1
10
40
-
Article/Essay
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p>The railroad, a symbol of both progress and peril, spurred rapid and far-reaching changes in late nineteenth century American society. Supported by government funds, railroad building boomed after the Civil War. There were only 2,000 miles of track in 1850; by 1877 there were nearly 80,000 miles in use. Crossing the wilderness, carrying people and freight at unheard-of speeds, the railroads changed the ways Americans thought and lived. As distant cities and towns were linked together, Americans increasingly identified themselves as citizens of a whole nation, not merely a single state. For the first time, people in different parts of the country could read the same news and buy the same products. Such basic concepts as time and distance took on new meanings: in 1883, the railroads forced America to adopt its first national time zones. The railroads accelerated the pace of the Industrial Revolution. New technologies, such as machine building and iron and steel production, advanced to meet the demands of railroad growth. By providing cheaper and faster freight delivery, the railroads helped create a new national market.</p>
<p>While the completion of the transcontinental railroad paved the way for exponential growth in the population and economy of the West and the nation, it also caused significant harm to many people. The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. Over the next twenty years, railroads carried farmers and ranchers who settled on the Great Plains, soldiers who fought to claim Indigenous territories for the United States, and hunters who killed buffalo for sport and profit. The farmers, ranchers, soldiers, and buffalo hunters, together with businessmen who came to develop the West's mineral and lumber resources, violently disrupted Great Plains Native nations and their way of life. <br /><br />Working men and women were crucial to the growth of the railroads and the new industrial system, but they shared in few of its rewards. Railway workers labored an average of 12 hours a day, six days a week. Sometimes they worked 16 to 20 hours without a rest. Their average wage was $2.50 a day. Railroad work was difficult and dangerous, and in 1877 a nationwide rebellion of railroad workers brought the United States to a standstill. Eighty thousand railroad workers walked out, joined by hundreds of thousands of Americans outraged by the excesses of the railroad companies and the misery of a four-year economic depression. Police, state militia, and federal troops clashed with strikers and sympathizers, leaving more than one hundred dead and thousands injured.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Background Essay on Building the Railroads
Description
An account of the resource
This essay explains how railroads transformed late-nineteenth century America and shows how their impact was felt differently across class and racial lines.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
ASHP
Subject
The topic of the resource
Expansion and Imperialism
Environment
Settler Colonialism
railroads
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/f8c0654c894354f45525ec0a40e551bc.pdf
1d32ef367e5ed97a9b1583951bdd9b1f
Worksheet
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p>This worksheet aligns to Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.</p>
</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
1877: The Grand Army of Starvation Viewer's Guide: Close Reading Worksheet
Description
An account of the resource
This worksheet helps students to undertake a close reading of a section (pages 4-7) of the 1877: The Grand Army of Starvation Viewer's Guide, which accompanies the 30-minute ASHP documentary of the same name.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Relation
A related resource
1472
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2012
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Labor Activism
Work
Common Core Reading
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
railroads
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/waiting_53c0127d6a.tif
caf24891d7e06cd869a174cab5e28597
Omeka Image File
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Height
856
Width
700
Cartoon
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Waiting for the Reduction of the Army
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
A massive labor strike in 1877 shook the very foundations of American politics and society. Starting with a spontaneous railroad strike in West Virginia, the “Great Uprising” spread rapidly across the country. In many cities, entire working populations went out on strike. When state and federal troops fired on workers in several cities, the official violence galvanized workers across the country and those who sympathized with them. As this 1878 cartoon from the <em>New York Daily Graphic</em> indicates, in the aftermath of the strike, the press increasingly grouped together Indians, trade unionists, immigrants, and tramps as symbols of disorder and opposition to the nation’s progress.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Philip G. Cusachs
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Philip G. Cusachs, "Waiting for the Reduction of the Army," <em>New York Daily
Graphic</em>, June 14, 1878.
Primary
Is this Primary or Secondary? Enter 1 for Primary or 2 for Secondary.
1
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1878
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Labor Activism
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Native Americans
railroads
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/journalofseansullivanthemeteamsfinal_5319561fa0.pdf
dd3cd3caf2494ecd0262d8f0375dba91
Worksheet
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p>These worksheets align to the following Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.   </p>
</li>
</ul><ul><li>
<p>WHSS.6-8.2. Write informative/explanatory texts.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.6. Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>WHSS.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.</p>
</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
Theme Team Worksheets for <em>The Journal of Sean Sullivan</em>
Description
An account of the resource
This set of worksheets provides reading questions and writing tasks that cover five themes (work, corruption, tensions among immigrant groups, conflict with Indians, boomtowns) found in the historical fiction book, <em>The Journal of Sean Sullivan</em>.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning. <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Relation
A related resource
1924, 1923
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Expansion and Imperialism
Common Core Reading
Common Core Writing
railroads
Technology
Westward Expansion
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
Students will be able to describe the impact of the railroad on the United States, including which people benefitted from it and which did not.
Students will evaluate how and why the completion of the transcontinental railroad is considered a major turning point.
Students will be able to analyze the reasons why railroad workers decided to go on strike in 1877.
Materials
1472, 1921, 1920, 1918, 1915
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Step 1. </strong>Hand out the <em>1877</em> Viewer’s Guide and have a student(s) read the 3 paragraphs of text on page 1 under “What was ‘The Great Strike’ of 1877?” Tell students that they are going to watch a clip from a documentary about the causes of this national uprising. </p>
<p>Hand out the <em>1877</em> Vocabulary list and review with the class. <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Step 2.</strong> Play the <em>1877</em> clip (1:50-7:02) once to provide an overview of the transcontinental railroad. Ask students to think about the overall tone of this documentary (ie. what is the attitude of this film towards the railroad during the Gilded Age?). </p>
<p>Discuss why the tone sounds more critical than positive: </p>
<p>• told from the perspective of workers rather than builders </p>
<p>• is challenging a “triumphant” view of the railroad </p>
<p><strong>Step 3.</strong> Hand out the Technological Turning Points worksheet and <em>1877</em> script. Ask students, working individually or in small groups, to check off any of the effects that they think apply to the railroad (using Part 1 of the worksheet). They may use the <em>1877</em> script as a reference. </p>
<p>Review the Part 1 list with the whole group. With the possible exception of “Allows for greater participation in democracy,” all of the items could be checked. For the less obvious effects, have students explain their reasoning. </p>
<p>Tell students to complete Part II of the worksheet individually. Then, with a partner, they should identify: </p>
<p>• the top 2 positive effects and top 2 negative effects </p>
<p>• who benefited the most, and who was harmed the most </p>
<p>Share out group responses. </p>
<p>You may need to review the following points if they do not come up in discussion: </p>
<p>• main positive effects included new jobs, easier to communicate and travel, boost to national pride </p>
<p>• main negative effects included railroad owners get too much political power which leads to corruption; the railroad widens the gap between haves and have nots, and makes only a small group of people wealthy; workers are treated badly </p>
<p>• railroad owners benefited the most; Native Americans, railroad workers, Chinese workers were among those who benefited the least. </p>
<p><strong>Step 4. </strong>Tell students that you are going to play the clip for a second time. Ask a third of the class to listen for the point of view of the railroad owners, a third for the role of state and federal governments, and a third for the point of view of railroad workers. Play clip (1:50-7:02) again. </p>
<p>Share out discussion on railroad owners, the government, and railroad workers. </p>
<p>Ask follow up questions as needed: </p>
<p>• Who was the railroad supposed to benefit? [claim that it would “benefit all citizens”] </p>
<p>• What assistance did the government give railroads? [land, money, tax breaks, political influence] </p>
<p>• Why did workers go on strike in 1877?</p>
Activity Extension
To highlight the worker’s viewpoint, you could hand out An African-American Socialist Lends His Support to Railroad Workers.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
Active Viewing: 1877: The Grand Army of Starvation
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity, students watch a short clip from the ASHP documentary <em><a href="http://ashp.cuny.edu/ashp-documentaries/eighteen-seventy-seven/">1877: The Grand Army of Starvation</a></em> to learn about the impact of railroad expansion on Americans and the nation as a whole. After watching the clip, students complete the “Technological Turning Points and their Impact” worksheet in order to examine the positive and negative effects of the railroad.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011. <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license"><img style="border-width: 0;" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Labor Activism
Active Viewing
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Group Work
railroads
Technology
-
Worksheet
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p><strong>MAJOR THEMES<br /></strong><strong> <br /></strong><strong>Workers and Working conditions</strong> <br />
• August 11, 13, 16 (pages 16-17, 19-20) <br />• September 18, 20 (pages 33-36) <br />• November 9, 29 (pages 48-49, 54-56) <br />• April 1, 5 (page 67-68) <br />• May 3 (page 71) <br />• November 14 (page 100) <br />• December 26 (pages 116-117) <br />• April 9 (pages 138) <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Tension between immigrant groups <br />
</strong>• October 26-28 (pages 45-46) <br />• September 1 (page 88) <br />• October 27 (pages 98-99) <br />• March 9, March 11-24 (pages 132, 134-36) <br />• April 28 (page 141-42) <br />• May 10 (pages 146-149)<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Boomtowns <br /></strong>• August 8 (pages 9-10) <br />• September 21 (page 37) <br />• November 18, 15 (pages 50-51) <br />• March 7 (pages 129-30) <br />• May 20, 21 (pages 154, 156) <strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Corporate and government corruption <br />
</strong>• August 29 (page 30) <br />• December 5 (page 56) <br />• November 3, 19, 23 (pages 100, 103-05, 107) <br />• January 8 (page 122) <br />• February 29 (pages 126-27) <br />• March 10 (page 133) <br />• April 10 (pages 138-39) <br />• May 6, 8, 19 (pages 145, 146, 153-54) <br />• Epilogue (pages 166-70) <br /><strong> <br /></strong><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>MINOR THEMES <br />
</strong><strong><br /></strong><strong>Conflict with Great Plains Indian tribes <br /></strong>• August 6, 7, 17 (pages 3-7, 20-21) <br />• April 24 (page 71) <br />• July 27 (page 82) <br />• May 21 (pages 156-57)<br />• Drawings (pages 171, 176)</p>
<p><strong> <br /></strong><strong>The Natural Environment <br /></strong>• August 18, 28 (pages 22-23, 29-30) <br />• January 14 (page 59) <br />• Feb 13 (page 62) <br />• March 25 (page 66) <br />• May 21, 20 (pages 155, 157)<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Living conditions of railroad builders<br /></strong> • August 8 (page 9)<br /> • September 21 (page 37) <br /> • November 18 (page 50) <br /> • May 20 (page 154-55) <br /><strong> <br /></strong><strong>Transportation and technology <br /></strong> • August 7 (page 6) <br /> • October 15 (pages 92-94) <br /> • December 4 (page 109)
• June 8 (page 120) <br /> <br /><strong>ADDITIONAL INFORMATION <br />
</strong><strong><br /></strong><strong>“Life in America in 1867” (Historical Notes, Images and Maps) <br /></strong>• Map of transcontinental railroad route (page181) <br />• Drawings of Indians, showing conflict with railroad (pages 171, 176) <br />• Photographs of historical figures and railroad workers, prints of railroad construction, boom towns, and living conditions the book (pp. 171-79)</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Themes in <em>The Journal of Sean Sullivan</em>
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
This is a list of the book’s themes along with the related journal entries.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media & Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media & Learning, 2011.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media & Learning. <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/"><img style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Relation
A related resource
1923, 1929, 1924
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Expansion and Imperialism
railroads
Technology
Westward Expansion
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<ul><li>
<p>Students will understand the experiences of Union Pacific railroad workers who built the transcontinental railroad in the Great Plains (Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will understand the immediate effects of railroad construction on workers, Indians, settlers, and railroad owners.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will understand how and why the transcontinental railroad was a turning point in U.S. history by examining its effects.</p>
</li>
</ul><p>This activity supports the following Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. Â </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.6. Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose.</p>
</li>
</ul>
Materials
1923, 1929, 1918, 1925
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Step 1:</strong> Explain that the narrator and main character of this book is a fictional teenager named Sean Sullivan. Read aloud the entry “August 7, End of Track†(<em>The Journal of Sean Sullivan</em>, pp. 5-6) until the paragraph on page 6 ending in “in case of an Indian attack.â€Â </p>
<p>Ask students to summarize Sean’s general mood and feelings (excitement, nervousness, uncertainty). Have students reread the entry on their own and write down all the words and phrases related to nature and transportation and circle terms that they do not know. </p>
<p>Responses might include:Â </p>
<p>• Transportation: track, train, railroad towns, covered wagons, Oregon Trail, “prairie schooners,†sailing, mile, car, “excursionists,†“cowcatchers, pilots, station</p>
<p>• Nature: prairie, grass, wildflower, breeze, buffalo herd, animals</p>
<p>Hand out Vocabulary for the Journal of Sean Sullivan worksheet. Students should look review the definition of any of the unfamiliar vocabulary terms they circled earlier. </p>
<p>• (Optional) If you would like to focus on metaphors, ask students, whether or not a “Cowcatcher†is a person or a thing. Then, ask them to search for an image of a “Cowcatcher†online. Alternatively, show them a picture of a “Cowcatcher†(the front grill of a train). </p>
<p>Wrap up by discussing: “Based on this journal entry, what is the setting of the story?†Responses might include: </p>
<p>• End of the Track, Nebraska, Kearney, Great Plains</p>
<p>• the prairie, buffalo herds • end of the Oregon Trail and beginning of the railroad • men shooting buffalo, “Excursionists†[Common Core Reading Standards for Grade 5: Standard 4, 6] </p>
<p><strong>Step 2: </strong>Explain that the novel contains a number of themes, or big ideas, about the building of the railroad that they will explore in “Theme Teams.†Divide the class into small groups of 2-4, and assign each group a theme (you will probably need to assign the same theme to more than one team). </p>
<p>Themes: (1) work and working conditions of railroad builders (2) tension among and between immigrant groups (3) corruption of railroad companies (4) conflict with Great Plains Indians (5) boomtowns </p>
<p><strong>Step 3:</strong> Handout the five Themes in <em>The Journal of Sean Sullivan</em> worksheets to the appropriate groups. </p>
<p>Teams should:Â </p>
<p>• Read the pages listed on their worksheet and then complete the reading questions and tasks in Part 1 as a team. [Common Core Reading Standards for Grade 5: Standard 1, 2, 4].</p>
<p>• Teams should add any unfamiliar vocabulary words and their definitions to the vocabulary list which you handed out in Step 1. </p>
<p>• Each theme worksheet includes a writing task in Part 2 that highlights a different historical perspective on the railroad. Students should complete this task on their own. [Common Core Reading Standards for Grade 5: Standard 6] </p>
<p><strong>Step 4:</strong> After “Theme Teams†complete their worksheet and individual writing tasks, ask for volunteers to read their writing tasks to the class. You should try to cover at least three different themes/historical perspectives. </p>
<p>Discuss:Â </p>
<p>• What are some of the hardships that people faced during the building of the transcontinental railroad? </p>
<p>• How did various groups respond to these difficulties? </p>
<p><strong>Step 5:</strong> For homework, assign the “Historical Note†chapter at the end of the book (pp. 163-70) and handout the “Technological Turning Points and their Impact†worksheet. Students should complete the worksheet using the information provided in the assigned reading.</p>
Activity Extension
The “Themes in The Journal of Sean Sullivan†worksheet is a comprehensive list of 8 themes and related passages. You can use this information to broaden the scope of the “Theme Teams†analysis, or to focus reading assignments.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
Reading Historical Fiction: <em>The Journal of Sean Sullivan: A Transcontinental Railroad Worker</em>
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity, students are guided through a close reading of <em>The Journal of Sean Sullivan: A Transcontinental Railroad Worker</em>, a fictional book for young readers based on historical sources. Students will read a short excerpt from the beginning of the book and determine the meaning of key words. Working in groups, students will then read excerpts related to one of the following themes: working conditions of railroad builders; tension between immigrant groups; corruption of the railroad companies; conflict with Great Plains Indian tribes; and boomtowns. They will also complete an individual writing task on their theme. Finally, students will consider the positive and negative effects of the railroad on the country as a whole, as well as on specific groups of Americans.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning. <br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Expansion and Imperialism
Common Core Reading
Group Work
Literature in the History Classroom
railroads
Technology
Westward Expansion
-
Worksheet
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p><strong>bonnet:</strong> women’s hat </p>
<p><strong>butte:</strong> a hill with steep sides and a flat top </p>
<p><strong>caboose</strong>: the last car on a train with eating and sleeping rooms </p>
<p><strong>coupling pin:</strong> a pin or bolt that connects one train car to another </p>
<p><strong>cowcatchers (also known as the pilot):</strong> a metal device or set of rails attached to the front of the train to clear the tracks </p>
<p><strong>depot:</strong> a railroad station or stop </p>
<p><strong>dignitaries:</strong> people of importance </p>
<p><strong>“Excursionists”:</strong> people who came west solely as tourists </p>
<p><strong>gorge:</strong> deep rocky valley </p>
<p><strong>handcar:</strong> small railroad car that consists of an arm like a seesaw which operators push down and pull up to move the car </p>
<p><strong>“heathens”:</strong> a negative term for someone who is not a believer in God. Used as a way to describe Chinese immigrants. </p>
<p><strong>maul:</strong> a hammer used to drive the spike onto a tie </p>
<p><strong>Oregon Trail:</strong> a route used by settlers going from western Missouri to Oregon before the railroad was built </p>
<p><strong>“Paddy”:</strong> negative term for Irish workers, probably short for Patrick, a common Irish name </p>
<p><strong>pick and shovel:</strong> two tools used to break up the ground, a pick is sharp on both edges, a shovel allows you to pick up dirt </p>
<p><strong>“Prairie Schooner”: </strong>a covered wagon used by settlers going west </p>
<p><strong>ruffians:</strong> people who behave in a rough or violent way </p>
<p><strong>sod hut:</strong> home made from dried squares of prairie grass </p>
<p><strong>spike:</strong> large nail used to construct railroad tracks </p>
<p><strong>stovepipe hat:</strong> tall tube-shaped man’s hat </p>
<p><strong>survey:</strong> to make a map of an area </p>
<p><strong>tie:</strong> large pieces of wood that support the rails </p>
<p><strong>transcontinental railroad:</strong> a railroad that crosses and connects a continent </p>
<p><strong>trestle:</strong> a system of support built to allow a train to go over a river or gap</p>
<p><br /> <strong>Additional Vocabulary</strong> <br /> <em>Write down any additional words that you do not know the meaning of, and then look up their definitions and add them here.</em></p>
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<p>This worksheet aligns to Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.</p>
</li>
</ul>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
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English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
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Vocabulary for <em>The Journal of Sean Sullivan</em>
Description
An account of the resource
This is a basic vocabulary list to use with this book. There are other words and terms that your students may want to add in the space provided at the end.
Creator
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
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Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning. <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license"><img style="border-width: 0;" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Relation
A related resource
1924
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Subject
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Immigration and Migration
Expansion and Imperialism
Common Core Reading
railroads
Reading Supports
Technology
Westward Expansion
-
Worksheet
Text
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<p><strong>amassed</strong>: accumulated </p>
<p>
<strong>anvil</strong>: a heavy metal block used by blacksmiths to hammer out other metal </p>
<p>
<strong>brakeman</strong>: railroad worker who operates, repairs, or inspects train brakes </p>
<p>
<strong>centennial exposition</strong>: celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence </p>
<p>
<strong>corporate</strong>: having to do with large companies or “big business” </p>
<p><strong>cylindric</strong>: shaped like a tube </p>
<p><strong>dividends</strong>: money paid to people who own stock in a company </p>
<p><strong>domination</strong>: complete control </p>
<p><strong>emblem</strong>: a symbol of some idea or thing </p>
<p><strong>flocked</strong>: gathered in a group </p>
<p>
<strong>Great Uprising</strong>: national strike by 80,000 railroad workers, also known as the Great Strike of 1877 </p>
<p><strong>manipulated</strong>: controlled or influenced, usually to one’s own benefit </p>
<p>
<strong>militia</strong>: military force of civilians that supports regular army, especially in an emergency </p>
<p>
<strong>resilience</strong>: the ability to recover quickly from illness or misfortune </p>
<p><strong>sultry</strong>: hot and damp </p>
<p><strong>spike</strong>: large nail used to construct railroad tracks </p>
<p><strong>territorial expansion</strong>: adding new lands to an existing country, often by force </p>
<p>
<strong>transcontinental railroad</strong>: a railroad that crosses and connects a continent</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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<em>1877: The Grand Army of Starvation</em> Vocabulary (for chapters on "The Centennial Exposition" and "The Railroad")
Language
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English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
This is a vocabulary list for chapters on "The Centennial Exposition" and "The Railroad" in the <a href="http://ashp.cuny.edu/ashp-documentaries/eighteen-seventy-seven/"">1877: The Grand Army of Starvation</a> documentary.
Creator
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
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American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
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Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Relation
A related resource
1920, 1927
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1877
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
railroads
Reading Supports
-
TV/Film
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
<p><strong>[1876]</strong></p>
<p><strong>NARRATOR:</strong></p>
<p>Philadelphia. One hundred years after America declared its independence…its citizens <strong>flocked</strong> to the <strong>centennial exposition</strong>. Thousands gathered to mark the republic's <strong>resilience</strong> following a bitter civil war…</p>
<p>They came to admire the country's technological triumphs…and its <strong>territorial expansion</strong>.</p>
<p>At the center of this century of progress…the American railway system. The railroad had promised to unite the one divided nation…and benefit all citizens. Chinese and Irish immigrants as well as Civil War veterans were set to work as the country enthusiastically committed itself to railroad construction. </p>
<p><strong>AMERICAN WORKER #1:</strong></p>
<p>When me and my mates get our sturdy sledge hammers going, we make a kinda grand <strong>anvil</strong> chorus 'cross the plains. Three strokes to a <strong>spike</strong>; ten spikes to a rail. Let's see…I've got it figured out…400 rails to a mile. 1800 miles to bloody San Francisco. That makes, by my reckonin', some 20 million or so times we'll swing these sledges before this great work of modern America is done. </p>
<p><strong>NARRATOR:</strong></p>
<p>In 1869 the Golden Spike was finally hammered into place. The <strong>transcontinental railroad</strong> system unified America. The poet Walt Whitman sang its praises: </p>
<p>Thy black <strong>cylindric</strong> body, golden brass and silvery steel…<br />Type of the modern—<strong>emblem</strong> of motion and power—pulse of the continent</p>
<p>The railroad connected farm lands…towns…cities. It moved goods, information, and people. In ten short years railroad mileage doubled. Federal and state governments sponsored railroad expansion, giving the railroads nearly 200 million acres of public land as well as millions of dollars in loans and tax breaks. Railroad owners, notably New York Central president Cornelius Vanderbilt, <strong>amassed</strong> staggering wealth. His son William inherited $100 million upon Vanderbilt's death in 1877.</p>
<p>In that year of economic depression, a decent day's wage was a dollar fifty. Railroad owners' wealth translated into unimagined power. Tom Scott ran the Pennsylvania Railroad, the nation's largest business enterprise. From his Philadelphia headquarters, Scott controlled the lives of workers and communities across the country. He <strong>manipulated</strong> state and federal legislatures and even presidential elections. Such domination led Charles Francis Adams, son and grandson of Presidents, to observe:</p>
<p><strong>C.F. ADAMS:</strong></p>
<p>The system of <strong>corporate</strong> life is a new power for which our language contains no name; we have no word to express government by monied corporations. </p>
<p><strong>NARRATOR:</strong></p>
<p>In June, Scott, Vanderbilt and other executives secretly met. They agreed to cut their employees' wages even as they announced substantial dividends for their stockholders. John Garrett, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, explained:</p>
<p><strong>GARRETT: </strong></p>
<p>The great principle upon which we joined to act was to earn more and spend less. </p>
<p><strong>NARRATOR:</strong></p>
<p>On July 15th the B & O announced a 10% wage cut. Dick Zepp, a <strong>brakeman</strong> on the B & O lines, decides this action is too much to take. </p>
<p>On the hot, <strong>sultry</strong> afternoon of July 16th, Zepp steps down from his locomotive. He and his fellow workers stop trains in the Martinsburg, West Virginia rail yards. </p>
<p><strong>CROWD:</strong></p>
<p>We're all working men, ain't we?<br />No train's goinna move 'til we get a living wage!<br />We're on strike!<br />We might as well starve without work as with it!<br />Here comes the damn <strong>militia</strong>! You wouldn't fire on your brother?<br />Stop that blackleg!<br />Don't let him throw the switch!</p>
<p><strong>NARRATOR: </strong></p>
<p>This is the spark that ignites the <strong>Great Uprising</strong>. </p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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<em>1877: The Grand Army of Starvation </em>Script <br />
(for chapters on "The Centennial Exposition" and "The Railroad")
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
<p>This is a partial script, for chapters on "The Centennial Exposition" and "The Railroad" in the documentary <em><a href="http://ashp.cuny.edu/ashp-documentaries/eighteen-seventy-seven/">1877: The Grand Army of Starvation</a></em> produced by the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning. In bold are vocabulary words defined on a vocabulary sheet linked to this script. </p>
Creator
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Source
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning, 1986.
Rights
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American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Relation
A related resource
1921, 1927
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1985
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
railroads