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The topic for 2009-2010 American History Essay Contest is:

**The Completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad **  **ESSAY TOPIC: Describe how you felt on May 10, 1869, when the golden spike was driven at Promontory Point, Utah, to celebrate the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Pretend you are either a settler planning to use the train to travel to your new home in the West, an Irish or Chinese worker who helped build the line, or a Native American whose way of life was greatly affected by the railroad.**

Brief Overview: http://www.watchknow.org/Category.aspx?CategoryID=3305 

FORM: Essay is to be handwritten in black ink, typed, or prepared on a computer or word processor, using black type in a non-script font no smaller than 12 point or larger than 14 point. A limited vision student may use Braille, a tape recorder, or very large type. A written transcript must be included, as well as a teacher's or physician's letter attesting to the student's special need. All of the essay must be the student's original work. TITLE PAGE: Each essay __MUST__  have a Title Page listing the following:      BIBLIOGRAPHY: Essay must have a bibliography listing all references utilized. Internet resources, if used, should be cited in similar format to that used for printed resources. Add the electronic address used to access the document as supplementary information. Any essay with information copied directly from sources without using quotes will be disqualified. 
 * <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Title of essay: "The Transcontinental Railroad." (A subtitle is permitted if written below the topic.)
 * <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Contestant's full name and address. (Street, RR, PO Box, City, State, and Zip Code)
 * <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Contestant's telephone number (with area code) and e-mail address if available
 * <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Name of contestant's school, with grade level indicated
 * <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Name of sponsoring DAR chapter: Jack Jouett Chapter, NSDAR
 * <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Number of words in essay <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #000000; line-height: normal;">Grade 5: 300 - 600 words

**<span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Essay Checklist ** <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px; line-height: normal;"> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; text-align: center;">Historical Accuracy Adherence to subject Organization of material Originality Interest Spelling and Grammar Bibliography <span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> Resources to use to learn about transcontinental railroads.

<span style="color: #000066; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">http://www.cprr.org/ The website for the Central Pacific Railroad Museum contains links to over a dozen articles about the history of the railroad, its founders, and its builders. The site also contains online transcripts of the United States Pacific Railway Commission’s 1887 Report that trace the legislative history of the railway. http://cprr.org/Museum/Chinese_Laborers.html. The Central Pacific Railroad Museum has a link that contains information about its colorful history and the use of Chinese immigrants as laborers during the construction of the railroad. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hh40/index.htm This National Park Service site contains a brochure on the history of the Golden Spike historic site and the events that led up to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. http://www.bushong.net/dawn/about/college/ids100/history.shtml This site contains a brief history of the building of the railroad along with a bibliography of additional sources.

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USEFUL WEBSITES FOR THE PROJECT: [|American Experience | Transcontinental Railroad] This page has links for "Special Features," "Timeline," "Gallery," "People & Events," and "Teacher’s Guide."

[|Calisphere – A World of Digital Resources] This page contains photographs of the construction of the transcontinental railroad and a brief essay on this topic.

[|The Chinese and the Transcontinental Railroad] This site offers a brief description of the role played by Chinese workers in the construction of the railroad.

[|Completing the Transcontinental Railroad, 1869] This page contains a short summary of the events at Promontory Point, Utah.

[|Digital History] This site provides interesting observations on the history of the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

[|First Transcontinental Railroad (North America)] This site provides a short history of the railroad’s construction.

[|History Now. The Historians Perspective] This page contains an essay by a Stanford University professor.

[|RACE – History – Transcontinental Railroad and the Western Indian Wars] This page contains links to various aspects of the transcontinental railroad, including the four men responsible for its construction and the famous "Golden Spike."

[|The Transcontinental Railroad] This site focuses on the leaders and workers of the Central Pacific Railroad.

[|The Transcontinental Railroad] This page touches on different aspects of the history of the transcontinental railroad.

[|The Transcontinental Railroad] <span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">This site is a brief essay on various aspects of the history of the transcontinental railroad.

<span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #000000; line-height: normal;"> **Building the Transcontinental Railroad** The site gives a brief overview and mentions the effect on American life.

**Can you help with information about railroad worker great-grandfathers?** The site includes some comments from relatives of Transcontinental workers

**Chinese-American Contribution to Transcontinental Railroad** Many aspects of the Chinese-American efforts on the building of the Railroad are included. Find out what travel was like without the new railroad and after. This is an interview with Donald Fixico, Thomas Bowlus Distinguished Professor of American History and Director of the Center for Indigenous Studies at the University of Kansas. Includes such headings as Transcontinental railroad trivia and Transcontinental Railroad primary sources. This is a PowerPoint presentation on the Transcontinental Railroad Topics such as labor on the Transcontinental Railroad, the golden spike, and the first journey are covered. Find information here about workers and leaders of the Central Pacific railroad. Discusses the impact of the railroad on the lives of Natives Americans.
 * The Coming of the Railroad the End of The Great West **
 * Native Americans**
 * Transcontinental Railroad**
 * Transcontinental Railroad**
 * The Transcontinental Railroad**
 * The Transcontinental Railroad– Different Faces Behind “The Work of the Age” **
 * The Transcontinental Railroad-Questions to Consider **