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Description
This excerpt from the Muscatine Journal includes a letter to the editor in regards to the proposal to build a railroad from Muscatine to Iowa City and a report on number of hogs packed on the upper Mississippi River. Hog production provided a means for farmers to get their crops to market in an economical fashion. Grain crops were fed to the hogs which were then slaughtered and processed into ham and bacon for sale in the major population centers of the eastern United States.
Transcript of "Stock in the M. & I.C.R.R."
Printable Excerpt of "Stock in the M. & I.C.R.R."
Source-Dependent Questions
- Why does the writer argue people should vote for the railroad loan even if the city of Muscatine was not able to sell its stocks for what it loaned to the company?
- Locate Muscatine (labeled Muscatine City) on Guy H. Carleton's 1850 map of Iowa. Why would the writer of this letter to the editor be opposed to Muscatine having an indirect connection to Iowa City through Moscow?
- What generalizations can be made about the report on the numbers of hogs packed on the upper Mississippi River? (minimum of two generalizations; hint: locate the cities on the map)
- Both the letter to the editor and the report on the number of hogs packed suggest a concern with being left behind. What evidence supports that statement?
Citation Information
"Stock in the M. & I.C.R.R.," Muscatine Journal, pp. 2, 24 February 1854. Courtesy of Library of Congress