The Ups and Downs of the Gilded Age
Alex Boe
The Ups: Samuel F.B. Morse
The Downs: The Haymarket Riot
The Ups: J. P. Morgan
The Downs: Where are the Native Americans?
http://www.indians.org/articles/native-american-indians.html
In 1869, the last spike was pounded into the ground, completing the Transcontinental Railroad. For many Americans, this was cause for great celebration, but for many of the Plains Indians, it was the toll of doom. A railroad spanning across the country meant that whites could kill as many buffalo as they wanted, and steal as much land from the Indians as they pleased. This, as you might assume, made many Native Americans furious. Many tribes including Sioux and the Cheyenne fought back, raiding trains, twisting tracks, and killing white settlers, to no avail. The time of the Great Plains Indians seemed to be coming to an end, stamped out by the terrible determination of the rising 1800's economy.