How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Affect The Economy

The Transcontinental Railroad is a contiguous network of railroad track that crosses a continental landmass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Construction began in 1863 and concluded in 1868; the tracks stretched 1,776 miles long, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The idea of building this monumental rail line was present in America decades before the Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 authorized the construction. The Pacific Railroad Acts were passed because at the end of the American Civil War, the southern Democrats (who opposed the idea) were now absent from Congress; therefore, the republicans

“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.

An astounding invention in the nineteenth century transformed America. Towns sprang up where only barren land had once been, families reconnected and and crossed the continent together, and immigrants poured into the Land of Opportunity. Few technological advancements had enough influence to impact so many people and places, but the Transcontinental Railroad was one of those rare cases. From 1863 to 1869, the Railroad expanded over the continent. This project had many unforeseen effects, whether social, economic, or political. The Transcontinental Railroad affected America the most socially by changing travel for the average American, uprooting the American Indians, and leading to more prejudice against immigrants.

The construction of the transcontinental was a public/private partnership. The completion of the transcontinental railroad created a national economy. By 1900, there was not an area in the US that was not connected in some form by rail. The railroads transported consumer goods, people, supplies, and raw materials easily. The railroad allowed goods to be sold throughout the whole country, which in turn bolstered the US

1) The Transcontinental Railroad was important, as it was the first railroad that connected both the East and West coasts, and it made a quicker, more efficient way to transport people and goods to different places. It cut travel time from a minimum of 3 months (and often a year)down to a week. The transcontinental railroad was important for westward expansion for an obvious reason. It made traveling west easier and cheaper. It also facilitated west ward expansion in more subtle, but equally if not more important ways. The transcontinental railroad created a vast amount of jobs for people working on the railroads as well as for people working to feed, clothe, and house these railroad workers.

The Transcontinental Railroad network connected the East and the West coasts; it was completed on May 10, 1869. It increased America’s imports and exports, as well as generated a national interest in tourism; however, the construction of such project encountered a series of issues. These ranged from corruption, the reluctant choice to hire Chinese workers and environmental obstacles. Thanks to the vision of some individuals and the authorization of President Abraham Lincoln, the Transcontinental Railroad became a reality; once the project was completed it connected the entire country and increased production for both the Pacific and the Atlantic.

Many of these modes couldn't accommodate the "Long distances and slow transportation hampered contact between eastern and western commercial centers."(Jones). People would have to travel countless days and night just to make a profit or to start a new life. These ways were dangerous to travel by and so the Transcontinental Railroad created a more safer and efficient way for people to get to the places that they wanted to go. There were other benefits that came with the railroad. For one, the country could create many fortunes that "would be made from this first transcontinental railroad and the other routes that soon followed."(Congress). The proposal of more annual income from sales piqued many interests. In fact the proposition for the idea came from the "New York City dry-goods merchant Asa Whitney"(Transcontinental). Eventually companies could rack in money from both ends of the country. Eventually, the many dollars that were spent on countless days of work could be replenish and many businesses could make a living by moving their products around. It was soon that people were making millions just from shipping and "By 1880 more than $50 million worth of freight was transported annually from the East Coast to the West Coast along the transcontinental line."(Transcontinental). Changes were happening and people were making fortunes off of what had been made. As

Before the railroad was completed, traveling overland transcontinental was expensive and took months to travel. With making the railroads, the trip would cost a lot less and only take a couple of days to complete. The Western railroads that expanded from the West connected the continent when all of the investors thought it was a worthless sage brush that had insurmountable mountains and only a few scattered settlers. With the building of the transcontinental railroads, that took six years and almost entirely made by hand, it brought together California with the rest of the growing nation, was actually the largest single western expansion. With two very small ribbons of steel, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific western railroads brought

The Transcontinental railroad could be interpreted as the most memorable change in America in the 19th century. The railroad played an important role in the westward expansion and on the progression and development for the American economy. When America had acquired the West, the need for adequate transportation rose considerably. Suggestions dispersed about a railroad that would scope across the continent from East to West. Republican congresses ruled for the federal funding of railroad construction, however, all actions were on a standstill for a few years because of the Civil War. In the wake of the American Civil War of 1861-1865, the rush to put together the transcontinental railroad went underway in 1866. President Abraham Lincoln permitted the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, allowing two railroad companies the right to construct the first ever American transcontinental railroad. While there are several industries, which have left an indelible mark on California and may be more associated with California in the twentieth century, however no industry has had a greater impact on the American development of

The Pacific Railroad, the first railroad to cross the North American continent, was named by BBC as one of the seven wonders of the world since the industrial revolution. The Pacific Railway has made great contributions to the economic development of the United states. It is more than 3 thousand km across the entire North American continent, is the world's first transcontinental railway, which in the eyes of the Americans as a miracle of the railway, the conditions at the time, the construction process is extremely difficult. The Sierra Nevada mountain steep terrain, is the most difficult construction of the Pacific

The transformation achieved in intercontinental trade was substantial. Within ten years of its completion, the railroad shipped $50 million worth of goods coast to coast every year. Just as it opened the markets of the west coast and Asia to the east, it brought products of eastern industry to the growing populace beyond the Mississippi. The railroad ensured a production boom, after the railroad was completed, people had better access to mineral resources and more pay ores like gold, silver, and platinum were discovered as a result. Mining towns sprang up in many areas, populating areas that have never been settled. This essentially made the transcontinental railroad, America 's first technology corridor.

The transcontinental railroad was a long railroad that stretched from one side of the country to the other. The whole debate and building process of the transcontinental railroad started in the early 1850s and ended in the late 1860s. The railroad started in Oregon and ended in California. This railroad connected the Eastern states to the rest of the country. This convenient, efficient transportation was very exciting for Americans because this was a big step in reuniting the country as a whole.

The Transcontinental Railroad was a great engineering achievement that brought a more efficient means of transportation from the Eastern United States to the Western United States. There were many challenges for the development of a project that everyone agreed was necessary for the development of the country. These challenges included a nation that was divided by the Civil War, as well as how such a project could be financed and planned for. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad rapidly increased America’s population in the West, and gave the Country the ability to protect itself on boast the East and West Coasts. The expansion in the West included taking over lands from the Native Americans who lived on the land. This was the downside associated with the Transcontinental Railroad. The completion of the railroad brought about a great appreciation for the contributions of the Chinese immigrants and allowed many to improve their lives. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad was a great accomplishment that helped the United States develop as a nation.

Comparatively, by 1869, the railroad industry reconstructed the transportation of goods and people conveniently and securely across the United States of America (Schultz, 2016). Additionally, railroads helped to shape the western economy not only through it's more dependable means of transportation of goods but also to the new developments of towns located near its stations (Schultz, 2016). Historically, the transcontinental railroad began by the signing of the Pacific Railroad Act on July 1, 1862, by

While the western United States was growing rapidly, the means on transportation across the great plains was a very long and dangerous trek. With the growing desire for western settlements, the Transcontinental Railroad would offer a much faster and safer means of travel to the western states. The railroad would also be capable of carrying goods to and from the West.