Creative assignment: westward expansion and the transcontinental railroad background information: in 1858, gold was found in colorado. as more americans began moving west to mine some of the new resources, the need to send goods and information between the west and the east grew. in 1860, the pony express, a company that used messengers on horseback to ferry messages back and forth, was established to meet this need. telegraph lines came next. while the telegraph and pony express ferry messages back and forth, americans eventually demanded a way to travel and get bigger goods to the west. that want was what led to the transcontinental railroad. assignment directions: after reviewing chapter 7 and the sections on mining and the transcontinental railroad, choose one of the two options below to complete your assignment. o option a: newspaper article: imagine that you are a reporter tasked with writing a 2-3 paragraph newspaper article for the local newspaper on the transcontinental railroad and the westward expansion. in your article, you must include: o a headline o the challenge of building the railroad o how the railroad will change life in the west o how it will settlers who are looking to move west o the improvements in communication between family members in different regions of the united states ** you may include clip art or images. be sure to cite your sources.