What It Was Like to Ride the Transcontinental Railroad

Georgia Governor (and future US president) Jimmy Carter campaigns for the Democratic nomination for President as he speaks at the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC, (Photo by Arnie Sachs/CNP/Getty Images)

<p>Erin Blakemore is an award-winning journalist who lives and works in Boulder, Colorado. Learn more at <a title="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://erinblakemore.com__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!CIEioOBTV4yFbQEmSGiq4cXk2F0ZNZuyS9kOYFTisC017l-98oL6xawo3XPhTUEFtLr8Doo8X-r3lzfonSLnZm75SSl8$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://erinblakemore.com__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!CIEioOBTV4yFbQEmSGiq4cXk2F0ZNZuyS9kOYFTisC017l-98oL6xawo3XPhTUEFtLr8Doo8X-r3lzfonSLnZm75SSl8$">erinblakemore.com</a></p>


Erin Blakemore

Erin Blakemore is an award-winning journalist who lives and works in Boulder, Colorado. Learn more at erinblakemore.com

Erin Blakemore Archives | HISTORY

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HISTORY

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<p>America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.</p>


U.S. Presidents

<p>Colonial America was a vast land settled by Spanish, Dutch, French and English immigrants who established colonies such as St. Augustine, Florida; Jamestown, Virginia; and Roanoke in present-day North Carolina.</p>


Colonial America

<p>Native American history spans an array of diverse groups and leaders, including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Tecumseh, and events like the Trail of Tears, the French and Indian War and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.</p>


Native American History

<p>From raising families to leading armies, women such as Catherine the Great, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Amanirenas, Queen Elizabeth I, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and countless others have played a vital role in history.</p>


Women’s History

<p>The Holocaust, during which some 6 million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and other people were systematically exterminated by Nazi Germany during World War II, was one of the most horrific war crimes ever committed.</p>


Holocaust

<p>The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap."</p>


1960s

<p>The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.</p>


U.S. Government and Politics

<p>World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.</p>


World War II

<p>The 1950s were a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the dawn of the Cold War and the civil rights movement in the United States. At this time the U.S. economy was booming and more (mostly white) Americans could afford new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods. But the 1950s also saw great conflict and division, from the nascent civil rights movement to the crusade against communism at home and abroad in the Korean War.</p>


1950s

<p>Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.</p>


19th Century

<p>The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.</p>


Cold War

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.</div>
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Black History

<p>Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.</p>


European History

<p>The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. Explore topics on the era, from the stock market crash of 1929, to the Dust Bowl, to FDR’s response to the economic calamity—the New Deal.</p>


Great Depression

<p>Martha Washington set many standards for American First Ladies, but from Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt to Hillary Clinton and Melania Trump, each has left her mark on the office.</p>


First Ladies

<p>Natural disasters and changes in the environment, such as global warming, the San Francisco Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Galveston Hurricane, the Krakatoa eruption and others, have profoundly shaped human history. Explore both the sudden and long-term impacts of natural and human-made disasters.</p>


Erin Blakemore ‑ Stories

Former President Jimmy Carter Dies at Age 100

Tupperware Parties: Suburban Women’s Plastic Path to Empowerment

How the 1871 Peshtigo Fire Became America’s Deadliest Wildfire

What Was It Like to Ride the Transcontinental Railroad?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice Since 1993, Dies at 87

This New Deal Summer Camp Program Aimed to Help Unemployed Women

Why Congress Passed the Defense Production Act in 1950

How Medgar Evers’ Widow Fought 30 Years for His Killer’s Conviction

The Shocking Liberation of Auschwitz: Soviets ‘Knew Nothing’ as They Approached

Elections in Colonial America Were Huge, Booze‑Fueled Parties

All the Ways People Escaped Across the Berlin Wall

When Native Americans Briefly Won Back Their Land