Westward Movement

Day One: Miners  GOLD!! Following the California gold rush, gold was discovered in Colorado and Nevada. Nevada's strike became known as the Comstock Lode after the bonanza that it contained. As miners rushed to the mines boomtowns sprang up around the west.  Find out more about the boom of the gold rush using the following website links: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/californiagoldrush.htm ; http://www.darylburkhard.com/intothemine.html ; http://www.calgoldrush.com/ ; http://www.ushistory.org/us/41a.asp  ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIMXhmvuiQA ; https://youtube/xNKKFGWBXXI ; http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849 After you read about the mining boom, create a slide about miners on the frontier that includes the following information:

1. What were the reasons why someone would want to move out West and become a prospector?

2. What types of successes and difficulties were there for someone as a miner?

3. What is a boomtown and describe some things you might see in one?

4. Include 2 images (a photo of an actual boomtown and it's name, and a tool a miner would have used along with a brief description of it's purpose).

Day Two: Railroad Workers  SPANNING THE CONTENT!! As more people headed west and towns and business sprang up, the government decided to finance the railroad expansion from both coasts in an effort to connect east and west.  On July 1, 1862 President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act that would provide money to task two companies with building a railroad that would span the entire continent.  Find out more about the transcontinental railroad using the following website links: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/episodes/five/index.htm ; http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/five/railact.htm ; http://railroad.lindahall.org/essays/brief-history.html ; http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/transcontinental-railroad  After you read about the transcontinental railroad, create a slide about railroad workers that includes the following information:

1. What were the reasons someone would want to work on the railroad?

2. What companies worked on the railroad; what types of workers did each company hire and why?

3. What types of hardships or difficulties did workers face as each company made its way to Promontory Point, UT?

4. What effects did the railroad have in the west when it was finally completed in 1869?

5. Include 2 images (a map that shows the routes of the two companies and where they met, and a photograph from the construction of the railroad with a caption explaining the image).

Day Three: Ranchers  THE CATTLE KINGDOM!!  The Texas Longhorn cattle were adapted perfectly for the western environment. It could withstand the harsh weather and arid climate of the west. The railroad provided the link that connected southern cattle rancher and the eastern market. To get their cattle to the rail depots, ranchers hired men to drive the cattle along miles of trails. These men earned the nickname of "Cowboys" and the legend was born. Find out more about the legendary cowboys and the trails they rode using the following website links: http://www.texasalmanac.com/topics/agriculture/cattle-drives-started-earnest-after-civil-war ; http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/episodes/five/cowboys.htm ; https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/history/us-history-ii/settling-the-west/the-cattle-kingdom ; http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-the-chisholm-trail/12670 ; http://www.cartermuseum.org/edu_guides/smith/resources/jobs_activitypage.htm ; http://www.historyonthenet.com/American_West/cattle_industry.htm After you read about them, create a slide about ranchers on the frontier that includes the following information:

1. What were the reasons someone would have wanted to become a rancher/cowboy during this time?

2. What hardships or difficulties did ranchers face during cattle drives?

3. What were some of the different roles cowboys had while driving cattle along the trails (provide details for at least three roles)?

4. Who was Jesse Chisholm and why was the Chihsolm Trail important?

5. Include 2 images (a map that shows different cattle trails, and a photograph of a cowboy and cattle with a caption).

Create Your Argument Using the knowledge you have gained about the four different types of paths people took as they headed west determine which path would have been right for you.  Would you have become a miner, a railroad worker, a rancher, or a farmer on the Western frontier.  Defend your choice by including facts about the path that would have interested you, as well as including facts about the other paths that would have turned you away from that choice.  This should be done in paragraph format on the last slide of your presentation.  You may choose to include additional images that apply to the path you chose.