Life in the Utah TerritorySettlement, Pony Express, the Telegraph, & the Railroad

Objective for Unit & Lesson:

Unit Objective: Students will understand the political and social development of Utah in the late 19th century.

Lesson Objective: Students will evaluate what life was like in the Utah Territory and understand keys aspects of the Pony Express, Telegraph, and the Railroad.

Life in the Utah Territory Main occupation of Utahns:

farming & agriculture

Crops grown: wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, peas, and beans

Many in St. George grew cotton so the people could make their own clothes

Many raised animals: cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens

Homes were very basic when people first settled: log cabins. Roofs were made of tree limbs, brush, & mud

Schools in the Territory

First schools in Utah were LDS Church schools. They were taught:

Reading Writing Arithmetic Bible & Book of Mormon

People had to pay for their children to attend school so many did not get to attend because working on the farm was more important

Brigham Young

Brigham Young: First territorial Governor

Organized the territorial government, selected location of capital city, worked with federal government, started new towns all over the territory, and organized the immigration of thousands of new people

Also the main leader of the Mormon Church

Division between Church & State was not particularly strong early on in the territory (in other words: government leaders & religious leaders were the same people)

This situation created tension in Utah between those who were Mormon and non-Mormons Mormons felt that the federal government’s influence to remove their

religious leaders from political office was unfair Non-Mormons felt that they had no voice in Utah and were discriminated in

the territory

Because of all these issues, Brigham Young was removed from governor office in 1857

Other Facts

Sleep Tight! Don’t let the Bed Bugs Bite! Many slept on rope beds so “sleep

tight” meant that the ropes on your bed were tight so you would be cozy & comfortable

Pioneer Day Celebration of the arrival of the first

pioneers into the Great Basin on July 24th, 1847.

First Newspaper

First newspaper published in Utah Territory was the Deseret News in 1850

Newspaper represented that Salt Lake City was now a functioning “city” with it’s own newspaper

Printed once a week

The Union Vedette and the Salt Lake Tribune were later started and offered a different views than the Deseret News.

Other Religions

Though Utah was predominantly Mormon, other religious groups came to Utah as well. Including the Baptists, Methodists, Jews, and Catholics.

“ The most important name in Utah Catholic history was Reverend Lawrence Scanlan. He traveled on foot and horseback to the larger towns and small mining camps of the state. Along with the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Father Scanlan organized mission schools, hospitals, churches, and later the completion of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City.” – Utah History Textbook

Pony Express Their Goal: carry mail from

Missouri to California in only 10 days.

Station posts along the way, about every 10 miles. At each station, the rider would mount a fresh horse. After changing horses 8 times, the mail was given to a new rider.

Cost $3.00 to send a letter

You would be a good Pony Express Rider if you…

Weighed less than 125 pounds

Were honest

Were an orphan (no parents)

Under 18 years of age

Were a good shot (shooting guns)

Were a hard worker

And were brave & daring

Primary Source: Pony Express Rider

Read Buffalo Bill Cody’s account of being a Pony Express Rider and answer the questions.

If you had the chance, would you have wanted to be a Pony Express Rider?

What were some of the difficulties involved with being a Pony Express Rider?

Pretend you are a Pony Express Rider- write a letter “home” telling your family what your life is like:

Telegraph

Pony Express only ran from April 1860 to October 1861

Why? Telegraph companies finished stringing telegraph wires across the country in 1861.

The telegraph could send messages across the nation in only a few seconds.

Important telegraphs that were transmitted to Utahns: News of the Civil War (1861-1865) Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

How did it work? “ A device that uses electrical pulses to transmit coded messages through a wire to a receiver, where the message is then decoded.” Most famous code: Morse Code

Video clip

Telegraph Video

Watch the 4 minute video clip about the two men who helped create the telegraph and Morse code.

How did Alfred Vail create the telegraph?

What letter was the most common in the English language and therefore got the shortest signal?

How did Samuel Morse get credit for the invention of the telegraph?

Railroad

Trains first started in: 1811 by John Blenkinsop. He designed the first successful and practical locomotive in England

Railroad era in the United States started in 1830 when the first USA train, “Tom Thumb” went from Baltimore to Ohio

1862: President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act which authorized the construction of the first transcontinental railroad.

Transcontinental Railroad Transcontinental: an item that extends across a continent

Construction took 6 years: from 1863 to 1869

Two companies contracted to build the railroad: Union Pacific Railroad & Central Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific started in Omaha, Nebraska

Central Pacific started in Sacramento, California

http://up150.com/timeline

May 10th 1869: Transcontinental Railroad joins in Utah at Promontory Point

Golden Spike Ceremony Story of California Governor missing the spike

Movie clip

Union Pacific Railroa

d

Central Pacific Railroa

d

Promontory Point

How did the railroad impact Utah?

3 ways the Railroad impacted Utah:

Pioneer Era Over- no longer have to travel months & months across the country in covered wagons. Same distance could be done in DAYS on the train.

Change in Utah culture & dynamics: Many immigrants came & STAID in Utah after working on the railroad Chinese Irish

Utah now connected to the rest of the nation Helps lead to future statehood

Book

“Coolies” by Yin Chris Soentpiet

As you listen, pay attention to what it was like to be a railroad worker.

What discrimination did Shek & Wong as Chinese workers face?

Newspaper Headline

Pretend you are a journalist for the Deseret News in 1869. Write a headline and article (7 sentences) about the transcontinental railroad and the exciting Golden Spike Ceremony connecting the East & West here in Utah.

Mention at least one impact of the railroad on Utah in your article

Be creative and use your best penmanship