Cause And Effect Essay: Causes Of The Civil War

The Transcontinental Continental Railroad aided the settling of the west and closed the last of the remaining frontier, bringing newfound economic growth, such as mining farming and cattle ranching to our burgeoning country. On May 10, 1869, near Promontory Summit, Utah, a boisterous crowd gathered to witness the

The First Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869 by the U.S. government under president and former Army general Ulysses S. Grant, was a defining moment in American history. The railroad, which stretches across 1,900 miles of mountainous terrain, was completed nearly 6 years after construction began in 1863. The First Transcontinental Railroad became the cornerstone of the economic prosperity in the western United States, allowing American citizens to conveniently travel to the west coast in a matter of days. The creation of this railroad, along with the American dream of unifying the coasts, is what ultimately drove Americans to colonizing and transforming the west into the urban environment it is today. Significantly, this railroad became the physical manifestation of Manifest Destiny, or the idea that America not only could, but was destined to be connected between its coasts. The First Transcontinental Railroad became the physical manifestation of the American Identities consisting of American Exceptionalism, Manifest Destiny, as well as the fundamental American ideals such as prosperity, freedom, and democracy which were first brought to the continent in the 1600s.

The Civil War was caused by economic conflict, slavery issues and the disagreements between the North and South.

The Transcontinental Railroad is a marvel of engineering and perseverance. A transcontinental railroad is railroad that crosses through a continent. It was built between 1862 and 1869 across the United States. The initial project was proposed in 1845, but it took more time to start the dangerous construction. It had multiples consequences for the United States, not all positive. But the Transcontinental Railroad did affect the westward expansion.

For many American settlers, the Great Plains area didn’t spark much interest. But many were beginning to change their minds in the years leading up to the Civil War. As the Continental railroad was beginning to move westward, many were beginning to realize how wrong they were. “Settlers in Kansas found no desert, but millions of acres of fertile soil.”(DOC 1) Many settlers raced to the west to try to snag a plot of land in the west to hopefully start a new chapter in their lives. The transcontinental railroad also helped businesses boom by transporting goods much faster by the railroad. Also, the transcontinental railroad didn’t only transport goods to businesses, it also transported settlers from coast to coast. “After the transcontinental railroad was completed, it cost $150 and took one week. For the first time, U.S. Americans could freely travel from coast to coast. This radically changed both business and pleasure travel.”(How the Transcontinental Railroad Changed America) For many settlers, the transcontinental railroad was revolutionizing transportation. From delivering goods, to transporting people across the coast. We can all agree the transcontinental railroad

“If any act symbolized the taming of the Northwest frontier, it was the driving of the final spike to complete the nation’s first transcontinental railroad.”1 The first railroad west of the Mississippi River was opened on December 23, 1852. Five miles long, the track ran from St. Louis to Cheltanham, Missouri. Twenty-five years prior, there were no railroads in the United States; twenty-five years later, railroads joined the east and west coasts from New York to San Francisco.2

The first way the transcontinental railroad changed the US socially was by building the railroad in the indian territory and causing the indians to attack workers. In Document H, the pictures shows a crew aiming their guns at american indians in the background. We used to have a slight peace with the indians. When we built on their territory the indians started to attack the citizens of the United States again and we had to come up with another way to gain peace with them again..

They weren't sure where to locate the railroad's eastern terminus, the point where the line would connect with the existing rail network east of the Mississippi. Northerners wanted it to be located in Chicago. Southerners wanted it to be located in St. Louis, Memphis, or New Orleans. The railroad now became part of the north/south struggle.

“Before the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, it cost nearly $1,000 dollars to travel across the country. After the railroad was completed, the price dropped to $150 dollars.”(History.com Staff). Prior to the railroad the average citizen of America could not afford to travel across the country cheaply. America waited for a means of transportation which would connect them from the Western to Eastern states. The responsibility of creating the railroads were left up to construction companies. Once this invention was created, traveling became quick, easy and affordable. The Transcontinental Railroad could be defined as the most significant change in America, during the 19th Century.

In 1860, the United States had more railroad track than the rest of the world combined. Shipping freight by rail became much more practical and affordable, easily beating out the use of steamboats. The railroad directly led to the increase of urban centers. Chicago, for example, virtually quadrupled its population during the 1850’s. By the 1880’s, there were at least 93, 267 miles of rail that stretched across the plains and just ten years later, there were 163,597 miles of rail. By 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act, which gave the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads responsibility for building the transcontinental railroad. Congress also granted both railroads lands and millions of dollars of government loans. May 10, 1869, after six long years of hard intensive labor, the tracks of the two railroads finally met at

The Transcontinental Railroad was one of the most ambitious engineering projects, economic stimulants, and efficient methods of transportation in the early United States. If completed, the United States would be truly be united from east to west. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Transcontinental Railroad helped develop new opportunities for many aspects of American life.

Railroads became extremely popular in America in the 1800’s. The railroad industry itself began to boom; it was supported by its reputation for speed and efficiency. But, along with the booming industry of railroads came the strong debate that

The railroad coexisted with Western Expansion, the railroad allowed for quicker travel and Western Expansion allowed for the railroad business to progress. The Transcontinental Railroad was a product of Western Expansion and the construction of more railroads. The Transcontinental Railroad began to be built after the Pacific Railroad Act passed in 1862, that promoted and aided the construction of this railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad was built to link the east to the west in the United States. The Central Pacific and The Union Pacific Railroad Companies were appointed the task of completing the railroad where they would race to finish first and reach the west coast. Before the Transcontinental Railroad, railroads were only used to connect local cities on the east coast. The railroads on the east coast were used for travel from town to town, but it was less likely that you would travel to a major city by train because there were not railroad in

In the 1830’s when railroads got introduced, Americans started dreaming about joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans together by rail. The railroads was not viewed only as transportation but a different way of life. The dream of linking the West and the East came true after the civil war. The role of the railroads in the settlement of the Great West helped the economy, population and a fast safe travel.

Generally, it is thought to be the South’s fault for causing the Civil War. Contrary to popular belief, the Civil War was mainly provoked by the North; through using the federal government to overtake the South, removing slavery which would destroy Southern economy, and creating the moral issue of slavery. The North was the primary reason for the start of a war that ripped our country apart.