​Transcontinental Railroad

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During the Civil War the government decided to build a railroad connecting the East and the West.

One side was started in San Francisco, CA.

The railroad was completed in Promontory Point, UT.

Many Asian immigrants and African Americans worked on the railroad

​Before the Civil War....

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​Most Americans saw the Great Plains as a treeless wasteland. 

New inventions and adaptations helped to change people’s perceptions. They began to see the Great Plains as a vast area to be settled.

​Following the Civil War

​ Americans began moving West in large numbers for several reasons..

Opportunities for     land     ownership.  In an attempt to encourage people to move west the government passed the Homestead Act of     1862   , which offered 160 acres of land to settlers if they  stayed on the land for 5 years.

​Physical features of the Great Plains...

Flatlands       that rise

gradually from east to west.

Low      rainfall      – very dry.

 Frequent    dust    storms.

Land eroded by wind and water

Following the Civil War Americans began moving West in large numbers for several reasons.....

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Technological advances, such as the Transcontinental Railroad, made life easier on the Great Plains.