Colin Ogden
Professor Bingley
California History 372
2 April 2017
The construction of railroads in California impacted the state physically, socially, and economically; and ultimately helped propel California into the state it is today. During a time when masses of people were migrating to California but were doing so in an inefficient, and sometimes dangerous way, the first transcontinental railroad provided a fast and easier alternative. During the 1850's and 60's California was booming as many people from across the country uprooted their lives and headed west to begin a new life and attempt to strike it rich. Covered wagons were not an ideal way of travel but were the only way to go until the railroads were constructed. On July 1st,
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As shown in the photo above, on April 28th, 1869, the final ten miles of track were laid in an astonishing twelve hours. On May 10th, 1869, The Central Pacific Railroad met and connected with the Union Pacific Railroad in Promontory, Utah to complete the first transcontinental railroad after building 1,800 miles of new track. The completion of the nation's first transcontinental railroad provided a more efficient way of transportation for people, as well as mail and freight. The Golden State was no longer isolated from the rest of the country. In 1865, before the transcontinental line, the estimated cost to get from New York to San Francisco was around $1,000. The travel time took several long months. After the completion of the railroad that same distance was cut to seven days and a mere sixty five dollars for a third class seat in …show more content…
The branch was originally intended to carry the route south and connect to San Diego and the rest of southern California. But after the Southern Pacific was acquired by the "Big Four", who founded the Central Pacific, not only did the Southern Pacific reach southern California, it also stretched out to the southeastern United States. In 1883 the Southern Pacific had provided a connection between Southern California and the city of New Orleans in Louisiana. The western end of the "Sunset Route" began on December 31, 1869 in the newly built city of Lathrop, California. It continued south through the valley which was easy building for the Southern Pacific. Rail traffic crept all the way to what is now East Bakersfield by 1874; November 8, 1874 to be exact. Trains reached Modesto on November 8, 1870. In 1872 the rails passed through Merced, Fresno, and Tulare by the end of the year. During the eastern expansion of the Southern Pacific, there was yet another gold spike ceremony when the railroad reached Tucson, Arizona in 1880. In the following year of 1881, the Southern Pacific Railroad joined the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, better known as the Santa Fe, in Deming, New Mexico to complete the second transcontinental railroad. A few years later, in 1885, the Southern Pacific railroad leased all track and equipment from the Central Pacific, although the official merge
Farmers began to cultivate vast areas of needed crops such as wheat, cotton, and even corn. Document D shows a picture of The Wheat Harvest in 1880, with men on earlier tractors and over 20-30 horses pulling the tractor along the long and wide fields of wheat. As farmers started to accumilate their goods, they needed to be able to transfer the goods across states, maybe from Illinios to Kansas, or Cheyenne to Ohmaha. Some farmers chose to use cattle trails to transport their goods. Document B demonstrates a good mapping of the major railroads in 1870 and 1890. Although cattle trails weren't used in 1890, this document shows the existent of several cattle trails leading into Chyenne, San Antonio, Kansas City and other towns nearby the named ones in 1870. So, farmers began to transport their goods by railroads, which were publically used in Germany by 1550 and migrated to the United States with the help of Colonel John Stevens in 1826. In 1890, railroads expanded not only from California, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada, but up along to Washington, Montana, Michigan, down to New Mexico and Arizona as well. Eastern States such as New Jersey, Tennesse, Virginia and many others were filled with existing railroads prior to 1870, as Colonel John Stevens started out his railroad revolutionzing movement in New Jersey in 1815.
Ambrose, Stephen. Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Print.
Cannons boomed simultaneously in New York and San Francisco at the same moment the golden spike was hammered into the ground, connecting the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad companies at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869 (American 1). North America became the first continent to be connected by railroad from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast when the Transcontinental Railroad was finished (Gale 1). The railroad was an essential component of achieving manifest destiny. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad spurred settlement in the American West, encouraged immigration, and began an economic boom in the United States.
This had farmers in distress, for they were losing more money than they were making. Farmers’ incomes were low, and in order to make a profit on what they produced, they began to expand the regions in which they sold their products. This was facilitated through the railroads, by which through a series of grants from the government as contracted in the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, were made possible; which latter lead to the boom of rail roads in 1868-1873.... ... middle of paper ...
It originally took about 6 months to get from the west of the US to the east, but now it only took 7 days. With railroads expanding all across the country, agriculture was affected in a mostly positive
One of the most important achievements of the Gilded Age was the creation of a network of railroads including the transcontinental railroad, which connected the United States from New York to California, facilitating transportation across the continent. During the Gilded Age the length of all the railroads combined increased threefold ("Second Industrial Revolution"). This was significant not only because it decreased travel time from the eastern to western parts of the U.S and vice versa down from months to weeks and allowed people to settle the central United States, but also opened new areas for commercial farming and gave an economic boost to steel...
John Debo Galloway, The First Transcontinental Railroad: Central Pacific, Union Pacific (New York: Simmons-Boardman, 1950), 141, http://www.questiaschool.com/read/14065867.
Many other farming machines were also developed during this time period, they all made farming in the west much more popular, easier, and profitable. The Trans-continental railroad was started in 1862, even though other trains were already running in different parts of the U.S. The telegraph also went up along with the railroads, although the first time it was used was in 1844. All four of these major technological advancements have helped the United States really get going on their Manifest Destiny. The economy would also blossom during this expansion.
With the amazing delivery of mail in 10 days across 2,000-miles of prairie land, mountains and deserts led many people to use them. With the growth communication between the east and the west the Pony Express grew in popularity. The Pony Express proved that the central route through the U.S could be traveled all winter. It supported the cattle route for the Transcontinental Railroad to meet with the Union Pacific Railroad. Communications was kept open with California during the Civil War. The Pony Express was the fastest communication between the east and west until the telegraph. It captured the hearts and imagination of people all over the world.
The transcontinental railroad would eventually become a symbol of much-needed unity, repairing the sectionalism that had once divided the nation during the Civil War. The construction of the transcontinental railroad was also an extension of the transportation revolution. Once commodities such as gold were found in the western half of America, many individuals decided to move themselves and their families out west in search of opportunity. Not only did the railroad help to transport people, but it also it allowed for goods to be delivered from companies in the east. In the end, the American transcontinental railroad created a national market, enabling mass production, and stimulated industry, while greatly impacting American society through stimulated immigration and urbanization.
During the Mexican American War, the route was vital to the United State’s capture of New Mexico and the later capture of further west lands such as California. The route was used by U.S. General Stephen Kearny to lead his troops into New Mexico. It was a relatively quick and easy route (compared to others at the time) and allowed for his troops to quickly enter Santa Fe and peacefully capture New Mexico. The route itself even contributed to the capture of New Mexico without hostility. Since the route had already been in use for several years before war broke out, many New Mexicans relied on it for their everyday goods and felt like they were more a part of the United States rather than Mexico. Even after New Mexico had been taken under American control, the Santa Fe Trail still proved to be a vital trading route during the rest of the war and helped the Unites States become the victors. Since there was not a surplus of goods and food made by native New Mexicans, when soldiers were passing/stationed in New Mexico, many goods had to be imported over the trail from places such as Missouri. Even though it was not the easiest or safest way of transport by today’s standards, the trail’s military use helped commerce and the economy boom in towns and villages that were situated beside
In 1849, the California Gold Rush attracted the massive people immigrated to gold finding from all over the world. The gold-seekers travelled by the ship boarding in San Francisco port or by feet to leave their hometown and families from west because they believed that they could gain more money and had a better life than their original place. In the early days of California was an unknown place however after the gold-seekers arrived to California growth rapidly with crowded population. Later, the Rocky Mountains establish to be a state which called California. The gold-seekers came over to California because they wanted to achieve their goals for a better life, as they experienced by their hard working and created lots of the potential development in this gold place.
With the mining came the railroads. In December of 1878 the first train came to New Mexico, the Atchison, Topeka, and S...
California society, and people as individuals, could not decide whether they relished their newfound freedom or despised it. Some people attempted to recreate the lives they knew at home, while many others threw off the shackles of their old proper lives. Victorian culture emerged in the 1820’s and 1830’s in America. At 1850, the time of the Gold Rush, it was at it’s high point. Anyone who came to California from the states, no matter what their position, would have come from a place influenced by the Victorian way of life. This included strict ideas about the roles of men and women, taboos on drinking and gambling, high value set on hard work, Christian ethics, and ethnic prejudices.2 People who came to California experienced something quite different.
California started its statehood unlike any other state before or after it succession. California entered the nation as a free state in 1950, during the time of the Gold Rush. From the Gold Rush came the term “California Dream” which is the “psychological motivation to gain fast wealth or fame in a new land” (Manhattan-Institute.org). From the time of the Gold Rush up until recent years, California has been associated with obtaining fast wealth and fame. This encouraged people from all over the world to come to California in hopes of striking it rich, just as people continued to do up until the 90's. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 immensely accelerated certain changes that had been in the making for decades. For instance, California was already filled with different races and cultures, but when the Gold Rush struck, California became an international frontier where people from every continent were joining together. “California also set an important precedent for civil societies with diverse populations” (page 121). By 1850, California was flooded with over 300,000 people seeking gold. The fact that California has always attracted so many different people has created a land filled with many languages, cultures, and social customs. “The arrival and departure of thousan...