Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: What Happened to Railroads?
Between the Civil War and World War II, railroads were one of the nation's most important businesses and an integral part of people's lives. In this lesson, students assume the role of detectives investigating why the rail companies...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: The Iron Horse: The Industrial Revolution
The first three pages of this extensive essay on the railroad in United States history focuses on the early railroad and the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Country Studies US
Country Studies: Railroads, Regulations, and the Tariff
This site describes how as railroads became more important to the industrial success of the U.S., more and more rail lines figured out ways to make the best profit. Oftentimes, unfair business practices were established which eventually...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Early American Railroads
Read about the growth of railroads throughout the eastern part of the United States, which greatly reduced transportation costs. See why there was opposition to railroads from many groups. Be sure to look at the stereograph of the...
Other
Utah History to Go: Mining and Railroads
An informative article which links the importance of railroads to the mining industry in Utah. Find out about mining and the dangers of mining in the late 19th century.
Digital History
Digital History: The Industrial Revolution [Pdf]
This site covers both the initial Industrial Revolution in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the second revolution that highlighted new inventions and the businessmen who financed industry. Read brief...
Chicago History Museum
Encyclopedia of Chicago: Railroad Strike of 1877
This article from the Encyclopedia of Chicago explains how a strike by railroad workers in West Virginia eventually made its way to Chicago and was taken up by workers from many industries. See how city officials resolved this general...
Other
Clemson University: British Industrial Revolution
Lecture notes for a class on the Industrial Revolution provide an overview of the transition of the British economy from a predominantly agricultural one to an industrial society.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Industrial Revolution
In this lesson, 6th graders will come to understand how the Industrial Revolution impacted individuals.
US Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Train Engineers and Operators
This resource provides information about train engineers and operatiors. Topics covered includes: nature or work, working conditions, employment, training, other qualifications, and advancement, job outlook and earning potential.
Other
Railroad History: The Milwaukee Road
This site examines the history of the Milwaukee Road (Railroad). This site discusses cost, number of trains, routes, expansion through the Midwest.
Curated OER
Bureau of Land Management: Steel Rails and Iron Horses
Read about the building of the first transcontinental railroad and other railroads that came after. Find out how the checkerboard land ownership system affected the railroads. Includes lots of detailed lesson activities as well as a poster.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Granville T. Woods
Inventor Granville T. Woods is featured in this brief biography for his multiplex telegraph which was a useful invention for the railroad industry.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Era of Expansion and Reform
This resource, a speech by Woodrow Wilson to Congress on April 8, 1913, gives a great review of how the United States transformed from from a rural country to an urban one. It includes a review of industrialization, new inventions,...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Northern Homefront
The military-industrial complex thrived in the North during the Civil War, but read about how inflation affected the ordinary worker. See how the role of women expanded to fill in for men who were away fighting. Women also had an impact...
Read Works
Read Works: The Industrial Revolution the Legend of John Henry
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage shares the legend of a many named John Henry, a "steel drivin' man," according to legend. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and...
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: American Economic Growth 1820 1860
Article outlines the boom in early American economic growth as a result of Northern industry in manufacturing, steam power, transportation and the role of government between 1820 and 1860.
Other
Texas Council on Economic Education: Building an Economy: Texas Experience [Pdf]
A 14-lesson, 169-page unit on the economic history of Texas. Lessons cover the free enterprise system, the economic patterns and motivations of Native Americans and various immigrant groups, the impact of the closing of the frontier, the...
US National Archives
Our Documents: Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
Find an image of the original Interstate Commerce Act, passed in 1887, as a remedy to railroad monopolies. Read a transcript of the law, and an explanation of the reasons why such a law was necessary.
OpenStax
Open Stax: On the Move: The Transportation Revolution
By reading this section of a chapter on "Industrial Transformation in the North", students will learn about the development of improved methods of nineteenth-century domestic transportation and identify the ways in which roads, canals,...
US Department of Labor
U.s. Department of Labor: The Federal Government and Negro Workers Under Wilson
This scholarly paper investigates the treatment of the federal government, sometimes ambivalent, sometimes hostile, during the presidential terms of Woodrow Wilson. See how Wilson's need for industrial workers and soldiers in the time...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Hazardous Business: The Oil Wars
Part of a lengthy discussion of the oil business in Texas, the first two pages of this site give the early history of the oil industry in Texas.
Other
Humboldt Univ.: Political, Economic and Social Consequences of Manifest Destiny
An extensive look at the consequences of manifest destiny, with emphasis on six different topics for student discussions. These include the growth of a national market economy, the impact of drastic economic changes on American society,...
Other
Psmre: The Northern Pacific Railway
This site from the Puget Sound Model Railroad Engineers provides information about the history of the Northern Pacific Railway. The route follows the path Lewis and Clark took in 1804. Mentions cost, manpower, and other railroad companies.