A brief history of the last century and more of American railroads, from the early locomotives from the mid 1800s to today's fast passenger trains.

Replica of the Salisbury, North Carolina railway station teaches about riding and working on the railroad in the 1920s when railroads were a central part of American life. Railroad lines crisscrossed the country. They carried people,...

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.

The study resource from Khan Academy provides an overview of Period 6: 1865-1898 in American History. The politics in the Gilded Age is discussed in this lesson. This resource is designed as a review for the AP US History Test.

Highlights the opening of the B & O Railroad charter and other related events in American history that took place on today's date.

Experience what it would be like be a slave seeking freedom by taking this journey on the Underground Railroad. Uses popups.

Information about the period in United States history between the Civil War and World War I. The United States was transformed from a rural republic to an urban state.

By 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was elected president, 16 percent of the population lived in urban areas and a third of the nation's income came from manufacturing. Funds were flowing into large-scale industrial development and into...

Activities and resources, built around a reading of Jingle the Brass by Patricia Newman, for teaching young learners about the importance of railroads in American history.

A great resource from the National Museum of American History that shows various modes and uses of transportation in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Module on African Americans with links to National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Museum, Northwest African American Museum, and SuSable African American History Museum and numerous videos on various topics including, World War II,...

Objects can lead you to some interesting stories. Read and see where and how this toy-like locomotive was used. Cursor down to locate this information.

American Memory, online exhibits and other areas of the Library's Web site provide a broad range of digitized materials pertaining to the African American experience.

This 3rd grade unit introduces children to the history of segregation, from the end of the Civil War in 1865 through the 1940s. Its content bridges the period between slavery and the peak of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and...

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...

A brief summary of the history of African American slavery and the Underground Railroad. Activities and books pertaining to slave life, plantations, and the Underground Railroad are suggested.

Look in depth at the Gilded Age of history in the United States. Find resources enhancing lessons of immigration, industrialization, railroads, Native Americans, and politics.

In 1800, the United States was made up of 16 states, all east of the Appalachians, and most people lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic. Oceans and rivers were the nations' highways, providing the only viable way to travel long...

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

[Free Registration/Login Required] Abridged from the full text located at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, this passage provides information about the development of the transcontinental railroad. Paired texts, a text...

This last section of an extensive essay about the railroad in United States history discusses the role of the railroad in the 20th century.

A timeline of African-American history from when the first African slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619 up to the present.

Shows maps of the Underground Railroad routes that slaves took when they sought freedom, along with an informative article on the history of this movement in Indiana.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson plan seeks to discover the impact George Pullman had, not only on the railroad industry, but also on American life, by improving rail travel, and also establishing a company town for his...