K12 Reader
Transcontinental Railroad
Who built the Transcontinental Railroad and why was it important? Your class can learn about the laying down of these tracks by reading a short passage. Pupils then respond to five questions related to the text.
Curated OER
The Top 5 Ancient Chinese Inventions
In this top five ancient Chinese inventions worksheet, students investigate each Chinese invention in detail along with the top five British inventions of all time. Students then answer five comprehension questions while writing an essay...
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Narrative Prompt
Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...
Curated OER
Factory Conditions
In this United States history activity, students utilize a word bank of 10 terms or phrases to answer 10 fill in the blank questions pertaining to factory conditions and the rise of labor unions. A short answer question is included as...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Joint Committee to Investigate Chinese Immigration
Contains the text of the report of the joint special committee to investigate Chinese immigration.
California Digital Library
Loc: The Chinese in California 1850 1925
Excellent overview of the Chinese experience in California complete with historical photos and primary documents. Site provides information on San Francisco's Chinatown, the anti-Chinese Movement, and Chinese laborers.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Chinese Laborers and Construction of the Central Pacific
An article from the Utah Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, by George Kraus, recounts the decision to use Chinese laborers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Many primary source documents included as well as supplemental direct quotes in...
Other
Wyo History: The Rock Springs Massacre
Read this very detailed description of the Rock Springs Massacre and the circumstances that led up to it. Find out why Chinese immigrants became the focus of hatred and discrimination.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier House: The Northern Pacific Railroad and Those Who Built It
The goods and services brought to the frontier by the railroad improved the quality of life. Read about the construction and route of the Northern Pacific Railroad in this companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America
Provides excerpts from "Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America: The Chinese Railroad Men" by Stan Steiner. Describes how the Chinese contributed to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Constructing the Central Pacific Railroad
From a book written by a civil engineer, John Debo Galloway, this article discusses the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad including construction methods, problems, and the eventual meeting of the rails at Promontory Point.
Curated OER
History Matters: "To This We Dissented": The Rock Springs Riot
Read the description of the Rock Springs massacre written by the Chinese workers who lived through the massacre and presented to the Chinese Consul in New York. Included is a report of an investigation of those who died in the massacre....
Curated OER
History Matters:"rock Springs Is Killed":white Reaction to the Rock Springs Riot
Read an article from the Rock Springs Independent railng against the return of the Chinese coal miners the day after the Rock Springs Massacre that resulted in the death of several Chinese laborers.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Delivering the Goods: Watsonville. California 1895
Railroads changed agriculture. As railways linked farms to a wider commercial world, city dwellers could buy fruits and vegetables year-round. Farms became commercialized, often specializing in single crops and tied to the ups and downs...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Chinese American Contribution to Transcontinental
In April of 1999, Representative John T. Doolittle delivered a speech before the United States House of Representatives commemorating the contribution of Chinese-Americans to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. This site...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: Chinese Immigrants and Mexican Americans
Discusses the conflict with Mexican American and Chinese groups as white settlers pushed westward in the nineteenth century. Explains what brought so many Chinese immigrants to America and the roadblocks and discrimination that they had...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: A History of the Chinese in California: A Syllabus
From a 1969 publication by the Chinese Historical Society of America comes this extensive look at the Chinese role in the building of the Central Pacific Railroad from California east to Utah.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Tunnels of the Pacific Railroad
This site offers an abstract from Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine from 1870 from a paper by John R. Gilliss. A comprehensive look at the tunnels built along the route of the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia: Golden Spike National Historic Site
This resource provides information about the first transcontinental railroad, which was built by nearly 30,000 Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese laborers.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
The Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
If you are researching the Central Pacific Railroad or the importance of photography in the recording of our social and technological history, this site is for you. You will find plenty of topic photos and good information about the...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Eastward to Promontory
This site from the Central Pacific Railroad provides an extensive and comprehensive article about surveying the route for the railroad, the problems with construction, and the men behind the idea of the railroad. Hyperlinks to additional...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum: Beyond the Mississippi
Contains excerpts from Albert D. Richarson's "Beyond the Mississippi" about the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad and his trip on the train.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Railroad History Museum: Transcontinental Railroad History
A brief discussion of the concept of a transcontinental railroad with hyperlinks to other articles on this large website.
Curated OER
Chinese Rr Workers, Monterey, Ca
From a 1969 publication by the Chinese Historical Society of America comes this extensive look at the Chinese role in the building of the Central Pacific Railroad from California east to Utah.