Jarek Jastrzemski Jayden Sei The railroad created a large change in the groups of the West because everyone was affected in some way by the creation of the transcontinental railroad. The miners were affected negatively because they were paid very little even though they had a very dangerous job. The miners had to deal with explosives to break through the rock and sometimes, they wouldn’t make it out of the cave in time so they got hurt by the explosion. The Chinese railroad workers were affected negatively because they were forced to work for only a dollar per day. They had to work very hard day and night. The cowboys were affected negatively because they had to move cows towards the railroad. They were poor so they had to change jobs based on the seasons. The cowboys protected the cows with their lives so that they could reach the railroad. The Native Americans were affected negatively because they were forced to move to reservations, and railroad companies killed the buffalo, the Native Americans' main food source, in order to clear the path for trains. Native Americans had to move from reservation to reservation because miners kept discovering gold in the Native American reservations. African Americans were also affected negatively. African Americans had to move West because there were laws against African-American rights in the South. Some of them became cowboys and helped herd the cattle up north, toward the railroad. The women and children were affected positively because, when they moved to the Great Plains, they farmed a lot. Many orphaned children had foster families. Overall, the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad changed the nation drastically in many ways.
