In 1863, the overall enormous construction project, The Transcontinental Railroad, began with the tracks forming from the Central Pacific to the east of Sacramento, where it was completed. The Union Pacific Railroad started building their railroad in 1865, while the Central Pacific Railroad started in 1863. “Congress granted both railroads large tracts of land and millions of dollars in government loans” (The First Transcontinental Railroad 116). The government soon realized that making one huge railroad would take forever, so they made The Pacific Railroad Act. It gave two industries, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific, the responsibilities for making the railroads. “The Central Pacific laid 690 miles (1,110 km) of track, starting in Sacramento, and the Union Pacific laid 1,087 miles (1,749 km) of track, starting in Omaha”(The First Transcontinental Railroad 1). “Under terms of the Pacific Railroad Act, the Union Pacific was authorized to build a line westward from Omaha, Nebraska, to the California - Nevada line, where it was to connect with the Central Pacific Railroad”(Union Pacific Railroad 1). The Union Pacific hired former Civil War soldiers and thousands of European immigrants to work on the railroad. The Central Pacific Railroad invested in four leaders, The Big Four, each given $1,500 for their part of the railroad. To work on the railroads they employed thousands of Chinese immigrants. The Central Pacific moved slowly because of steep mountains and snowstorms but sped up the process along the Sacramento Valley. While building the Transcontinental Railroad, there were many problems, such as Indian troubles, delays, and construction difficulties. Crossing the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas was one of the toug... ... middle of paper ... ...om coast to coast. “The 1,800 miles of new track[s] were a huge boon to the nation’s economy” (The Transcontinental Railroad Is Completed! 1). “Distances shrank, but identification to land and fellow American[s] grew in inverse proportions” (The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad 1). Even with all the troubles that happened with the Transcontinental Railroad, it helped the United States tremendously. It changed transportation in America. Works Cited “The First Transcontinental Railroad.” BNDN.com. BNDN.com, n.d. Web. 18 March 2014. “The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad.” WGBH America. WGBH America, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 20 March 2014. Streissguth, Thomas. The Transcontinental Railroad. San Diego; Lucent Books, Inc., 2000. Print. “Transcontinental Railroad Is Completed!” Scholastic Inc. Scholastic Inc., 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 March 2014.
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.
Two railway companies competed in this venture: The Central Pacific company laid track eastward from Sacramento, California and at the same time The Union Pacific company began laying track westward from Omaha, Nebraska and when the two lines met, the transcontinental railway would be complete. Each company wanted to cover more ground than the other – not just out of pride and competitiveness, but ...
This paper by Scott Carson is extremely useful in that shows all the different forces that came together to cause the Central Pacific railroad to begin hiring the Chinese railroad workers such as labor queuing, demand side
In Henry George’s article, What the Railroad Will Bring Us, it discusses the main social, political, and economic transformations that the trans-continental railroad would bring to the state of California. More importantly, he discusses not only the benefits, but also discusses the major drawbacks with the arrival of the railroad. Henry George stated the railroad would be the “greatest work of the age” (297). With a railroad stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, multiple benefits would be brought to the state of California. First, the railroad will not only create a new means of transportation across the United States, it additionally would also become “one of the greatest material prosperity” of its time (298). This means more people, more houses,
The nineteenth century America was a period of history following a number of long lasting wars and also a whole new start to new changes in society. With the collapse of multiple nations that were in contact towards the United States, it paved the way for the growing influence and development for the United States, spurring military imperialism and conflicts, and advances in scientific exploration and technologies. Because of the ideas and resources that were began to spread, develop and flourish in areas of the western hemisphere, the nineteenth century also saw opportunities in construction, communication, and in particular the transportation systems. But as different aspects of society began to improve and that more and more freedom were in the hands of the citizens and government, the competitive market not only expanded in profit and wealth, but simultaneously faced minor conflicts due to the abuse of their rights and property. Because of the rise of new technological advancements and resources, railroads in the 19th century American society quickly boomed cities and came across as the most dominant source of transportation, as it predominantly played a role in the expansion of industry across the United States. Also, it was a movement most efficient in creating their own monopoly and was quickly adopted by many other countries that sought influence.
Although not a natural resource, railroads were considered one of the key factors in almost every widespread industry. It allowed companies to quickly send products across the entire nation without using expensive and time-consuming caravans or wagons. Cornelius Vanderbilt was a prominent leader in the railroad industry at this time. He was already in his later years by the time the Gilded Age rolled around and didn't even get to see the uprising of some of the greatest leaders of the time. The railroad companies took advantage of their necessity by constantly overcharging customers, especially farmers. This led to one of the first labor unio...
Shen, Evan. "The Economic Impacts of the Transcontinental Railroad on the US." City of Sacramento, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
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...
Spearman, Frank H. "The First Transcontinental Railroad." Harper's Monthly Magazine, Volume 109 2011: 711-20. Web. 29 Sept. 2013. .
The Transcontinental railroad could be defined as the most monumental change in America in the 19th century. The railroad played a significant role in westward expansion and on the growth and development of the American economy (Gillon p.653). However, the construction of the transcontinental railroad may not have occurred if not for the generous support of the federal government. The federal government provided land grants and financial subsidies to railroad companies to ensure the construction. The transcontinental railroad contributed to the formation of industry and the market economy in America and forever altered the American lifestyle.
...f “How can this be improved?” While American’s did not invent the first railroad, America certainly did put the railroad to good use. They improved it, and has had many wonderful accomplishments credited to them because of that determination to never stop trying. Railroads have impacted the America runs and its effects are still reverberating through the country today.
The main reason for the transcontinental railroads to be built was to bring the east and west together. The building of these railroads caused huge economic growth throughout the United States. The railroad created opportunities for everyone across the US.
In 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act chartered the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies, and tasked them with building a transcontinental railroad that would link the United States from east to west. Over the next seven years, the two companies would race toward each other from Sacramento, California on the one side and Omaha, Nebraska on the other, struggling against great risks before they met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10,
...The railroad connected the east and west coast, which united America and allowed both coasts to trade and work as one.
Calhoun pushed for a bill that would use money from the united states treasury to build a system of roads and canals across the nation. But it was vetoed by James Madison he stated, “I am constrained by the insuperable difficulty I feel in reconciling the bill with the Constitution of the United States… The legislative powers vested in Congress are specified and enumerated in the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution, and it does not appear that the power proposed to be exercised by the bill is among the enumerated powers.”. St.Joseph, Missouri was chosen as the eastern terminus because it was connected to the eastern railroads and telegraph. The Western telegraph would be located in Sacramento, California. Benjamin Ficklin was hired as superintendent of the route. Ficklin set up the route into five divisions and hired superintendents to run each division. Over 400 hand picked horses were purchased and stations were built that at every station riders would exchange their horse for a fresh one. Some stations were equipped with beds to house riders. Each station was built 15-20 miles apart, riders rode about 75 miles every