Transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage[1] that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. In the United States of America, transcontinental railroads created a nation-wide transportation network that united the country. This network replaced the wagon trains of previous decades and allowed for the transportation of larger quantities of goods over longer distances.
American Civil War
The American Civil War, also known as the War Between the States, the War of the Rebellion, or simply the Civil War (see naming), was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865 in the United States after several[3] Southern slave states declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America . The states that remained were known as the \Union\North\war had its origin in the fractious issue of slavery, especially the extension of slavery into the western territories.[4] Foreign powers did not intervene. After four years of bloody combat that left over 600,000 soldiers dead and destroyed much of the South's infrastructure, the Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and the difficult Reconstruction process of restoring national unity and guaranteeing rights to the freed slaves began.
The American Civil War was one of the earliest true industrial wars. Railroads, the telegraph, steamships, and mass-produced weapons were employed extensively. The mobilization of civilian factories, mines, shipyards, banks, transportation and food supplies all foreshadowed World War I. It remains the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 750,000 soldiers[7] and an undetermined number of civilian casualties.
Gold Rush
The Gold rush was one of the most significant events in California history. It brought people from all over the United States and the world in search for gold. It began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered by James Marshall. News of discovery soon spread, resulting in many people coming California from the rest of the United States and abroad. During it, any single individual might become abundantly wealthy almost instantly, as expressed in the California Dream. California was seen as a lucky place, a land of opportunity and good fortune. It was a powerful belief, underlying many of the accomplishments of the state, and equally potent when threatened
Mistreatment of Chinese
The first significant Chinese immigration to America began with the California Gold Rush of 1848-1855 and continued with subsequent large labor projects, such as the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. During the early stages of the gold rush, when surface gold was plentiful, the Chinese were tolerated, if not well received.[1]
The Chinese immigrant workers provided cheap labor and did not use any of the government infrastructure (schools, hospitals, etc.) because the Chinese migrant population was predominantly made up of healthy male adults.[3] As time passed and more and more Chinese migrants arrived in California, violence would often break out in cities such as Los Angeles. the Chinese Exclusion Act was finally passed in 1882