RECONSTRUCTION 1865 1877
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Mining and cattle ranching
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Manufacturing and fishing
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Agriculture and forestry
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Defense and electronic technology
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Detailed explanation-1: -Land, mining, and improved transportation by rail brought settlers to the American West during the Gilded Age.
Detailed explanation-2: -Gold rush and mining opportunities (silver in Nevada) The opportunity to work in the cattle industry; to be a “cowboy” Faster travel to the West by railroad; availability of supplies due to the railroad. The opportunity to own land cheaply under the Homestead Act.
Detailed explanation-3: -Manifest Destiny Following a trail blazed by Lewis and Clark, most of these people had left their homes in the East in search of economic opportunity. Like Thomas Jefferson, many of these pioneers associated westward migration, land ownership and farming with freedom.
Detailed explanation-4: -A number of factors fueled migration west. Trappers, settlers, and miners headed West from the eastern United States prior to the Civil War. The Homestead Act, passed in 1862, allowed settlers to claim 160 acres of land for free.