Miner Chapter 3 "How the Iron Must Burn"

This chapter on the birth of railroads in Kansas and all of the unintended consequences that resulted from it made me see railroads in a new way. This chapter certainly covered many different effects the railroad had on Kansas. Miner discussed everything from to relations with Indians to suffrage. One of the more interesting things I found had little to do with the railroads, but it made me think of a great learning activity.

Miner uses quotes from many different sources in discussing relations with various Indian tribes. It is interesting to see how differently tribes are viewed. People in the U.S. at this time are starting to show sympathy for native peoples. However, others have the attitude that the only good Indian is a dead one. One particular man is quoted as saything that if those sympathizers had encountered the kind of horror that some Indians had inflicted upon white settlers, they would change their minds. I think a great activity would be to give students the opportunity to read numerous accounts by settlers (from all perspectives) and natives. Once they read the accounts, they could have a discussion about what they think, where they should go to find more information, and how the primary accounts may have changed or altered their opinions and knowledge of white settlement.

There has been some discussion around Lansing regarding why the state prison was placed there. I was disappointed that Miner stopped short of explaining this and only talked about the placement of the universities.