4th Grade ESL Tennessee History
Part Eight: The Iron Horse Arrives

  Why would Tennesseans have been excited about the railroad?

A railroad in Parsons, Tennessee
PHOTO: Decatur County Chamber of Commerce
1) The Native Americans -- the Cherokees, Creeks and the Chickasaws -- were gone. The Iron Horse (railroad) was coming. Why is "Iron Horse" a good name for the railroad?
2) The first Tennessee city to get a railroad was Chattanooga. It connected the city of Atlanta (which was originally known as Terminus) to the Tennessee River. It took 14 years to complete!
3) Nashville wanted a railroad to Chattanooga so that they could hook up to the Chattanooga to Atlanta railroad. Every town between Nashville and Chattanooga was asked to contribute money to this railroad. Some towns that refused to invest in this venture were bypassed when the railroad was built. Without the railroad, some of these towns soon died. Why would a town die without a railroad nearby?
4) This new railroad connecting Nashville to Chattanooga was finished in 1854. The hardest part of the route was a long tunnel through the Cumberland Plateau which was largely dug by African American slaves. All the drilling was done by hand. One man would hold a length of steel, while two other men would strike it with eight pound hammers.
5) Private companies were given the right of eminent domain. They had the power to force people to sell their land to them.
Coal miners in Sequatchie County
6) Railroads were used to move things. When the railroads came in, mining towns came next. The railroads were able to transport the mined coal and phosphate.
7) All the major railroad lines went from north to south. This meant that southern cities were able to ship their goods to cities in the north.
Our New
Tennessee History Words

* invest: You invest when you give someone your money so that they will use it and, hopefully, give more money back to you later in return.
* private: A company that is not owned by the government is said to be private.
* transport: When you transport something, you move it a long distance.
* coal: Coal is a black rock found in the ground that burns for a long time and at a very high temperature.
* phosphate: Phosphate is a mineral found in the ground used to make other things.
  This ends the Fourth Grade ESL Unit on Tennessee History. Click here  to go to the next section. This section begins the Fifth Grade ESL Unit on Tennessee History.