USA HISTORY

RECONSTRUCTION 1865 1877

TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
What effect did the Transcontinental Railroad have on many Native American communities?
A
he tribes grew larger and more prosperous
B
Americans adopted the tribes’ traditions and beliefs
C
the tribes’ land was stolen and the people were displaced
D
None of the above
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Building the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads harmed and displaced scores of American Indian tribes, including the Cheyenne, Sioux, Arapaho, Shoshone, and Paiute, by altering natural resources or taking native lands.

Detailed explanation-2: -It made commerce possible on a vast scale. In addition to transporting western food crops and raw materials to East Coast markets and manufactured goods from East Coast cities to the West Coast, the railroad also facilitated international trade.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Transcontinental Railroad dramatically altered ecosystems. For instance, it brought thousands of hunters who killed the bison Native people relied on. The Cheyenne experience was different. The railroad disrupted intertribal trade on the Plains, and thereby broke a core aspect of Cheyenne economic life.

Detailed explanation-4: -Just as it opened the markets of the west coast and Asia to the east, it brought products of eastern industry to the growing populace beyond the Mississippi. The railroad ensured a production boom, as industry mined the vast resources of the middle and western continent for use in production.

Detailed explanation-5: -Railroads had a significant impact when they were introduced to the American West in the 1870s. Rail access spurred white migration and land occupation, altered the cattle industry, and affected the soil ecosystem.

There is 1 question to complete.