental Railroad – the world’s first – is one of the most
ambitious human enterprises since the Great Wall of China, and
much of it is built by Chinese laborers who immigrate to the U.S.
in search of work and the promises of prosperity.
The railroad doesn’t just change the lives of Americans, it alters the
entire ecology of the continent – and there are enormous casualties
that result from this massive and transformative project. The vast
Plains, where buffalo and Native Americans roam, become home to
farmers who build houses of grass, and cowboys who trail their cattle
thousands of miles to the railheads. Steel roads and now steel wire
fences parcel up the Plains.
In less than a quarter of a century, the West is won – by the railroad,
the fence, and the plow.
Discussion Questions:
Why do you think President Lincoln decided to support the construction of the
Transcontinental Railroad, a very expensive project, even though the Civil War was
still going on?
What were some of the benefits of the Transcontinental Railroad? What were the
human costs of its construction? What groups of people built the railroad?
In this episode, the bison is described as a “mobile general store” for Native
Americans on the plains. What does this phrase mean? What were the consequences
of the destruction of the bison population for Native Americans?
Who was Theodore Judah and what was his significance in American history?
Why was he called “Crazy Judah”?
What happened at the Battle of Little Big Horn? What was the outcome of
conflicts between Native Americans and the U.S. military on the plains?
In 1886, Richard Sears established the first mail order catalog. Why do you
think this development was a significant event in U.S. history?
Primary Source: An Excerpt from Black Elk Speaks
“In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all
our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation, and
so long as the hoop was unbroken, the people flourished.
The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and
the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave
peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain,
and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and
endurance. This knowledge came to us from the outer world
with our religion.
Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle.
The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like
a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power,
whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same
religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a
circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the
seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come
back again to where they were.
The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood,
and so it is in everything where power moves. Our tepees were
round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a
circle, the nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great
Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.”
(Excerpt from Neihardt, John. Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life
Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux. University of Nebraska
Discussion Questions:
What are some of the images you find most interesting in this
passage?
What do you think the hoop represents in this passage? What
do you think threatened the sacred hoop?
Further Explorations: What else was going on during this time period?
Explore the sites below to learn more about the era
of U.S. history covered in this episode.
Places to Visit:
Interested in what you saw in this episode? Visiting
historic sites is a great way for teachers, students,
and families to learn more about the past. Explore
these historic sites, or look for local historic sites in
your town or city to visit.
Photographer Timothy H. O'Sullivan took this photo, one half of a stereo view of Alfred R. Waud, artist of Harper's Weekly, while he sketched on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in July of 1863.
13-inch seacoast mortars of Federal Battery No. 4 with officers of 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, near Yorktown, Virginia in May of 1862.
"A muss at headquarters," Army of the Potomac, near Falmouth, Virginia in April of 1863.
Mail wagon for headquarters, Army of the Potomac, at Falmouth, Virginia, March 1863.
Fugitive African Americans fording the Rappahannock River, Virginia during Pope's retreat in August of 1862.
Three "Johnnie Reb" Prisoners, captured at Gettysburg, in 1863.
"Council of War". General Ulysses S. Grant (2nd from left on bench at center left), Gen. George G. Meade, Assistant Secretary of War Charles A. Dana, and numerous staff officers meet at Massaponax Church, in Virginia on May 21, 1864.
A Confederate Mill in Petersburg, Virginia in May of 1865.
General Sherman's men destroying the railroad before the evacuation of Atlanta, Georgia in 1864.
Soldiers boxing in a Union camp in Petersburg, Virginia, in April of 1865.
The "Slaughter pen" at foot of Round Top, after the Battle of Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania in July of 1863.
A damaged locomotive among the ruins of the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad depot, in Richmond, Virginia, in April of 1865.
A group of Contrabands at Haxall's Mill, Richmond, Virginia, on June 9, 1865.
A mortar mounted on a railroad car, near Petersburg, Virginia.
Fugitive African Americans are fording the Rappahannock River in Virginia, August 1862, during the Second Battle of Bull Run.
A street view of St. Augustine, Florida.
Soldiers bathing in the North Anna River, Virginia, in May of 1864. The ruins of Richmond & Fredericksburg railroad bridge are visible in the distance.
Outside view of Fort Sumter, in March, 1865. Foot of slope on southwestern front, looking southeast.
Lord (William) Abinger and a group of officers at headquarters, Army of the Potomac, near Falmouth, Virginia, in April of 1863.
Details from the "Burnt district" of Richmond, Virginia, photographed in April of 1865.
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