Terms to Know:

Episode 6: Heartland
Before or after watching this episode,
Introduction
encourage students to define and
review the terms below. Students
In 1869, the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of America, more than two
may also want to make their own
thousand miles apart, are linked by continuous metal rails. The
lists of new vocabulary words and
Transcontinental Railroad – the world’s first – is one of the most
identification terms as they watch.
ambitious human enterprises since the Great Wall of China, and
much of it is built by Chinese laborers who immigrate to the U.S.
Dysentery in search of work and the promises of prosperity.
Formidable
Gradient The railroad doesn’t just change the lives of Americans, it alters the
Inert entire ecology of the continent – and there are enormous casualties
Nitroglycerin that result from this massive and transformative project. The vast
Redundant Plains, where buffalo and Native Americans roam, become home to
Stealthily farmers who build houses of grass, and cowboys who trail their cattle
Treaty thousands of miles to the railheads. Steel roads and now steel wire
fences parcel up the Plains.

In less than a quarter of a century, the West is won – by the railroad,

the fence, and the plow.
America The Story of Us is useful for American
History, Social Studies, and Media courses. It is
appropriate for 7th grade students and above,
and is an excellent resource for professional
development.
Discussion Questions:
1. W
 hy do you think President Lincoln decided to support the construction of the
Transcontinental Railroad, a very expensive project, even though the Civil War was
still going on?

2. W
 hat were some of the benefits of the Transcontinental Railroad? What were the
human costs of its construction? What groups of people built the railroad?

3. In this episode, the bison is described as a “mobile general store” for Native
Americans on the plains. What does this phrase mean? What were the conse-
quences of the destruction of the bison population for Native Americans?

4. W
 ho was Theodore Judah and what was his significance in American history?
Why was he called “Crazy Judah”?

5. W
 hat happened at the Battle of Little Big Horn? What was the outcome of
conflicts between Native Americans and the U.S. military on the plains?

6. In 1886, Richard Sears established the first mail order catalog. Why do you
think this development was a significant event in U.S. history?

America The STory of Us Episode 6: Heartland 2

 ©2010 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. 01601.
Primary Source:

An Excerpt from
Black Elk Speaks:

le, all
st ro n g a n d happy peop
were a ation, and
ays when we oop of the n
“In the old d h
d Further Explorations:
om th e sa c re
ame to us fr shed.
our power c ro k e n , th e people flouri What else was going on during this time period?
e hoop was
un b , and
lo n g a s th in g c e n te r of the hoop Explore the sites below to learn more about the era
so e liv
g tree was th it. The east g
ave of U.S. history covered in this episode.
The flowerin n o u ri sh e d
the four qua
rters gave rain,
the circle of w a rm th, the west More background on Wounded Knee
ht, the south
g a v e gth and
d gave stren
www.history.com/topics/wounded-knee
peace and lig ld and m ig h ty w in
uter world
h with its co s from the o
and the nort
Learn about the Transcontinental
c a m e to u
ge
his knowled
Railroad from the Smithsonian’s
endurance. T in a circle.
America on the Move exhibit

with our relig

ion.
e W o rl d d oes is done http://americanhistory.si.edu/
e Power of th round like onthemove
Everything th e a rd th a t the earth is
und, and I h
av e h power,
h e sk y is ro h e w in d , in its greatest A lesson plan with documents on the Homestead
T ars. T the same
are all the st
Act from the National Archives
a ball, and so c irc le s, for theirs is www.archives.gov/education/lessons/
st s in in in a
ir ls . B ir d s m ake their ne rt h a n d g o es down aga homestead-act
wh comes fo ven the
urs. The sun are round. E
religion as o e , a n d b o th me More background on the history of the
T h e m o o n does the sam h a n g in g , a nd always co Pony Express
circle . in their c
a great circle
www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/pxpress.html
a so n s fo rm
se were. hood,
where they hood to child More information on the history of the bison from
back again to le fr o m c h ild were
man is a circ Our tepees
the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
The life of a here po w e r m o v e s.
t in a
www.amnh.org/exhibitions/virtual/bison/
everything w re always se history.php
and so it is in an d th e se w e at
like th e n e sts of birds, n y n e st s, w here the Gre Places to Visit:
round nest of m a
e n a ti on’s hoop, a
cir c le , th children.”
to hatch our
Interested in what you saw in this episode? Visiting
e a n t fo r u s historic sites is a great way for teachers, students,
Spirit m Being the Lif
e
Speaks: and families to learn more about the past. Explore
d t, Jo hn. Black Elk f Nebraska
University o
e ih ar these historic sites, or look for local historic sites in
mN
(Excerpt fro eO g la la S io u x. your town or city to visit.
oly Man of th
Story of a H
The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Press, 1988.) www.nps.gov/libi/index.htm

The Chisholm Trail

www.onthechisholmtrail.com
Discussion Questions: The Donner Memorial State Park
www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=503
1. W
 hat are some of the images you find most interesting in this
passage?

2. W
 hat do you think the hoop represents in this passage? What
do you think threatened the sacred hoop?

America The STory of Us Episode 6: Heartland 3