Pacific Railroad Dbq

Through the development of a transcontinental railroad system, the west was settled and many American dreams were in reach.

The Transcontinental railroad impacted America most economically due to the fact that it encouraged trading among the states. With the railroad up, states now had a faster way of getting their products in and out. People could get materials not native to where they were living in a matter of days by rail instead of weeks or months by wagon. In document F it states the economical impact that the railroads have had on our imports and exports. Even now we still use the tracks to export and import things like in 2014 the U.S imported 12.3 million tons of metals and exported 100.1 million tons of coal by rail. Since the railroad was very appealing to the American people, more were inclined to ship out their products by rail and by doing so helping the States collect more on taxes and the people with a fast and better way of transport.

Transcontinental railroad building costed a lot and was very risky to require government subsidies. Construction of the railway systems promised that it would create greater unity among the nation and increase economic growth. In the second half of the nineteenth century The screeching iron horse stimulated mining and agriculture especially in the West. The railroads took farmers to their land, took the fruits of their toil to the markets, brought manufactured necessities. Iron monsters could carry enormous amounts of food to people and ensure a livelihood by providing raw materials and markets. Railroad companies would seek settlers to their land that could be sold at a profit so they stimulated immigration. Even the land was impacted because

Western expansionism of the United States fulfilled itself with the completion of the Transcontinental railroad in 1869. The railroad had been a thought since the early 1800s, but that tree bore no fruit until President Abraham Lincoln signed the Railway Act of 1862. This piece of legislation was a landmark for the United States, as it gave the financial responsibility of the railroad to the federal government. The Railway Act of 1862 also gave two companies the task of constructing and operating the Transcontinental railroad, these companies being the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, respectively. In an article written for The Journal of Economic History, author Xavier Duran states, ‘During the second half of the 1840s and most of the 1850s, trade with the Pacific area boomed. China opened to trade and California experienced a gold rush and was annexed by the United States. Entrepreneurs and governments in different parts of the world competed to facilitate transportation to the Pacific Ocean.’ (Duran, 2013) The discovery of gold and the ensuing gold rush of 1849 (still famous today as the San Francisco NFL team the ‘49ers) created vast wealth and entrepreneurial opportunities. President

One example of a city that was heavily influenced by the railroad is Lovelock, Nevada. A railroad was built right through the city, at that time a town. The town was settled several years before the railroad was built, but when jobs on the railroad opened up, many Chinese moved into the town to find work. After the railroad was built, the town’s agricultural, mining, and retail industries expanded due to the more efficient move of raw goods to the Northwest (Document D). One could argue that land grants, such as ones similar to those found in document C, had more influence on US politics. However, these land grants allowed for new towns and homes to be built along the rail lines, thus influencing the United States more economically. When these towns were built along the Transcontinental Railroad, the towns were able to ship out goods to the north through means that were close-by, versus having to travel far to ship out goods. This meant that more goods were being produced and moved faster, leading to the expansion of factories, farms, and skilled labor, thus expanding the job market. This is one way that the railroad improved the US

During the early stages of the Civil War, railroads proved to have a phenomenal effect on achieving the Union victory over the Confederacy. The railroads not only helped to transport soldiers and goods throughout the Union sufficiently, but also increased the production rate and preservation of manufacturing. Upon seeing the power of railroads in war efforts, the Pacific Railroad Act was passed in 1862, which provided federal bonds and land grants for building a transcontinental railroad, along a northern route("Landmark Legislation:The Pacific Railroad Act"). The act pronounced that "the said corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to layout,

To start, I will explain the purpose of the Transcontinental railroad. In Source #1”Full Steam Ahead The Transcontinental Railroad”, it says “People had been asking for coast-to-coast rail travel for decades. Since the invention of the locomotive in 1825, companies had built many rail lines. These railroads connected eastern cities and seaports,splashing travel times and helping these areas grow. Crossing the country, however was much more difficult. People and trade goods traveled by horse, stagecoach, or wagon train. The trip took months. Not many made the journey.” So the government during the time thought that building a railroad, would help businesses “ sprout up like corn.” According to Source #1 it also says “ Two companies immediately got to work. Railroads already existed that stretched from the East of Omaha, Nebraska. Now, the Union Pacific Railroad began extending the tracks from Omaha out to the West. The Central Pacific Railroad began in Sacramento,California and laid tracks out East. Eventually, the two companies would meet in Promontory, Utah. So, basically the purpose of the railroad was to get people and goods from coast-to-coast.

No other single factor contributed more the commercial and social development of the Pacific Northwest than the arrival of the railroad. For the first time in history, people could get to the west coast in a matter of

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

Industrial development began with the railroad, with the help of Republican governments, who provided subsidies, loans and tax exemptions to railroad corporations. Over 52,000 miles of railroad were laid all over the nation between 1854 and 1879. Railroads stimulated growth. They required many resources to build, such as coal, wood, glass, rubber, and brass. Most importantly, the railroad connected the country.

The transcontinental railroad was the most influential innovation of the United States, that brought a revolution of how people traveled. One year after the Civil War ended the people of the United States were looking for a way to unite their country back together. This helped mold the United States as to what it has become today. It helped people cross the country and improved how goods were transported. The man that was forming the transcontinental railroad was a merchant named Asa Whitney. He had asked the government for funding to construct one of the greatest innovation of the United States. “Two railroads, the Central Pacific starting in San Francisco and a new railroad, the Union Pacific, starting in Omaha, Nebraska, would build the rail-line.” (ushistory.org). One fear of building the railroad was the danger of the “Great American Desert” because of the lack of resources. The Central Pacific was primarily made by Chinese immigrants. The Union Pacific was primarily made up of Irish immigrants. By spring of 1866 the Central Pacific had only build 68 miles of track from Sacramento, while the Union Pacific going west from Omaha built 200 miles of track in less than a year. Therefore the Union Pacific made millions more. The next three years the railroads would continue to try and make history.

Hi Gabriel, As you stated in your post the government did play a huge role in developing the railroad. Unfortunately, they also help to extinguish native Indians by killing off the buffalos, which were their primary source of surviving. The buffalos provided not only food but clothing and shelter for the American

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

The Westward expansion provided settlers with fertile lands and according to the Homestead Act, settlers did not require to be an American citizen to fill for lands. Farmers farmed extensively, which led to smaller agriculture’s share of the economy. Although the country was producing more than its consumption, statistically; reflect a decline in the importance of farming, the farmers exported the excess. However, the migration from rural to urban areas increased due to the dominance of wage labor and the rise of industrial America, such as railroads. At this era, the whole economy seemed like to revolve around railroads, every company needs railroad to export/import goods, or accessible transportation, and it was a major supplement that powered the industrial economy. The steel rails accounted for an enormous percentage of the steel production in the United States, also a major consumer of coal and lumber, opened an unlimited

Railroads were the linchpin in the new industrialized economy. The railroad industry enabled raw materials, finished products, food, and people to travel cross-country in a matter of days, as opposed to the months or years that it took just prior to the Civil War. By the end of the war, the United States boasted some 35,000 miles of track, mostly in the industrialized North. By the turn of the century, that number had jumped to almost 200,000 miles, linking the North, South, and West. With these railroads making travel easier, millions of rural Americans flocked to the cities, and by 1900, nearly 40 percent of the population lived in urban areas.