The Canadian Pacific Railway

Since the beginning of recorded history, mankind has been caught in the middle of being

By the 1860’s railways were being hailed as an answer to economic problems. Those people in the Maritimes who supported Confederation argued that a transcontinental railway would improve among the colonies and would also help to unify the country. Goods could be moved much

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

The Canadian Pacific Railway required a great amount of effort to construct. As a solution to this, the Canadian government brought Chinese men to work for them in British Columbia

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), officially founded in 1881, marked a significant milestone in Canadian history. At the time it was legitimately formed, no one could have ever imagined the evolution and progression that it has made to present day. Over the past 150 years, the CPR has underwent and endured its fair share of sacrifices. However, there are countless reasons why the CPR should be viewed, remembered, and revered as a successful project. Throughout this essay, numerous topics, from the origins of the railway’s formation to its relevance and continued influence during present day, will be illustrated and examined in great detail, as well as why the project itself was an overall success.

Around the mid-19th to early 20th centuries, British Columbia was in a period of economic explosion. Those who were willing to work hard could find many opportunities. At this time, gold was found in British Columbia and Canada became dependent on workers to finish making the transcontinental railway. Many lumbering, coal mining and fishing business were not experiencing enough growth to match the needs of the society. This portrayed Canada as a place of opportunity and settlement for Asians whose homelands were becoming overcrowded. Sadly, the early pioneer years were extremely difficult for Asian immigrants due to the extensive racism and barriers keeping them from full participation of the Canadian

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

The Canadian government perpetuated the stereotype and racism that all Chinese were used to; by removing their right to vote, even as full citizens they were unable to elect a political party that embodied their goals. Also in an attempt to strengthen the racist views the Canadian government segregated Oriental school children from Canadian school children, by only allowing those born in Canada to attend public school. This act of segregation draws a parallel to black segregation and truly shows how significant this hate had become. This hate destroyed many lives and set the acceptance of the Chinese heritage and culture back by decades; which later became important when we wished to create an alliance with China. In 1907 these racist views erupted into full-scale destruction as over 7000 Canadians pillaged “Chinatown”; breaking all the store windows while mass looting occurred. Even after this horrendous rampage the government continued its views of the Chinese and passed into legislation a Chinese Immigration Act in 1923. This act prevented all Chinese from entering the country, including those with family already within Canada. This act is shown to be significant to both Canadian and Chinese history as it demonstrates that Canada wished to thin their population of Chinese citizens. It also shows that many, if not all, of Canada and its citizens, shared these racist views. Overall these racist views continued on throughout the first half of the twentieth

The Transcontinental Railroad was the largest project the United States had ever seen. Due to lack of technology, the enormous size of the project, and the environmental conditions, the railroad seemed to be an impossible task.  This construction project posed a huge challenge to those working on it. The railroad’s route would span nearly seven hundred

The Gold Rush in British Columbia (B.C) marked the beginning of Canada’s multicultural society. It saw the mass immigration of foreign workers (particularly those from China and other Asian nations), dispersion of Native Americans, and intrusion of poor and middle class europeans seeking riches in the rumoured “El Dorado”. The exhibit attempted to argue these points through its much anticipated “Scholarly Insight” panel, titled Why study a gold rush? The panel identifies three key themes regarding the outcome of the B.C. Gold Rush: that it connected Canada to the rest of the world through the Pacific-Rim, it sparked mass immigration which caused conflicts amongst different ethnic groups, and the Gold Rush was the event that truly united Canada coast to coast. These points were also explored in Christopher Douglas Herbert’s article, A New Take on An Old Town. Exploring the impact through the Cariboo Gold Rush, many parallels can be drawn between the two events, particularly among the economic importance of the the territory to the nation of Canada.

Sir John was a visionary and had great plans to try to make Canada the greatest country in history. He had a genius and crazy idea to build a massive railroad across the entire country from sea to sea. He imagined the country being able to send goods quickly to incite internal trade, and be able to send soldiers across the country in the event of an emergency. Furthermore, the railroad would help to signal that the country had united as one. A quote from Sir John about the railroad states “Late events have shown us that we are made one people by that road, that iron

The Transcontinental railroad could be well-defined as one of the vast changes in America in the 18th century. The railroad has played significant roles in westward expansion and growth. From the West Coast to the East Coast no longer would people have travel in wagon's nor ships that would take months to reach the other side of the states. They could now travel faster, safer, and cheaper by train (Nelson). In addition, people, people’s belongings, like mail, supplies, and trade goods could now be shipped across the country in just a few days.

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) is commonly argued to be the most important transportation route in Canadian history, but most do not know the substantial benefits it provided. More specifically, it provided benefits to farmers, financiers, and consumers. The financiers of the railway were the group of people that the railway benefitted the most, mainly because of the significant amount of use it received in the 19th century.

By the 1840s, Canada’s economy was still largely agrarian, even though the two key ingredients for industrialization—an available labour force and a transportation infrastructure—were in place.

As the 20th century comes to an end, Canada is a transcontinental nation whose interests and representatives span the face of the globe and extend into every sphere of human behaviour. However this was not always the case. When the four colonies of British North America united to create Canada on July 1, 1867, the new country's future was by no means secure. Canada was a small country, with unsettled borders, vast empty spaces, and a large powerful neighbour, the United States. Confronting these challenges was difficult for the young country. Though Canada was independent in domestic matters, Britain retained control over its foreign policy. Over the next fifty or so years, Canada's leaders and its