2. • Yukon gold rush began in August 1896
• Gold was discovered out west in
Canada near the Northwest Territories
• Gradually, word of the gold strike
spread outside the Yukon
• 1897-1898 thousands of prospectors
moved West
3. • One of the most famous trails is the
Chisholm Trail
• Between 1867 and 1871 about
1,500,000 head of cattle were driven
north along the trail to Abilene
• Because of the demand for cattle to
be shipped out to the rest of the
country Boomtowns were
established, along the railroads.
• However, the cattle drives soon lost
their appeal when the railroads built
branch lines to connect to big cattle
hubs.
4. • June 1862 the United States
Congress passed the Pacific
Railroad Act which authorized the
building of railroads
• Two different companies worked to
connect the east and the
west, The Union Pacific Railroad
started from Omaha Nebraska;
while the Central Pacific Railroad
started from California.
• Both companies used immigrant
workers or African Americans to
work the harsh conditions.
• On May 10 1896, the
Transcontinental Railroad was
completed when both tracks met
at Promontory Summit, Utah
