Assignments

Text: Divine, Chapter 9: 3/14/00

Special Topic:  The Transportation Revolution
                        then Industrial Worker

Answer one of thefollowing text questions:

• Define the phrase "market economy" and explain its significance for immigrants, Native Americans, women and blacks in the early nineteenth century.
• What was the transportation revolution and why was it important to freedom intake early nineteenth century?
• How important was the federal government in the lives of most Americans by 1820?  Explain.
• How mobile were Americans (white, black, and red) in the early nineteenth century?  Was migration voluntary or involuntary?  Explain.

Barrington's New and Reliable Railroad Map and Travellers' Guide to Pennsylvania, 1860

Answer at least two of the following primary source questions:

• Find and trace the route of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1860.  What was its point of origin?  What was its terminus?  What major towns and cities did it pass through?
• What railroads provided service to the following places: Allentown, Carlisle, Ephrata, Erie, Harrisburg, Jenkintown, Reading, and Susquehanna?
• Based on this information, what is the most significant generalization you can make about railroads and transportation in Pennsylvania on the eve of the Civil War?  Be sure to marshall evidence in support of this generalization.

For more information about the early history of railroads in the United States and the history of railroad map making, click here.

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