Alabama Social Studies SS24.US1.14a
The Standard
- SS24.US1.14
- Explain how westward expansion after the Civil War created economic growth in the West and affected the people living there as well as those migrating to the region.
Evaluate the contributions of the Homestead Act and the transcontinental railroad to increased migration to and settlement of the West.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Explain how 160-acre homestead claims drew settlers west and how rail lines carried people, supplies, and crops. Use evidence to judge how each shaped migration and where people settled. Recognize that Native peoples already lived on the land.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a railroad map and a homestead ad, a student can explain why a family might claim land near a rail stop. They can support a judgment about which mattered more in that location and name a consequence for Native communities.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think any settler could get land for free without living on or improving it. They may assume the railroad made travel affordable for everyone, or that western land was empty.
How to Assess It
- Give students a sketch map with a rail line and two 160-acre plots, one beside the track and one 60 miles away. Ask: "Which plot might a settler choose, how did the land law and railroad each shape that choice, and whose land might be affected?"
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
On a printed 1870s rail map, place paper farm squares near and far from tracks, then list the advantages of each site.
Compare a homestead ad with a map of Native nations, then ask: "Who gained land, and who lost it?"
Sort cards labeled 160-acre claim, train fare, wheat shipment, and farm near tracks into land law, railroad, or both.
Use a local road map and two home listings to compare commute times, then connect travel access to rail stops on a western map.
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Related Standards
- SS24.US1.14b
Describe the economic and environmental impacts of new industries during the settlement of the West, including the mining and cattle industries.
- SS24.US1.5d
Analyze reasons for migration via the western trails and the consequences of the rapid settlement of California, Oregon, Texas, and Utah on those migrating, tho...
- SS24.4.17a
Explain how territorial expansion and the construction of the transcontinental railroad affected immigrants and Native Americans, including how it led to the lo...
- SS24.US1.14
Explain how westward expansion after the Civil War created economic growth in the West and affected the people living there as well as those migrating to the re...
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