Exam Question on importance of Railroads

Question 1

A town that grew on the railroad?

Answer 1

Denver

Question 2

What was the length of the transcontinental railroad in 1869?

Answer 2

over 2000 km

Question 3

What was the length of the transcontinental railroad in 1900s?

Answer 3

139,000 km

Question 4

How many Chinese immigrants worked on the railroad?

Answer 4

90%

Question 5

How many immigrant workers died on the transcontinental railroad?

Answer 5

12,000

Question 6

How long had americans been calling for Railroad access?

Answer 6

1817

Question 7

Impacts of Railroads on settlement?

Answer 7

Railroad companies sold plots of land to settlers. 200 million acres by 1900

Question 8

Impact of railroad on the cattle industry?

Answer 8

Texas cattlemen began to drive their cattle to ‘cow towns’. Abilene was an example. Could transport cattle from Chicago to Illinois

Question 9

Growth of California’s population?

Answer 9

15,000 - 300,000 in 1848 - 1855

Question 10

Example of a mining town

Answer 10

Virginia City

Question 11

Example of abandoned mining towns in Colorado?

Answer 11

• Cripple Creek
• Ashcroft

Question 12

What did most miners become when they failed to find gold?

Answer 12

• Farmers
• Shopkeepers
• Bartenders
• Tradesmen

Question 13

Examples of crimes in California Gold rush?

Answer 13

‘claim jumping’

Question 14

What percentage of claims were homesteaded?

Answer 14

26%

Question 15

How much of failed land from the homesteaders act was given to Railroad companies?

Answer 15

300 million acres

Question 16

Who could not take part in the homesteader’s act?

Answer 16

women, ex-slaves, indians

Question 17

Abilene?

Answer 17

Joseph McCoy set up in 1867

Question 18

How many rail carts was there space for in Abilene?

Answer 18

100

Question 19

Example of a Range War?

Answer 19

Johnson County War 1892

Question 20

When were severe droughts, damaging homesteads?

Answer 20

1870s and 1880s

Question 21

How many homesteads were repossessed due to drought?

Answer 21

11,000

Question 22

How long did it usually take to travel the California trail?

Answer 22

8 - 9 months

Question 23

Marcus Whitman

Answer 23

Missionary
1836

Question 24

When was the Great Immigration?

Answer 24

1840 –> led by Marcus Whitman

Question 25

How much did a cowboy earn?

Answer 25

24-30 dolars

Question 26

California was known as…

Answer 26

“the land of milk and honey”

Question 27

1960 the pony trail was set up

Answer 27

10 days from Missouri and Sacramento to California

Question 28

Pullman car

Answer 28

1864 –> made travelling appealing