Role 5: A Railroad Builder
It’s 1863 and construction has begun on a transcontinental, or coast-to-coast, railroad in order to connect the east to the west. Many soldiers who had fought in the Civil War and many Chinese and Irish immigrants are building the rail system. You are one of these railroad builders and you’ve joined one of the two companies who are competing to lay down the track (whoever lays more track gets more money and more land from the government). The Central Pacific is starting from California to build from the east, while the Union Pacific is starting from Nebraska (where the eastern railroad lines left off) and building west. As you work to connect the east and west in Promontory, Utah, you experience the geography of the land, natural resources, Native Americans, pioneers, and prospectors heading west.
Essential Questions:
1. Why did you choose to seek a job working to build the railroad? What made you qualified?
2. What were the working conditions and what were your responsibilities?
3. What type of geography and landscapes did you travel through and what did you notice about the landforms, natural resources, and animals of these areas?
4. What interactions with people did you experience along the way?
5. What obstacles and hardships did you face along the way?
6. What was it like to make it to Promontory, Utah?
7. Why was the Transcontinental Railroad built?
It’s 1863 and construction has begun on a transcontinental, or coast-to-coast, railroad in order to connect the east to the west. Many soldiers who had fought in the Civil War and many Chinese and Irish immigrants are building the rail system. You are one of these railroad builders and you’ve joined one of the two companies who are competing to lay down the track (whoever lays more track gets more money and more land from the government). The Central Pacific is starting from California to build from the east, while the Union Pacific is starting from Nebraska (where the eastern railroad lines left off) and building west. As you work to connect the east and west in Promontory, Utah, you experience the geography of the land, natural resources, Native Americans, pioneers, and prospectors heading west.
Essential Questions:
1. Why did you choose to seek a job working to build the railroad? What made you qualified?
2. What were the working conditions and what were your responsibilities?
3. What type of geography and landscapes did you travel through and what did you notice about the landforms, natural resources, and animals of these areas?
4. What interactions with people did you experience along the way?
5. What obstacles and hardships did you face along the way?
6. What was it like to make it to Promontory, Utah?
7. Why was the Transcontinental Railroad built?