1. The invention of barbed wire and the expansion of railroads for transporting cattle directly to markets made long-distance cattle drives obsolete.
2. There was demand for cattle in the North and East because urban populations were growing rapidly, creating a higher need for beef, and refrigerated rail cars allowed meat to be shipped long distances without spoiling.
3. The Chisholm Trail ran from Texas to Kansas (primarily ending in Abilene), while the Great Western Trail extended further north from Texas through Oklahoma and into Nebraska and Wyoming.
4. Thomas Edison created the first practical incandescent light bulb.
5. The Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur Wright) flew the first powered airplane in 1903; no one flew a powered airplane in 1904 before them.
6. George Washington Carver was a scientist, teacher, and plant expert who developed a mobile school for farmers in the South.
7. Alexander Graham Bell created a transmitter and receiver that became the foundation of the telephone.
8. The transcontinental railroad was built primarily by Chinese immigrants on the Central Pacific Railroad and Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans on the Union Pacific Railroad.
9. The transcontinental railroad stretched from Omaha, Nebraska (Union Pacific) to Sacramento, California (Central Pacific), meeting at Promontory Summit, Utah.
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of 5th grade social studies notes.
