The First Transcontinental Railroad missing works cited “May God continue the unity of our country as this railroad unites the two great oceans of the world” (Mayer 213). This famous quotation was engraved on the gold spike that connected the two fragments of the first transcontinental railroad. It describes the significance of the railway to the rapidly growing United States. The transcontinental railroad was of tremendous importance to the development of the Union because it opened the western
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
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
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
transportation and various forms of cargo began to rise in the United States of America, a group of railroads with terminal connections along the way began to form across the land mass of this country, ending with the result of one of the most influential innovations in American history, allowing trade to flow easily from location to location, and a fast form of transportation, named the Transcontinental Railroad. America at this time consisted of overland travel and ocean travel. The journey all the way
what extent did attitudes toward the Chinese immigrants during the building of the transcontinental railroad differ from those towards Irsih immigrants? To assess the attitudes toward the Chinese immigrants, this study focuses on the building of the transcontinental railroad in the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. This study investigates the views, tasks given during the building of the railroad, and benefits given to the Chinese and Irish immigrants and the impact of their
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
creating or marketing a new product. Comparative advantage and absolute advantage are always factors for nations competing with one another. An economy must first obtain at least one of these advantages in order to market a product successfully. President Abraham Lincoln used these concepts when discussing the completion of the transcontinental rail road system. Comparative Advantage The concept of comparative advantage is actually quite simple. Comparative Advantage is the ability to carry out a particular
of Richard White’s “Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America” he talks about how big monopolized corporations in the late nineteenth and early twenty first centuries built an overabundance of railroads adjoining the East with the West in the United States. These railroads where indefinitely built ahead demand when analyzing the fact that the country had just finished fighting the Civil War at the time. Virtually almost every railroad corporation owner(s) went bankrupt,
Railroads have made better the lives of most citizens in the US. By the 1890s, the United States was becoming an urban nation , railroads were a great way of transport between towns. They were used for the shipping of food, building materials and fuel. The presence of them could bring a territory a lot of opportunities as well as it could change its economy in many ways. Railroads also helped to shape physically the growth of towns and also a lot business grew around focal points in the railroad
THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD- THE AMERICAN WAY By: Akash Gokul Sacramento, CA., May 10,1879 -- As the whistle of the train reverberated from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California, the idea of a greater, more interconnected future glistened before the eyes of Americans. All in all, the past decade has displayed that the Transcontinental Railroad serves to be more than a mere advancement in the locomotive industry. Spanning 1,775 miles of American land and needing approximately six years
The Railroad Boom 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. "Railroads were the first big business, the first magnet for the great financial markets, and the first industry to develop a large-scale management bureaucracy. The railroads opened the western half of the nation to economic
The Transcontinental Railroad and Westward Expansion Thesis: The transcontinental railroad greatly increased Westward expansion in the United States of America during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The history of the United States has been influenced by England in many ways. In the second half of the 1800's, the railroad, which was invented in England, had a major effect on Western expansion in the United States. "Railroads were born in England, a country with dense populations, short
immigrants ultimately became merchants, railroad workers, agricultural laborers, mining laborers, and factory workers. Throughout the Gold Rush, members of the Chinese labor force played significant roles in both the social and economic development of the American West, particularly with regards to the construction of the transcontinental railroad. As gold discoveries slowed down and the Civil War gradually came to an end, the First Transcontinental Railroad was finally completed between Omaha and
Nothing like it in the Word, by Stephen E. Ambrose The book, Nothing like It in the Word: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869, by Stephen E. Ambrose, is a concise account of the endeavors of individuals who participated in the construction of the first American transcontinental railroad (1863-1869), such as the immigrant laborers, politicians, and businesspersons and their companies. In his descriptions, Ambrose demonstrates two of the significant themes that dominated the
Railroads The first railroads were made in the 1550s, they first started off with wooden tracks with carts on them with a horse or horses pulling (About, inventors). They had the tracks because it was easier to move on the rails instead of the dirt roads. The railroads were called wagonways back in the 1550s (About, inventors). In 1776 the wooden rails were replaced by iron rails and the wooden wheels were replaced with iron wheels to make the railroad more smooth(About, inventors). In 1789 the
A transcontinental railroad is a train route that crosses an entire continent. The route may be operated by a single company or by multiple companies. In the United States the First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line that ran approximately 1,800 miles from Sacramento, California, to Omaha, Nebraska, where it connected with a network of existing rail lines and continued to numerous points on the East Coast. Known as the Overland Route, the railroad was built between 1863 and 1869 primarily
The Transcontinental Railroad was the railroad that connected the East Coast to West Coast. The tracks were 1,776 miles long, laid west of the Mississippi River. America was connected coast to coast for the first time. Construction started on May 10, 1860, and ended six years late at Promontory Summit, Utah. Before the construction even started the planning of the railroad began way early. Surveying the ground began in the early 1850’s. The first train in America started running the early 1830’s
new technological advancements such as the railroad. The gilded age is a time period where technology started increasing, many more jobs opened up. Also since there were more jobs the American wages were even higher then in Europe which caused many immigrants to migrate to the United Staes. However, the Gilded Age was also an era of poverty as very poor European immigrants came in to find jobs but the high wages were for skilled American workers. Railroads were the major industry, but the factory system
itself into a society not restricted as to what it could and could not have as individuals in terms of goods and services. America wanted to be viewed as something more than just farmers and craftsmen derived from different nations. During this time railroads, telephone lines and other revolutionary industrial contributions helped to cover up the problems of American society with a layer of gold, as wages in America increased dramatically over the years. In addition, political representatives in America