Last Edited
Contextual Paragraph:
The discovery of gold in California in 1848 inspired a massive human migration first in a westward direction and subsequently eastward from there to Nevada and Colorado where later discoveries were made. The travels of the first gold seekers were difficult and time consuming as the choices for easterners to travel to the gold fields were overland by wagon trains or by sea; the Atlantic Ocean to the Isthmus of Panama, overland to the Pacific Ocean sailing northward to California.
Travelers who crossed the Great Plains and traversed the Rocky Mountains began to realize that perhaps there was value in something other than gold and later silver. As the population in the western territories grew, both sections realized that a better transportation system, e.g. railroads, would greatly benefit the economies of both sections.
Passage of the Homestead Act (1862) and the Transcontinental Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 set the stage for the development of the western United States in the latter half of the 19th century.
Geographic Thinking Skill(s):
- Analyze how historical events and the spatial diffusion of ideas, technologies, and cultural practices have influenced migration patterns and the distribution of the human population.
- Evaluate how political and economic decisions influence cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions.
Essential Question:
- How did railroads affect the development of the western United States in the last half of the 19th Century?
Grade Level:
- Middle/High School
Created in Collaboration with the TPS Western Region and Geo Alliance Partners in AZ, CO, NV, and OR.
Special Thanks to 
Cynthia Stout
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