Complications Of The Transcontinental Railroad

The possibility of westbound extension and Manifest Destiny had positive and negative impacts on the governmental issues, society and the financial aspects of the United States and the Native Americans living there at the time. Strategies that were made and Presidents that were chosen supported the general population of the United States and the Native Americans had no real option except to experience the ill effects of the changing and the extending development. There were numerous political impacts of Manifest Destiny that molded the entire development westbound.

In addition to the social and political changes that impacted the Indians, there were changes aimed at the economy which also negatively affected the Indians. One act that negatively affected the Indians was the Pacific Railway Act of 1862. This act was created to help the construction of a railroad and telegraph lines from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. Permission was given to the company creating the railroad that they can take away any land touching that of which the railroad is to be built on within 200 feet in width. Although the railroad was a great impact of Manifest Destiny because it allowed for quicker transportation of goods and people to and from the west, it legally allowed for Indian land titles to be extinguished [Doc 7].

The construct of the Transcontinental railroad began in 1863 and ended in 1869. After it was complete people used it very much to travel across the country and people still it today to travel to places. People offend only believe the railroad was one of the most amazing that happen to our country and it only caused great things to happen. However, this is not all true. The railroad did cause great things like it helped increase westward expansion in the United States of America but it also caused a lot of horrible things like causing the removal of many Native American tribes in the west. So, after the Transcontinental Railroad was completed, there were positives effect but also negative effects that occur in the US.

Westward Expansion had the biggest impact on the economy and there were several positive outcomes as a result of Manifest Destiny. First, Westward Expansion led to the creation of many new technologies including steamboats, canals and the transcontinental railroads. Steamboats

Established in 1842, the US House & Senate Committees have looked back at the railroad and used it to advance the ways and means of transporting goods, supplies, mail, and people. Look at what it has done; it has served as an artery, moving what is needed throughout the entire nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific. From giving jobs to those minority groups and once former slaves after the Civil War, throwing the stock market and economy left and right, assisting Abraham Lincoln in winning elections and also winning the Civil War, helping rebuild the South and the nation’s economy from the bottom up during the reconstruction era, taming the Wild West (which has a major direct influence on the American Government System), serving as one of the best ways of getting mail to citizens across the US, and expanding intercontinental trade to have its own manifest destiny. This railroad had a significant affect in the growth of this nation and its government. It’s relationship and way it impacts the government is a result from multiple chain reactions that originated from the 1860s, 70s, 80s, etc. and I strongly believe, after all of my research, that our nations governmental system would be many decades behind if it wasn’t for the transcontinental

(flattened) the land by as much as a hundred miles a stretch. Behind them came

Inventions like the iPhone have paved the road for social, economical, and political improvements. It allowed many opportunities for people to capitalize on whether it be economically like amazon, or socially like youtube as did the railroad that connected the states together. The transcontinental railroad most impacted America economically through encouraging imports and exports amongst the states, making transportation cheaper, and opening up cities along the railroad itself.

Construction of the Transcontinental Railroad not only affected the United States itself but also anything that inhabited the lands that it was constructed on. As a necessary to build the railroad they had to go through mountains, Native American land, animals homes, etc. Native Americans being inhabitants of the land did not welcome the white settlers which resulted in violent conflict. When it came to building the railroad two companies were assigned the task, pinning them up against each other to lay the most track for more money. The Central Pacific company which started in California had to go through mountains while the Union Pacific which started in Nebraska only had to go through the Great Plains. For Central Pacific workers there was horrible working conditions, discrimination, and the chance dying for every mile laid.

The article, “Creating the System: Railroads and the Modern Corporation”, informs us all about the development of the transcontinental railroad and how it helped drive the nation west and also transformed western North America into a economy that had many opportunities. The railroads have always interested me when it comes to this period of time. What I learned from the reading that I didn’t know before was that the Western railroads were primary carriers of grain, other agricultural produce, livestock, coal, lumber and minerals. Also seeing the prices that the farmers shipped their products for, and what they paid for the freights rates was very interesting. Overall, if the railroads wouldn’t have been built in a time when there was so little

The overall impact of the Gold Rush is seen through the effects of this population boom ­­ the population of cities like San Francisco exploded, and a huge, modern infrastructure was built to accommodate this population boom. The Gold Rush also played a large role in the desire for a Transcontinental Railroad, and is seen by many as the foundation for today’s West. However, the effects of the Gold Rush were localized to the Western States, particularly California. The countrywide effects of the Transcontinental Railroad strongly contrast the localized impacts of the Gold Rush, making the Transcontinental Railroad far more impactful on Westward Expansion due to the fact that its impact was seen in Eastern and Western

By 1890, the vast hunting ground that was so hard fought and won by Red Cloud and the Oglala Sioux would be lost. New treaties scattered the Indians to reservations and opened the last great Native American holding to the settlers so steadily branching outward from the iron road. Although the railroad affected the Native Americans negatively, the railroad affected the settlers and immigrant positively.4 Mixed emotions led to be a problem for some time to come.

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.

The transcontinental railroad had a huge impact on the economy of the United States. When the railroad was in the beginnings of being built they supplied many jobs to Irish

During the year of 1869, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad companies met in Utah. This railroad connected Sacramento, to Promontory. The transcontinental railroad allowed Americans to maneuver goods across long distances. If this railroad was never built, short- term consequences would have been the inability to transport food, building materials, and medicine, making them cheaper and faster. This railroad was constructed during the time of the American Civil War. War veterans, as well as Irish and Chinese immigrants helped to build the railroad. If this railroad was never connected, these groups of people would never have had a job opportunity, since many at the time were unskilled workers.

Transportation was one challenge the railroad fixed. People could now travel and discover the frontier faster. Trade was also increased once the tracks were finished. Many could now take their items to new areas to make trades. Another nuisance that the transcontinental railroad corrected was the communication gap. Settlers were often isolated, so when the railroad was completed other settlers would meet up to chat and help one another out. The last major impact the completion of the transcontinental railroad created was the opportunity for new jobs. Silver mining in Comstock Lode, Nevada and gold mining in the Black Hills created many jobs for settlers. Railroad companies may have helped the United States, but they would capitalize off of the government. These companies did so through the Pacific Railway Acts. The Pacific Railway Acts provided loans and land grants to railroad companies in order to help the companies raise money for the construction of new railroads. In return the government would get discounted rates to send troops and mail. By the end of these acts, “Congress and granted over 131 million acres of land to railroad companies.” (Holt McDougal, 590). The transcontinental railroad had improved many things, but that’s not all this railroad