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.

The railroad developers built the rails in anticipation of growth and sprawl across the United States. This visual shows the details of the increase of settlements, yet not quite enough to sustain the expanse of the Transcontinental...

Read about George Westinghouse's invention, the train air brake, that revolutionized the safety of trains and train travel. Find out how the air brake worked and why it was such an important invention for the railroads.

Discover how connecting Santa Cruz, California to the national railroad network in the late 1800s helped the town prosper and change.

"Our Past Their Present" offers primary source sets on Utah history topics such as Japanese Internment and Women during World War II. Created by the Utah Division of State History to meet Social Studies Core Standards.

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.

Contains the text of the report of the joint special committee to investigate Chinese immigration.

Find out about how Africans and their descendents have shaped the history, culture, and economy of the Chesapeake Bay Region.

In this textbook unit, students learn the reasons why the Industrial Revolution took root in England first, and the innovations that made this possible. These included textile inventions such as the flying shuttle and the spinning jenny,...

Content includes the complete text of the 1877 Supreme Court case of Munn v. Illinois dealing with corporate rates and agriculture.

From the state of Texas, this page discusses notable Texans who were instrumental in the development of the state, along with links to their biographies.

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.

This extensive learning module examines the impact of the Gilded Age upon new cultural and intellectual movements, expansion of foreign trade, and political debates over economic and social policies, as well as the impact of the rise of...

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....

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...

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.

Discusses the use of nitroglycerine in the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad.

From a book "The First Transcontinental Railroad" by John Debo Galloway, a civil engineer, comes this comprehensive description of the topography of the route of the Central Pacific Railroad.

Contains the text of a Lewis M. Clement's 1887 statement to the U.S. Pacific Railway Commission, which gives a clear and succinct accounting of the costs incurred and the problems encountered in building the Central Pacific Railroad.

Read about the Railroad Strike of 1877 that started in Pennsylvania and spread across the Midwest. Find out about the violence against the strikers and the use of the military to end the strike.

This article written by Peter E. Palmquist describes the photographs taken by Albert A. Hart as he documented the building of the Central Pacific Railroad and then helped publicize it.

Describes the weaponry used during the Civil War, and some of the innovative technology that the Union's military forces employed. These included the minie ball, rifles, underwater torpedoes, the use of hot air balloons, and improved...

The Compromise of 1850 did not solve all the slavery issues in the territories, which was not surprising. Read about the Kansas-Nebraska Act, put forth by Sen. Stephan Douglas, who proposed that the issue be decided by popular...

Soon after the end of the Revolutionary War, the characteristics of the various parts of the new United States established themselves. Find out about the sectionalism, economy, and needs in the country in the early 1800s--the...