The online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives

Reasons for Westward Expansion

Finding a Sequence

All documents and text associated with this activity are printed below, followed by a worksheet for student responses.

Introduction

These documents provide examples of reasons for American westward expansion immediately before, during, and right after the Civil War. Look closely at each document and then put them in chronological order based on when they were created.


Name:
Class:

Worksheet

Reasons for Westward Expansion

Finding a Sequence

Examine the documents in this activity. Put the corresponding document numbers in order using the list below. Write your conclusion response in the space provided.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10



1

Activity Element

"Deadwood in 1876." General view of the Dakota Territory gold rush town from a hillside above. By S. J. Morrow

Page 1



2

Activity Element

Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 1



3

Activity Element

Act of May 20, 1862 (Homestead Act), Public Law 37-64 (12 STAT 392).

Page 1



4

Activity Element

Homestead Proof Testimony of Almanzo Wilder

Page 1



5

Activity Element

Cars coming out of shaft, Comstock Mine, Virginia City, Nev. By O'Sullivan

Page 2



6

Activity Element

Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory

Page 1



7

Activity Element

Patent for Daniel Halladay's Improvement in Windmills

Page 2



8

Activity Element

Tariff Schedule for the Union Line Railroad

Page 1



9

Activity Element

Patent Drawing for Joseph F. Glidden's Improvement to Barbed Wire

Page 1



10

Activity Element

Russian Wheat Field Where USDA Plant Explorers Found Wheat Varieties from Which They Later Bred the Disease Resistant Wheat That Saved the Wheat Growing Industry in the West

Page 1



Conclusion

Reasons for Westward Expansion

Finding a Sequence

Was the correct order of the documents what you expected it to be? Now think about the documents you saw and create a list of some of the reasons that Americans moved westward during this period.

Your Response




Document

Tariff Schedule for the Union Line Railroad

1875

This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. House of Representatives.
National Archives Identifier: 18556981
Full Citation: Tariff Schedule for the Union Line Railroad; 1875; Committee Papers of the Committee on Commerce from the 44th Congress; (HR44A-F6.2); Committee Papers, 1819 - 1891; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, ; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/tariff-schedule-union-line, March 29, 2024]


Tariff Schedule for the Union Line Railroad

Page 1



Tariff Schedule for the Union Line Railroad

Page 2



Tariff Schedule for the Union Line Railroad

Page 3



Tariff Schedule for the Union Line Railroad

Page 4



Document

Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory

12/1881

This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of Justice.
National Archives Identifier: 4687931
Full Citation: Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory; 12/1881; General Records of the Department of Justice, . [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-relating-to-the-causes-of-the-disturbances-of-the-public-peace-in-tombstone-arizona-territory, March 29, 2024]


Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory

Page 1



Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory

Page 2



Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory

Page 3



Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory

Page 4



Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory

Page 5



Letter Relating to the Causes of the Disturbances of the Public Peace in Tombstone, Arizona Territory

Page 6



Document

Act of May 20, 1862 (Homestead Act), Public Law 37-64 (12 STAT 392)

5/20/1862

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862, during the Civil War. The act provided that any adult citizen, or future citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land.

On January 1, 1863, Daniel Freeman made the first claim under the Act. Claimants were required to "improve" the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land. After 5 years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. Title could also be acquired after only a 6-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre. After the Civil War, Union soldiers could deduct the time they had served from the residency requirements.

In reality, few laborers and farmers could afford to build a farm or acquire the necessary tools, seed, and livestock. Most of those who purchased land under the act came from areas quite close to their new homesteads (Iowans moved to Nebraska, Minnesotans to South Dakota, and so on). Unfortunately, the act was framed so ambiguously that it seemed to invite fraud, and early modifications by Congress only compounded the problem. Most of the land went to speculators, cattlemen, miners, lumbermen, and railroads. Of some 500 million acres dispersed by the General Land Office between 1862 and 1904, only 80 million acres went to homesteaders. Indeed, small farmers acquired more land under the Homestead Act in the 20th century than in the 19th.

Transcript

Rec[?] 21 May
Public 64

HR 125
Thirty-seventh

Congress of the United States
At the Second Session
BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CITY OF WASHINGTON
In the District of Columbia

On Monday the [second] day of December one thousand eight-hundred and sixty-one
[line]
AN ACT to secure homesteads to actual, settlers on the public domain.
[line]

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his declaration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, and who has never borne arms against the United States Government or given aid and comfort to its enemies, shall, from and after the first January, eighteen hundred and. sixty-three, be entitled to enter one quarter section or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands, upon which said person may have filed a preemption claim, or which may, at the time the application is made, be subject to preemption at one dollar and twenty-five cents, or less, per acre; or eighty acres or less of such unappropriated lands, at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, to be located in a body, in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the same shall have been surveyed: Provided, That any person owning and residing on land may, under the provisions of this act, enter other land lying contiguous to his or her said land, which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the person applying



for the benefit of this act shall, upon application to the register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said register or receiver that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age, or shall have performed service in the army or navy of the United States, and that he has never borne arms against the Government of the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies, and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever; and upon filing the said affidavit with the register or receiver, and on payment of ten dollars, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the quantity of land specified: Provided, however, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry ; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry ; or, if he be dead, his widow; or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death ; shall. prove by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the time of filing the affidavit aforesaid, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated, and that he has borne rue allegiance to the Government of the United States; then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time a citizen of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided for by law: And provided, further, That in case of the death



of both father and mother, leaving an Infant child, or children, under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall ensure to the benefit of said infant child or children ; and the executor,
administrator, or guardian may, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving
parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such children for the time being have their domicil, sell said land for the benefit of said infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be en- titled to a patent from the United States, on payment of the office fees and sum of money herein specified.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the register of the land office shall note all such
applications on the tract books and plats of, his office, and keep a register of all such entries, and make return thereof to the General Land Office, together with the proof upon which they have been founded.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That no lands acquired under the provisions of this act shall in any event become liable to the satisfaction of any debt or debts contracted prior to the issuing of the patent therefor.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That if, at any time after the filing of the affidavit, as required in the second section of this act, and before the expiration of the five years aforesaid, it shall be proven, after due notice to the settler, to the satisfaction of the register of the land office, that the person having filed such affidavit shall have actually changed his or her residence, or abandoned the said land for more than six months at any time, then and in that event the land so entered shall revert to the government.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That no individual shall be permit- ted to acquire title to more than one quarter section under the provisions of this act; and that the Commissioner of the General Land Office is hereby required to prepare and issue such rules and regulations, consistent with this act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry its provisions into effect; and that the registers and receivers of the several land offices shall be entitled to receive the same compensation for any lands entered under the provisions of this act that they are



now entitled to receive when the same quantity of land is entered with money, one half to be paid by the person making the application at the time of so doing, and the other half on the issue of the certificate by the person to whom it may be issued; but this shall not be construed to enlarge the maximum of compensation now prescribed by law for any register or receiver: Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as to im- pair or interfere in any manner whatever with existing preemption rights: And provided, further, That all persons who may have filed their applications for a preemption right prior to the passage of this act, shall be entitled to all privileges of this act: Provided, further, That no person who has served, or may hereafter serve, for a period of not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States, either regular or volunteer, under the laws thereof, during the existence of an actual war, domestic or foreign, shall be deprived of the benefits of this act on account of not having attained the age of twenty-one years.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the fifth section of the act en- titled "An act in addition to an act more effectually to provide for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States, and for other purposes," approved the third of March, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, shall extend to all oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, re- quired or authorized by this act.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act shall be 80 construed as to prevent any person who has availed him or herself of the benefits of the fir8t section of this act, from paying the minimum price, or the price to which the same may have graduated, for the quantity of land so entered at any time before the expiration of the five years, and obtain- ing a patent therefor from the government, as in other cases provided by law, on making proof of settlement and cultivation as provided by existing laws granting preemption rights.

Galusha A. Grow
Speaker of the House of Representatives

Solomon Foot,
President of the Senate protempore

Approved, May 20, 1862
Abraham Lincoln
This primary source comes from the General Records of the United States Government.
National Archives Identifier: 299815
Full Citation: Act of May 20, 1862 (Homestead Act), Public Law 37-64 (12 STAT 392); 5/20/1862; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789 - 2011; General Records of the United States Government, ; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/homestead-act, March 29, 2024]


Act of May 20, 1862 (Homestead Act), Public Law 37-64 (12 STAT 392)

Page 1



Act of May 20, 1862 (Homestead Act), Public Law 37-64 (12 STAT 392)

Page 2



Act of May 20, 1862 (Homestead Act), Public Law 37-64 (12 STAT 392)

Page 3



Act of May 20, 1862 (Homestead Act), Public Law 37-64 (12 STAT 392)

Page 4



Document

Patent for Daniel Halladay's Improvement in Windmills

7/5/1870

This primary source comes from the Records of the Patent and Trademark Office.
National Archives Identifier: 4688450
Full Citation: Patent for Daniel Halladay's Improvement in Windmills; 7/5/1870; Records of the Patent and Trademark Office, . [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/patent-for-daniel-halladays-improvement-in-windmills, March 29, 2024]


Patent for Daniel Halladay's Improvement in Windmills

Page 2



Document

Russian Wheat Field Where USDA Plant Explorers Found Wheat Varieties from Which They Later Bred the Disease Resistant Wheat That Saved the Wheat Growing Industry in the West

ca. 1910

The caption on this photo describes the impact of this plant discovery. “Russian wheat field where USDA plant explorers found wheat varieties from which they later bred the disease resistant wheats that saved the wheat growing industry in the West.”
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture.
National Archives Identifier: 5729275
Full Citation: Russian Wheat Field Where USDA Plant Explorers Found Wheat Varieties from Which They Later Bred the Disease Resistant Wheat That Saved the Wheat Growing Industry in the West; ca. 1910; Records of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, . [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/russian-wheat-field-where-usda-plant-explorers-found-wheat-varieties-from-which-they-later-bred-the-disease-resistant-wheat-that-saved-the-wheat-growing-industry-in-the-west, March 29, 2024]


Russian Wheat Field Where USDA Plant Explorers Found Wheat Varieties from Which They Later Bred the Disease Resistant Wheat That Saved the Wheat Growing Industry in the West

Page 1



Document

Cars Coming Out of Shaft, Comstock Mine, Virginia City, Nev. By O'Sullivan

1867-1868

This image shows mining cars coming out of mine shaft in the Comstock Mine in Virginia City, Nevada.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers.
National Archives Identifier: 519526
Full Citation: Photograph 77-KS-1-13; Cars Coming Out of Shaft, Comstock Mine, Virginia City, Nev. By O'Sullivan; 1867-1868; Photographic Albums of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel - The King Survey, 1867 - 1872; Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, ; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/cars-comstock-mine, March 29, 2024]


Cars Coming Out of Shaft, Comstock Mine, Virginia City, Nev. By O'Sullivan

Page 2



Document

Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

7/1/1862

This act provided federal subsidies in land and loans for the construction of a transcontinental railroad and telegraph line across the United States, from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

In the 1850s, Congress had commissioned several topographical surveys across the West to determine the best route for a railroad, but private corporations were reluctant to undertake the task without federal assistance. This Act designated the 32nd parallel as the initial transcontinental route and provided government bonds to fund the project and large grants of lands for rights-of-way. The Act aided the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean and secured the use of that line to the government.

The legislation authorized two railroad companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, to construct the lines. Beginning in 1863, the Union Pacific, employing more than 8,000 Irish, German, and Italian immigrants, built west from Omaha, NE. The Central Pacific, whose workforce included over 10,000 Chinese laborers, built eastward from Sacramento, CA. Each company faced unprecedented construction challenges, severe weather, and conflict with American Indians, whose ancestral lands were transected by the railroads.

On May 10, 1869, the last rails were laid and the last spike was driven in a ceremony at Promontory, UT. The completion of the transcontinental railroad shortened a journey of several months to about one week. Congress eventually authorized four transcontinental railroads and granted 174 million acres of public lands for rights-of-way.

Transcript

Thirty Seventh
Congress of the United States
At the Second Session
Begun and Held at the City of Washington
in the District of Columbia
on Monday the second day of December one thousand eight hundred and sixty one

An Act To aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Walter S. Burgess, William P. Blodget, Benjamin H. Cheever, Charles Fosdick Fletcher, of Rhode Island; Augustus Brewster, Henry P. Haven, Cornelius S. Bushnell, Henry Hammond, of Connecticut; Isaac Sherman, Dean Richmond, Royal Phelps, William H. Ferry, Henry A. Paddock, Lewis J. Stancliff, Charles A. Secor, Samuel R. Campbell, Alfred E. Tilton, John Anderson, Azariah Boody, John S. Kennedy, H. Carver, Joseph Field, , Benjamin F. Camp,Orville W. Childs, Alexander J. Bergen, Ben. Holliday, D. N. Barney, S. De Witt Bloodgood, William H. Grant, Thomas W. Olcott, Samuel B. Ruggles, James B. Wilson, of New York; Ephraim Marsh, Charles M. Harker, of New Jersey; John Edgar Thompson, Benjamin Haywood, Joseph H. Scranton, Joseph Harrison, George W. Cass, John H. Bryant, Daniel J. Morell, Thomas M. Howe, William F. Johnson, Robert Finney, John A. Green, E. R. Myre, Charles F. Wells, junior, of Pennsylvania; Noah L. Wilson, .Amasa Stone, William H. Clement, S. S. L'Hommedieu, John Brough, William Dennison, Jacob Blickinsderfer, of Ohio; William M. McPherson, R. W. Wells, Willard P. Hall, .Armstrong Beatty, John Corby, of Missouri ; S. J. Hensley, Peter Donahue, C. P. Huntington, T. D. Judah, James Bailey, James T. Ryan, Charles Hosmer, Charles Marsh, D. 0. Mills, Samuel Bell, Louis McLal1e, George W. Mowe, Charles McLaughlin, Timothy Dame, John R. Robinson, of California; John Atchison and John D. Winters, of the Territory of Nevada; John D. Campbell, R. N. Rice, Charles A. Trowbridge, and Ransom Gardner, Charles W. Penny, Charles T. Gorham, William McConnell, of Michigan; William F Coolbaugh, Lucius H. Langworthy, Hugh T. Reid, Hoyt Sherman, Lyman Cook, Samuel R. Curtis, Lewis .A. Thomas, Platt Smith, of Iowa; William B. Ogden, Charles G. Hammond, Henry Farnum, .Amos C. Babcock, W. Seldon Gale, Nehemiah Bushnell and Lorenzo Bull, of Illinois; William H. Swift, Samuel T. Dana, John Bertram, Franklin S. Stevens, Edward R. Tinker, of Massachusetts; Franklin Gorin, Laban J. Bradford, and John T. Levis, of Kentucky; James Dunning, John M. Wood, Edwin Noyes, Joseph Eaton, of Maine; Henry H. Baxter, George W. Collamer, Henry Keyes, Thomas H. Canfield, of Vermont ; William S. Ladd, .A. M. Berry, Benjamin F. Harding, of Oregon ; William Bunn, junior, John Catlin, Levi Sterling, John Thompson, Ellhu L. Phillips, Walter D. McIndoe T. B. Stoddard, E.H. Brodhead, A. H. Virgin, of Wisconsin; Charles Paine, Thomas A. Morris, David C. Branham, Samuel Hanna, Jonas Votaw, Jesse L. Villiams, Isaac C. Elston, of Indiana; Thomas Swan, Chauncey Brooks, Edward Wilkins, of Maryland; Francis R. E. Cornell, David Blakely, A. D. Seward, Henry A. Swift, Dwight Woodbury, John McKusick, John R. Jones, of Minnesota; Joseph A. Gilmore, Charles W. Woodman, of New Hampshire; W. H. Grimes, J. C. Stone, Chester Thomas, John Kerr, Werter R. Davis, Luther C. Challiss, Josiah Miller, of Kansas; Gilbert C. Monell and Augustus Kountz, T. M. Marquette, William H. Taylor, .Alyin Saunders, of Nebraska; John Evans, of Colorado; together with commissioners to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, and all persons who shall or may be associated with them, and their successors, are hereby created and erected into a body corporate and politic in deed and in law, by the name, style, and title of “The Union Pacific Railroad Company;" and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and shall be able to sue and to be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in all courts of law and equity within the United States, and may make and have a common seal; and the said corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to layout, locate, construct, furnish, maintain, and enjoy a continuous railroad and telegraph, with the appurtenances, from a point on the one hundredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, between the south margin of the valley of the Republican River and the north margin of the valley of the Platte River, in the Territory of Nebraska, to the western boundary of Nevada Territory, upon the route and terms hereinafter provided, and is hereby vested with all the powers, privileges, and immunities necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this act as herein set forth. The capital stock of said company shall consist of one hundred thousand shares of one thousand dollars each, which shall be subscribed for and held in not more than two hundred shares by anyone person, and shall be transferable in such manner as the by-laws of said corporation shall provide. The persons hereinbefore named, together with those to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, are hereby constituted and appointed commissioners, and such body shall be called the Board of Commissioners of the Union Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company, and twenty-five shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The first meeting of said board shall be held at Chicago at such time as the commissioners from Illinois herein named shall appoint, not more than three nor less than one month after the passage of this act, notice of which shall be given by them to the other commissioners by depositing a call thereof in the post office at Chicago, post paid, to their address at least forty days before said meeting, and also by publishing said notice in one daily newspaper in each of the cities of Chicago and Saint Louis. Said board shall organize by the choice from its number of a president, secretary, and treasurer, and they shall require from said treasurer such bonds as may be deemed proper, and may from time to time increase the amount thereof as they may deem proper. It shall be the duty of said board of commissioners to open books, or cause books to be opened, at such times and in such principal cities in the United States as they or a quorum of them shall determine, to receive subscriptions to the capital stock of said corporation, and a cash payment of ten per centum on all subscriptions, and to receipt therefor. So soon as two thousand shares shall be in good faith subscribed for, and ten dollars per share actually paid into the treasury of the company, the said president and secretary of said board of commissioners shall appoint a time and place for the first meeting of the subscribers to the stock of said company, and shall give notice thereof in at least one newspaper in each State in which subscription books have been opened at least thirty days previous to the day of meeting, and such subsribers as shall attend the meeting so called, either in person or by proxy, shall then and there elect by ballot not less than thirteen directors for said corporation; and in such election each share of said capital shall entitle the owner thereof to one vote. The president and secretary of the board of commissioners shall act as inspectors of said election, and shall certify under their hands the names of the directors elected at said meeting; and the said commissioners, treasurer, and secretary shall then deliver over to said directors all the properties, subscription books and other books in their possession, and thereupon the duties of said commissioners, and the officers previously appointed by them shall cease and determine forever, and thereafter the stockholders shall constitute said body politic and corporate. At the time of the first and each triennial election of directors by the stockholders two additional directors shall be appointed by the President of the United States, who shall act with the body of directors, and to be denominated directors on the part of the government; any vacancy happening in the government directors at any time may be filled by thc President of the United States. The directors to be appointed by the President shall not be stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad Company. The directors so chosen shall, as soon as may be after their election, elect from their own number a president and vice-president, and shall also elect a treasurer and secretary. No person shall be a director in said company unless he shall be a bona fide owner of at least five shares of stock in the said company, except the two directors to be appointed by the President as aforesaid. Said company, at any regular meeting of the stockholders called for that purpose, shall have power to make by-laws, rules, and regulations as they shall deem needful and proper, touching the disposition of the stock, property, estate, and effects of the company, not inconsistent herewith, the transfer of shares, the term of office, duties, and conduct of their officers and servants, and all matters whatsoever which may appertain to the concerns of said company; and the said board of directors shall have power to appoint such engineers, agents, and subordinates as may from time to time be necessary to carry into effect the object of this act, and to do all acts and things touching the location' and construction of said road and telegraph. Said directors may require payment of subscriptions to the capital stock, after due notice, at such times and in such proportions as they shall deem necessary to complete the railroad and telegraph within the time in this act prescribed. Said president, vice-president, and directors shall hold their office for three years, and until their successors are duly elected and qualified, or for such less time as the by-laws of the corporation may prescribe; and a majority of said directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The secretary and treasurer shall give such bonds, with such security, as the said board shall from time to time require, and shall hold their offices at the will and pleasure of the directors. Annual meetings of the stockholders of the said corporation, for the choice of officers (when they are to be chosen) and for the transaction of annual business, shall be holden at such time and place and upon such notice as may be prescribed in the by-laws.

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That the right of way through the public lands be, and the same is hereby, granted to said company for the construction of said railroad and telegraph line; and the right, power, and authority is hereby given to said company to take from the public lands adjacent to the line of said road, earth, stone, timber, and other materials for the construction thereof; said right of way is granted to said railroad to the extent of two hundred feet in width on each side of said railroad where it may pass over the public lands, including all necessary grounds for stations, buildings, workshops, and depots, machine shops, switches, side tracks, turntables, and, water stations. The United States shall extinguish as rapidly as may be the Indian titles to all lands falling under the operation of this act and required for the said right of way and; grants hereinafter made.

Sec 3. And be it further enacted, That there be, and is hereby , granted to the said company, for the purpose of aiding in the construction , of said railroad and telegraph line, and to secure the safe and speedy transportation of the mails, troops, munitions of war, and public stores thereon, every alternate section of public land, designated by odd numbers, to the amount of five alternate sections per mile on each side of said railroad, on the line thereof, and within the limits often miles on each side of said ro1ld, not sold, reserved, or otherwise disposed of by the United States, and to which a preemption or homestead claim may not have attached, at the time the line of said road is definitely fixed : Provided, That all mineral lands shall be excepted from the operation of this act; but where the same shall contain timber, the timber thereon is hereby granted to said company. And all such lands, so granted by this section, which shall not be sold or disposed of by said company within three years after the entire road shall have been completed, shall be subject to settlement and preemption, like other lands, at a price not exceeding one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, to be paid to said company.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever said company shall have completed forty consecutive miles of any portion of said railroad and telegraph line, ready for the service contemplated by this act, and supplied with all necessary drains, culverts, viaducts, crossings, sidings, bridges, turnouts, watering places, depots, equipments, furniture, and all other appurtenances of a first class railroad, the rails and all the other iron used in the construction and equipment of said road to be American manufacture of the best quality, the President of the United States shall appoint three commissioners to examine the same and report to him in relation thereto; and if it shall appear to him that forty consecutive miles of said railroad and telegraph line have been completed and equipped in all respects as required by this act, then, upon certificate of said commissioners to that effect, patents shall issue conveying the right and title to said lands to said company, on each side of the road as far as the same is completed, to the amount aforesaid; and patents shall in like manner issue as each forty miles of said railroad and telegraph line are completed, upon certificate of said commissioners. Any vacancies occurring in said board of commissioners by death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled by the President of the United States: Provided, however, That Do such commissioners shall be appointed by the President of the United States unless there shall be presented to him a statement, verified on oath by the president of said company, that such forty miles have been completed, in the manner required by this act, and setting forth with certainty the points where such forty miles begin and where the same end;; which oath shall be taken before a judge of a court of record.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That for the purposes herein mentioned the Secretary of the Treasury shall, upon the certificate in writing of said commissioners of the completion and equipment of forty consecutive miles of said railroad and telegraph, in accordance with the provisions of this act, issue to said company bonds of the United States of one thousand dollars each, payable in thirty years after date, bearing six per centum per annum interest (said interest payable semi-annually,) which interest may be paid in United States treasury notes or any other money or currency which the United States have or shall declare lawful money and a legal tender, to the amount of sixteen of said bonds per mile for such section of forty miles; and to secure the repayment to the United States, as hereinafter provided, of the amount of said bonds so issued and delivered to said company, together with all interest thereon which .shall have been paid by the United States, the issue of said bonds and delivery to the company shall ipso facto constitute a first mortgage on the whole line of the railroad and telegraph, together with the rolling stock, fixtures and property of every kind and description, and in consideration of which said bonds may be issued ; and on the refusal or failure of said company to redeem said bonds, or any part of them, when required so to do by the Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance with the provisions of this act the said road, with all the rights, functions, immunities, and appurtences thereunto belonging, and also all lands granted to the said company by the United States, which, at the time of said default, shall remain in the ownership of the said company, may be taken possession of by the Secretary of the Treasury, for the use and benefit of the United States: Provided, this section shall not apply to that part of any road now constructed.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the grants aforesaid are made upon condition that said company shall pay said bonds at maturity, and shall keep said railroad and telegraph line in repair and use, and shall at all times transmit despatches over said telegraph line, and transport mails, troops, and munitions of war, supplies, and public storage upon said railroad for the government, whenever required to do so by any department , thereof, and that the government shall at all times have the preference in the use of the same for all the purposes aforesaid, (at fair and reasonable rates of compensation, not to exceed the amounts paid by private parties for the same kind of service ;) and all compensation for services rendered for the government shall be applied to the payment of said bonds and interest until the whole amount is fully paid. Said company may also pay the United States, wholly or in part, in the same or other bonds, treasury notes, or other evidences of debt against the United States, to be allowed at par; and after said road is completed, until said bonds and interest are paid, at least five per centum of the net earnings of said road "hall also be annually applied to the payment thereof.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That said company shall file their assent to this act, under the seal of said company, in the Department of the Interior, within one year after the passage of this act, and shall com-plete said railroad and telegraph from the point of beginning ,as herein provided, to the western boundary of Nevada Territory before the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four: Provided, That within two years after the passage of this act said company shall designate the general route of said road, as near as may be, and shall file a map of the same in the Department of the Interior, whereupon the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the lands within fifteen miles of said designated route or routes to be withdrawn from preemption, private entry, and sale; and when any portion of said route shall be finally located, the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the said lands hereinbefore granted to be surveyed and set off as fast as may be necessary for the purposes herein named: Provided, That in fixing the point of con-nection of the main trunk with the eastern connections, it shall be fixed at the most practicable point for the construction of the Iowa and Missouri branches, as hereinafter provided.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the line of said railroad and telegraph shall commence at a point on the one hundredth meridian of a longitude west from Greenwich, between the south margin of the valley of the Republican River and the north margin of the valley of the Platte River, in the Territory of Nebraska, at a point to be fixed by the President of the United States, after actual surveys ; thence running westerly upon the most direct, central, and practicable route, through the territories of the United States, the western boundary of the Territory of Nevada, there to meet and connect with the line of the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California.

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company of Kansas are hereby authorized to construct a railroad and telegraph line, from the Missouri River, at the mouth of the Kansas River, on the south side thereof, so as to connect with the Pacific railroad of Missouri, to the aforesaid point, on the one hundredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, as herein provided, upon the same terms and conditions in all respects as are provided in this act for the construction of the railroad and telegraph line first mentioned, and to meet and connect with the same at the meridian of longitude aforesaid ; and in case the general route or line of road from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains should be so located as to require a departure northwardly from the proposed line of said Kansas railroad before it reaches the meridian of longitude aforesaid, the location of said Kansas road shall be made so as to conform thereto; and said railroad through Kansas shall be so located between the mouth of the Kansas River, as aforesaid, and the aforesaid point, on the one hundredth meridian of longitude, that the several railroads from Missouri and Iowa, herein authorized to connect with the same, can make connection within the limits prescribed in this act, provided the same can be done without deviating from the general direction of the whole line to the Pacific coast. The route in Kansas, west of the meridian of Fort Riley, to the aforesaid point, on the one hundredth meridian of longitude, to be subject to the approval of the President of the United States, and to be determined by him on actual survey. And said Kansas company may proceed to build said railroad to the aforesaid point, on the one hundredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, in the territory of Nebraska. The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California, a corporation existing under the laws of the State of California, are hereby authorized to construct a railroad and telegraph line from the Pacific coast, at or near San Francisco, or the navigable waters of the Sacramento River, to the eastern boundary of California, upon the same terms and conditions, in all respects, as are contained in this act for the construction of said railroad and telegraph line first mentioned, and to meet and connect with the first mentioned railroad and telegraph line on the eastern boundary of California. Each of said companies shall file their acceptance of the conditions of this act in the Department of the Interior within six months after the passage of this act.

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said company chartered, by the State of Kansas shall complete one hundred miles of their said road, commencing at the mouth of the Kansas River as aforesaid, within two years after filing their assent to the conditions of this act, as herein provided, and one hundred miles per year thereafter until the whole is completed; and the said Central Pacific Railroad Company of California shall complete fifty miles of their said road within two years after filing their assent to the provisions of this act, as herein provided, and fifty miles per year thereafter until the whole is completed; and after completing their roads, respectively, said companies, or either of them, may unite upon equal terms with the first-named company in constructing so much of said railroad and telegraph line and branch railroads and telegraph lines in Luis act hereinafter mentioned, through the Territories from the State of California to the Missouri River, as shall then remain to be constructed, on the same terms and conditions as provided in this act in relation to the said Union Pacific Railroad Company. And the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, the Pacific Railroad Company of Missouri, and the first-named company, or either of them, on filing their assent to this act, as aforesaid, may unite upon equal terms, under this act, with the said Kansas company, in constructing said railroad and telegraph, to said meridian of longitude, with the consent of the said State of Kansas ; and in case said first-named company shall complete their line to the eastern boundary of California before it is completed across said State by the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California, said first-named company is hereby authorized to continue in constructing the same through California, with the consent of said State, upon the terms mentioned in this act, until said roads shall meet and connect, and the whole line of said railroad and telegraph is completed; and the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California, after completing its road across said State, is authorized to continue the construction of said railroad and telegraph through the Territories of the United States to the Missouri River, including the branch roads specified in this act, upon the routes hereinbefore and hereinafter indicated, on the terms and conditions provided in this act in relation to the said Union Pacific Railroad Company, until said roads shall meet and connect, and the whole line of said railroad and branches and telegraph is completed.

Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That for three hundred miles of said road most mountainous and difficult of construction, to wit: one hundred and fifty miles westwardly from the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, and one hundred and fifty miles eastwardly from the western, base of the Sierra Nevada mountains, said points to be fixed by the President of the United States, the bonds to be issued to aid in the construction thereof shall be treble the number per mile hereinbefore provided, and the same shall be issued, and the lands herein granted be .set apart, upon the construction of every twenty miles thereof, upon the certificate of the commissioners as aforesaid that twenty consecutive miles of the same are completed and between the sections last named of one hundred and fifty miles each, the bonds to be issued to aid in the construction thereof shall be double the number per mile first mentioned, and the same shall be issued, and the lands herein granted be set apart, upon the construction of every twenty miles thereof, upon the certificate of the commissioners as aforesaid that twenty consecutive miles of the same are completed: Provided, That no more than fifty thousand of said bonds shall be issued under this act to aid in constructing the main line of said railroad and telegraph.

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That whenever the route of said railroad shall cross the boundary of any State or Territory, or said meridian of longitude, the two companies meeting or uniting there shall agree upon its location at that point, with reference to the most direct and practicable through route, and in case of difference between them as to said location the President of the United States shall determine the said location; the companies named in each State and Territory to locate the road across the same between the points so agreed upon, except as herein provided. The track upon the entire line of railroad and branches shall be of uniform width, to be determined by the President of the United States, so that, when completed, cars can be run from the Missouri River to the Pacific coast; the grades and curves shall not exceed the maximum grades and curves of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad; the whole line of said railroad and branches and telegraph shall be operated and used for all purposes of communication, travel, and transportation, so far as the public and government are concerned, as one connected, continuous line; and the companies herein named in Missouri, Kansas, and California, filing their assent to the provisions of this act, shall receive and transport all iron rails, chairs, spikes, ties, timber, and all materials required for constructing and furnishing said first-mentioned line between the aforesaid point, on the one hundredth meridian of longitude and western boundary of Nevada Territory, whenever the same is required by said first-named company, at cost, over that portion of the roads of said companies constructed under the provisions of this act.

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad Company of Missouri may extend its roads from Saint Joseph, via Atchison, to connect and unite with the road through Kansas, upon filing its assent to the provisions of this act, upon the same terms and conditions, inall respects for one hundred miles in length next to the Missouri River, as are provided in this act for the construction of the railroad and telegraph line first mentioned, and may for this purpose use any railroad charter which has been or may be granted by the legislature of Kansas ; Provided, That if actual survey shall render it desirable, the said company may construct their road, with the consent of the Kansas legislature, on the most direct and practicable route west from St. Joseph, Missouri, so as to connect and unite with the road leading from the western boundary of Iowa at any point east of the one hundredth meridian of west longitude, or with the main trunk road at said point ; but in no event shall lands or bonds be given to said company, as herein directed, to aid in the construction of their said road for a greater distance than one hundred miles. And the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company of Kansas may construct their road from Leavenworth to unite with the road through Kansas.

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That the said Union Pacific Railroad Company is hereby authorized and required to construct a single line of railroad and telegraph from a point on the western boundary of the State of Iowa, to be fixed by the President of the United States, upon the most direct and practicable route, to be subject to his approval, so as to form a connection with the lines of said company at some point on the one hundredth meridian of longitude aforesaid, from the point of commencement on the western boundary of the State of Iowa, upon the same terms and conditions, in all respects, as are contained in this act for the construction of the said railroad and telegraph first mentioned; and the said Union Pacific Railroad Company shall complete one hundred miles of the road and telegraph in this section provided for, in two years after filing their assent to the conditions of this act, as by the terms of this act required, and at the rate of one hundred miles per year thereafter, until the whole is completed: Provided, That a failure upon the part of said company to make said connection in the time aforesaid, and to perform the obligations imposed on said company by this section and to operate said road in the same manner as the main line shall be operated, shall forfeit to the government of the United States all the rights, privileges, and franchises granted to and conferred upon said company by this act. And whenever there shall be a line of railroad completed through Minnesota or Iowa to Sioux City, then the said Pacific Railroad Company is hereby authorized and required to construct a railroad and telegraph from Said Sioux City upon the most direct and practicable route to a point on, and so as to connect with, the branch railroad and telegraph in this section hereinbefore mentioned, or with the said Union Pacific Railroad, said point of junction to be fixed by the President of the United States, not further west than the one hundredth meridian of longitude aforesaid, and on the same terms and conditions as provided in this act for the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad as aforesaid, and to complete the same at the rate of one hundred miles per year; and should said company fail to comply with the requirements of this act in relation to the said Sioux City railroad and telegraph, the said company shall suffer the same forfeitures prescribed in relation to the Iowa branch railroad and telegraph hereinbefore mentioned.

Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That any other railroad company now incorporated, or hereafter to be incorporated, shall have the right to connect their road with the road and branches provided for by this act, at such places and upon such just and equitable terms as the President of the United States may prescribe. Wherever the word company is used in this act it shall be construed to embrace the words their associates, successors, and assigns, the same as if the words had been properly added thereto.

Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That at any time after the passage of this act all of the railroad companies named herein, and assenting hereto, or any two or more of them, are authorized to form themselves into one consolidated company; notice of such consolidation, in writing, shall be filed in the Department of the Interior, and such consolidated company shall thereafter proceed to construct said railroad and branches and telegraph line upon the terms and conditions provided in this act.

Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That in case said company or companies shall fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this act, by not completing said road and telegraph and branches within a reasonable time, or by not keeping the same in repair and use, but shall permit the same, for an unreasonable time, to remain unfinished, or out of repair, and unfit for use, Congress may pass any act to insure the speedy completion of said road and branches, or put the same in repair and use, and may direct the income of said railroad and telegraph line to be thereafter devoted to the use of the United States, to repay all such expenditures caused by the default and neglect of such company or companies : Provided, That if said roads are not completed, so as to form a continuous line of railroad, ready for use, from the Missouri River to the navigable waters of the Sacramento River, in California, by the first day of July, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, the whole of all of said railroads before mentioned and to be constructed under the provisions of this act, together with all their furniture, fixtures, rolling stock, machine shops, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, and property of every kind and character, shall be forfeited to and be taken possession of by the United States : Provided, That of the bonds of the United States in this act provided to be delivered for any and all parts of the roads to be constructed east of the one hundredth meridian of west longitude from , Greenwich, and for any part of the road west of the west foot of the Sierra Nevada mountain, there shall be reserved of each part and installment twenty-five per centum, to be and remain in the United States treasury, undelivered, until said road and all parts thereof provided for in this act are entirely completed; and of all the bonds provided to be delivered for the said road, between the two points aforesaid, there shall be reserved out of each installment fifteen per centum, to be and remain in the treasury until the whole of the road provided for in this act is fully completed; and if the said road or any part thereof shall fail of completion at the time limited therefor in this act, then and in that case the said part of said bonds so reserved shall be forfeited to the United States.

Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That whenever it appears that the , net earnings of the entire road and telegraph, including the amount allowed for services rendered for the United States, after deducting all, expenditures, including repairs, and the furnishing, running, and managing of said road, shall exceed ten per centum upon its cost, exclusive of the five per centum to be paid to the United States, Congress may reduce the rates of fare thereon, if unreasonable in amount, and may fix and establish the same by law. And the better to accomplish the object of this act, namely, to promote the public interest and welfare by the construction of said railroad and telegraph line, and keeping the same in working order, and to secure to the government at all times (but particularly in time of war) the use and benefits of the same for postal, military and other purposes, Congress may, at any time, having due regard for the rights of said companies named herein, add to, alter, amend, or repeal this act.

Sec. 19. And be it further enacted, That the several railroad companies herein named are authorized to enter into an arrangement with the Pacific Telegraph Company, the Overland Telegraph Company, and the California State Telegraph Company, so that the present line of telegraph between the Missouri River and San Francisco may be moved upon or along the line of said railroad and branches as fast as said roads and branches are built; and if said arrangement be entered into and the transfer of said telegraph line be made in accordance therewith to the line of said railroad and branches, such transfer shall, for all purposes of this act, be held and considered a fulfillment on the part of said railroad companies of the provisions of this act in regard to the construction of said line of telegraph. And, in case of disagreement, said telegraph companies are authorized to remove their line of telegraph along and upon the line of railroad herein contemplated without prejudice to the rights of said railroad companies named herein.

Sec. 20. And he it further enacted, That the corporation hereby created and the roads connected therewith, under the provisions of this act, shall make to the Secretary of the Treasury an annual report wherein shall be set forth-

First. The names of the stockholders and their places of residence, so far as the same can be ascertained;
Second. The names and residences of the directors, and all other officers of the company;
Third. The amount of stock subscribed, and the amount thereof actually paid in;
Fourth. A description of the lines of road surveyed, of the lines thereof fixed upon for the construction of the road, and the cost of such surveys;
Fifth. The amount received from passengers on the road; 
Sixth. The amount received for freight thereon;
Seventh. A statement of the expense of said road and its fixtures;
Eighth. A statement of the indebtedness of said company, setting forth the various kinds thereof. Which report shall be sworn to by the president of the said company, and shall be presented to the Secretary of the Treasury on or before the first day of July in each year.

[signature] Galusha A. Grow
Speaker of the House of Representatives

[signature] Solomon Foot
President of the Senate pro tempore

[signature] Abraham Lincoln

Approved, July 1, 1862.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the United States Government.
National Archives Identifier: 299953
Full Citation: Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.; 7/1/1862; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789 - 2011; General Records of the United States Government, ; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/pacific-railroad-act, March 29, 2024]


Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 1



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 2



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 3



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 4



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 5



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 6



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 7



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 8



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 9



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 10



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 11



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 12



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 13



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 14



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 15



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 16



Act of July 1, 1862 (Pacific Railroad Act), 12 STAT 489, which established the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Page 17



Document

Patent Drawing for Joseph F. Glidden's Improvement to Barbed Wire

11/24/1874

Life in the American West was reshaped by a series of patents for a simple tool that helped ranchers tame the land: barbed wire. Michael Kelly made a significant improvement to wire fencing with an invention that "twisted two wires together to form a cable for barbs-the first of its kind." Joseph F. Glidden, an Illinois farmer, submitted this patent for improvement to barbed wire. He was recognized as the winner in the series of improvements to Kelly's invention. Gilden's invention made barbed wire more effective not only because he described a method for locking the barbs in place, but also because he developed the machinery to mass-produce the wire. Today, it remains the most familiar style of barbed wire.

Text adapted from “Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire” in the January 1997 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Patent and Trademark Office.
National Archives Identifier: 117891118
Full Citation: Patent Drawing for Joseph F. Glidden's Improvement to Barbed Wire; 11/24/1874; Patent No. 157124; Patent Case Files, 1836 - 1993; Records of the Patent and Trademark Office, ; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/patent-drawing-for-joseph-f-gliddens-improvement-to-barbed-wire, March 29, 2024]


Patent Drawing for Joseph F. Glidden's Improvement to Barbed Wire

Page 1



Patent Drawing for Joseph F. Glidden's Improvement to Barbed Wire

Page 2



Document

'Deadwood in 1876.' General view of the Dakota Territory gold rush town from a hillside above. By S. J. Morrow

1876

This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs.
National Archives Identifier: 533172
Full Citation: 'Deadwood in 1876.' General view of the Dakota Territory gold rush town from a hillside above. By S. J. Morrow; 1876; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, . [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/deadwood-in-1876-general-view-of-the-dakota-territory-gold-rush-town-from-a-hillside-above-by-s-j-morrow, March 29, 2024]


'Deadwood in 1876.' General view of the Dakota Territory gold rush town from a hillside above. By S. J. Morrow

Page 1



Document

Homestead Proof Testimony of Almanzo Wilder

1884

This 1884 document records the sworn statements of Almanzo Wilder that he had built a “12 ft. square frame” house in the Dakota Territory and was cultivating the land. Wilder had established the 160-acre homestead five years earlier, through the Homestead Act. It was his first home with his wife, Laura Ingalls Wilder—author of Little House on the Prairie.

Text adapted from “Evaluating Perspectives on Westward Expansion: Weighing the Evidence” in the special "Teaching Difficult Topics with Primary Sources" November/December 2011 issue of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Bureau of Land Management.
National Archives Identifier: 595419
Full Citation: Homestead Proof Testimony of Almanzo Wilder; 1884; 1490; Homestead Final Certificates, 1870 - 1907; Records of the Bureau of Land Management, ; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/homestead-proof-testimony-of-almanzo-wilder, March 29, 2024]


Homestead Proof Testimony of Almanzo Wilder

Page 1



Homestead Proof Testimony of Almanzo Wilder

Page 2