First Transcontinental Railroad

The First Transcontinental Railroad was built crossing the western side of America and finished around 1869. The idea of creating the line was present in the States long before the construction was approved. This was the era of the Civil War and the southerners who were opposed to the idea before were now gone from congress, so that meant the republicans could use that opportunity to vote for the construction of the transcontinental railroad. They chose two companies, the Union Pacific and…

According to Chinese immigration and the Transcontinental railroad, “Central Pacific offered higher pay to its white workers and provided them with meals and shelter; meanwhile, Chinese laborers received lower wages and were expected to find their own food and tents. Chinese workers often had to live in the underground tunnels they were constructing, and more than one thousand died in accidents and avalanches while laboring in the mountains” (Transcontinental Railroad). Although, Chinese…

redirect traffic from Kanas City, Denver, and many other cities and boost their state’s wealth. (Ronca) The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials first…

named Asa Whitney had a vision to connect the East and West Coast together with a railroad (Carvantes 4). He saw the great potential of a railroad stretching across America seeing how it could allow people and resources to travel across the country in a safe and reliable form of transportation. His vision would come to be realized with the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad. Construction of the railroad first began in 1863 and was a very long and expensive process costing up to $96…

The transcontinental railroad was a massive achievement for our country; its many accomplishments included expanding settlement, providing valuable jobs, and spurring immigration. Before the railroad was constructed, settlements were mostly established on the east coast. There were, however, a few settlements out west as a result of the California Gold Rush, but there was nothing in between. Traveling the 2,000 miles to California from the eastern region of the United States took five hard and…

The Transcontinental Railroad The Transcontinental Railroad was a legendary Civil Engineering feat that created an entirely new way of settlement and trade in the West that had hardly been imagined. The Railroad changed the life of the travelers and settlers in America. A trip from the East Coast to the West Coast that used to take six months then took a mere seven days. Without the intelligence of great men like Theodore Judah and Grenville Dodge, who were Chief Engineers of the Railroad, the…

Oftentimes these corporations even interfere with the government. In 1862, Thomas Clark Durant tricked Congress into passing the Pacific Railway Act, which gave the Union Pacific Railroad company 10 square miles of land for every mile of track it laid (Credit Mobilier Scandal). Two years later, Durant and his associates formed Credit Mobilier of America which carried out the Union Pacific’s track construction. Credit Mobilier charged…

deal with a big consequence that was put upon them politically. The railroad industry during this time was a very important part of the economic health of America. Actually I would like to reference something along those lines that I found would back up my statement “the root cause of the depression of 1873 was railroad collapse. And the railroads collapsed because they were overextended” (29). As I stated earlier the railroad system was important to America because it allowed raw materials…

The advantages of the railroad were due to the demand for faster and more convenient transportation. They created more direct routes, greater speed and safety, dependable schedules, year-round service, and more space to travel. They connected many cities together and went about 50 miles an hour, which would take a whole day on horseback or stagecoach. It carried cattle, fruit, and goods it had never previously been carried. The Railroad Empire grew at the end of the Civil War. It expanded from…

Generations will know her as a liberator and an icon of strength. Ben Ross and Harriet “Rit” Green where united on the same plantation after Mary Pattison, owner of Rit, marries Anthony Thompson where she is moved to the same plantation as him. Their first child was Linah Ross,…