The Railroad Boom Essay

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 Union Pacific had the twin advantages of comparatively flat land and a continuous supply line back to the factories of the East coast. The Central Pacific, however, had to fetch most of its materials, except timber, by sea, twelve thousand miles around the tip of South America. The conclusion of the seven-year race for railroad supremacy resulted in a meeting point at Promontory Point, Utah. The Central Pacific had laid 690 miles (1110 km) of track, starting in Sacramento, California, and continuing through California (Newcastle and Truckee), Nevada (Reno, Wadsworth, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Elko, Humboldt-Wells), and connecting with the Union Pacific line at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory (Gordon 302). The Union Pacific had laid 1,087 miles (1,749 km) of track, starting in Omaha, Nebraska, and continuing through Nebraska (Elkhorn, Grand Island, North Platte, Ogallala), Julesburg in the Colorado Territory, Sidney, Nebraska, the Wyoming Territory (Cheyenne, Laramie, Green River, Evanston), the Utah Territory (Ogden, Brigham City, Corinne), and

Business growth on both sides of the country was expedited by a new form of cheap distribution into profitable, expanding markets. Easy transportation facilitated the concept of business travel and expansion on an unprecedented scale. However, some of the largest impacts of the Transcontinental Railroad can be seen through the cross­country exchange of ideas. Before the railroad existed, the only fast exchange of information was written through the pony express. The Transcontinental Railroad created an outlet of communicating new ideas and information in person. A smooth and swift cross­country exchange of people and ideas not only made America more infrastructurally sophisticated ­­ it acted as a foundation for the Western United States to grow from very little to the political, social, economic, and technological center that it is today.

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.

The railways became an important system that guided settlement and delivered economic opportunity for much of the United States. Railroads allowed access to places that people had no means of getting to and provided an opportunity to develop cities and towns

First, the building of railroads out west played a huge part in the successful expansion of our country and the fulfillment of American dreams. Priot to the development of a more efficient railroad system, the movement of people and freight were

We grew domestically, but we were also able to supply the market with new materials. A 2014 study represents major imports and exports. The data portrayed by Document F, suggests 329 million tons of exports and 171 million tons of imports. As manufacturing increased, railroads were an opportunity to transport these materials more efficiently. By exporting goods by railroad, we were able to share materials found in America with countries across the world. Farmers also benefited from railroads because they could could ship raw materials at a low

The building of the First Transcontinental Railroad was a key symbol of the Industrial Revolution beginning in the United States. The railroad crossed the middle of the country and connected the eastern portion to the west. The building began in Sacramento, California and continued all the way to Council Bluffs, Iowa, resulting in 1,776 miles of new rails that were a staple for both the transportation of people and goods. Less lives were lost on the hazardous trails through the Rocky Mountains and thus the West Coast experienced an increase in population. The railroad greatly impacted the nation, as it united the people and also allowed for the improvement of the speed of shipment and price of goods throughout the nation. With the constant

In the late 1800s, the transcontinental railroad was underway from being built. For many in that day and age it meant a multitude of opportunities. But for others, it meant that everything that they had worked hard to bring into the world was going to come crashing down on them.

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

“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

During the years the tracks were being made, the first settlers began to move westward. Once gold was discovered in these areas, people started to travel across the nation to find gold in California. Chinese Immigrants soon began discovering the gold while mining. Traveling overland before the railroad was completed, took approximently five to six months. Travelers were through rugged mountains and arid desert. “The transcontinental railroad would make it possible to complete the trip in five days at a cost of $150 for a first-class sleeper.” (Digital History). This was an ever lasting change in America. Going from $1,000 and a five to six month trip, to an $150 and five day trip was drastic. Even though, the railroad took many years to connect, it has still been used in todays society.

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 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.

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