Settlement in the American West, 1862-76

IMPORTANT: Many of these activities refer to the textbook “Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History, The American West, c1835-c1895” (editor Leonard A. and published by Pearson) ISBN 9781292127309 and will not be usable without a copy of this text.

This Edexcel 9-1 GCSE unit covers around 3 lessons depending upon your class and their overall ability/work rate.

Aims and Objectives:

Specification area: The development of settlement in the West, 1862-76

• To understand the significance of the Civil War and post war reconstruction, including the impact of the Homestead Act 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act 1862, and the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, 1869.
• To understand the attempts at solutions to problems faced by homesteaders: the use of new methods and new technology; the impact of the Timber Culture Act 1873 and the spread of the railroad network.

The Power Point leads students through all activities with accompanying resources. It also provides feedback/answers at intervals. Activities include analysis of achievements v. limitations, comprehension questions, exam consequence explanation question, inference work, a business analysis activity on the building of the transcontinental railroad, a promotional poster homework task, independent research and note-taking, charting and analysis of rise and fall in crime levels.