The West after 1865: railroads, homesteads and Native nations
Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
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The West after 1865
Railroads, land and Native nations (cards A to D). Card A, the first transcontinental railroad, in our words: Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act on July 1, 1862. It gave land and loans to the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, two companies, to build a railroad across the country. The Union Pacific built west from Omaha, Nebraska. The Central Pacific built east from Sacramento, California. The last rail was laid at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. A trip across the country that had taken several months now took about a week. Card B, the Homestead Act, in our words: Congress passed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862. An adult head of a family was allowed to claim 160 acres of government land that had been surveyed. The claimant paid a small filing fee and had to live on the land and farm it for five years. After that the land was theirs. The land had long been home to Native nations. Card C, the railroad and Native nations, in our words: the National Park Service says the rail lines of the first transcontinental railroad passed through lands that were home to at least 15 tribal nations. Sometimes the work began before the nations had agreed to anything. More settlers followed the railroad, and the nations' access to land, water and wildlife narrowed. Card D, the Long Walk and the Navajo Nation, in our words: from 1863 to 1866 the US government made more than 10,000 Diné (Navajo) people leave their homeland for a camp at Bosque Redondo, about 300 miles to the east. The march is called the Long Walk. In April 1868 Diné leaders went to Washington to ask to go home. On June 1, 1868 they signed a treaty at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and returned to part of their homeland. Today the Navajo Nation covers more than 27,000 square miles in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.
Cards A and B sum up what two laws of 1862 provided. What is the main limit of those summaries for understanding the West, Ari asks?
- They tell what the laws gave, not how others were affected
- They leave out the railroad's route, which alone decides who was affected
- They show the laws' effects, since a law's terms tell who gained and who lost
- They are summaries, so they cannot be checked against the laws themselves
A student writes, "The railroad opened the West to everyone." How strong is that claim given cards A to C, Esme asks?
- Weak: card C says nations' access to land, water and wildlife narrowed
- Strong: Congress backed the line with land and loans, so the West was opened by law
- Strong: card A says the trip fell to a week, and card B opened farms to claimants
- Strong: settlers followed the railroad, which shows the line opened the West
Card C says the lines passed through lands of "at least 15 tribal nations." What does "at least" tell a reader, Jun asks?
- The count is of nations that objected, so others may have agreed
- The count is a rounded estimate, so the real number may be higher or lower
- The count is a minimum, so the real number may be higher
- The count is exact for the lines built by 1869, so it cannot grow
Which chain of events do cards A and C support best, Kira asks?
- Nations were moved away, which opened the route, and then the law paid for the line
- A law gave land and loans, a line crossed nations' homelands, settlers followed
- A law gave land and loans, and the line then turned aside when nations objected
- Settlers pressed first, then a law gave land and loans, then a line crossed homelands
What does card D show about the treaty signed on June 1, 1868, Milo asks?
- The treaty let the Diné choose a new homeland, which Bosque Redondo became
- The treaty was the Diné leaders' second request, after the Long Walk had ended
- Diné leaders asked to go home, and the treaty gave them part of their homeland
- The treaty ended the Long Walk by agreement on equal terms for both sides
A student says the Long Walk came after the railroad was finished. What do cards A and D show, Noah asks?
- No: the Long Walk began in 1868, a year before the last rail
- No: the Long Walk began in 1863, six years before the last rail in 1869
- Yes: the last rail was laid in 1863, and the Long Walk ended in 1866
- Yes: the treaty of 1868 came after the route was set, so the walk followed the line
Card D ends with "Today the Navajo Nation covers more than 27,000 square miles." What does "today" show, Pia asks?
- The 1868 treaty set the nation's size at 27,000 square miles
- The Navajo Nation still exists and governs its land now
- The Navajo Nation lost most of its land after the treaty
- The Navajo Nation regained each acre it held before 1863
Which added source would best show how Diné people themselves saw the Long Walk, Ren asks?
- A map of the Long Walk's route, since it shows where families went
- The government's report of how many were moved, since it counts each family
- Accounts recorded from Diné families who passed the story down
- A table of railroad dates, since the railroad shaped the route
A family farms its 160-acre claim for four years and then moves. What does card B say about getting the land, Tala asks?
- Title was earned by four years of farming, since the rule asked for use of the land
- Title came to anyone who claimed land, so the family kept it
- Title came once the filing fee was paid, so four years was enough to own it
- Title needed five years of living on and farming it, so four was not enough
Which conclusion do cards A to D support best, Zee asks?
- Native nations lost land after 1868, once the 1862 laws had been passed
- The railroad alone explains how Native nations lost access to land
- Laws of 1862 gave land and loans on lands where Native nations lived
- Native nations agreed to most lines, since just some work began before they did