why was the transcontinental railroad built

Track was and still is privately owned by the railroad companies generally freight. One of the first promoters of the railroad was a merchant named Asa Whitney. A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. In fact, 1869 is considered to be a benchmark . And, not unimportantly, the newly emerging union was at last truly linked. Before the advent of the transcontinental railroad, a journey across the continent to the western states meant a dangerous six month trek over rivers, deserts, and mountains.Alternatively, a traveler could hazard a six week sea voyage around Cape Horn, or sail to Central America and cross the Isthmus of Panama by . The railroads continued to be important to freight, business and passenger travel into the 20th century. North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the " Pacific Railroad " and later as the "Overland Route") was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa with the Pacific . Nor was it the final nail in the coffin. The transcontinental railroad was built to open up the interior and allow settlement in these areas, to make rural and unexplored areas accessible, and to ease the transportation of both goods and passengers from one area to another. 300. In 1849 lots of settlers were traveling long distances over mountains, hills forests, rivers, deserts, and more. Who came up with the idea and why? . As a once Illinois railroad lawyer, Abraham Lincoln was convinced that railroads were essential to America's future - drawing the nation together by trade, by travel, and by the defusing of yeomen farmers and immigrants, across the United States. Construction crews built these structures as they worked ahead of the track-layers. What war was being fought when work began on the Transcontinental Railroad? What were the advantages of the transcontinental railroad? The work was backbreaking and highly dangerous. 300. B. . In 1947 the city's two stations had 114 passenger trains per day that connected all across the West and Midwest. From 1863 and 1869, roughly 15,000 Chinese workers helped build the transcontinental railroad. Asa tried hard for many years to get Congress to pass an act to build the railroad, but failed. Mormon labor on the transcontinental railroad mirrored the organization of the LDS . The idea of uniting the country with a railroad was born in the middle of the 19th century, and two companies began working on this monumental undertaking in the 1860s; Union Pacific Railroad starting from Omaha moving east, and Central Pacific Railroad starting in Sacramento and working their way west. The only transcontinental railroad built without government aid was the Great Northern. It made commerce possible on a vast scale. They built the Central Pacific tracks. Young believed that the railroad would bring new LDS Church members and much-needed cash to the territory. With the addition of British Columbia, Canada extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific. With the railroad built goods from the new farms in the West could be delivered to people in the West. The Chinese had already established a significant presence in the United States before the call for a transcontinental railroad came about. the transcontinential railroad was a positive effect because it created jobs for poor citizens of the United States. The transcontinental railroad was important because it helped transport the goods from the West across the entire country. In 1872 an effort was made to organize a company to undertake this enterpriseone much greater than any railway yet built anywherebut Sir John Macdonald's . Although the Governor General meant to bring a silver spike, bad weather prevented him from coming. The journey was very risky and took some time to get to their destination. The Transcontinental Railroad On May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, a boisterous crowd gathered to witness the completion of one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century: the. The transcontinental railroad line offered them new opportunities for employment, broader knowledge about the U.S. for their personal betterment and that of their community. At that time, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads were granted 400-foot right-of-ways plus ten square miles of land for every mile of track built. The Civil War. The people wanted a modern form of transportation that connected to two great oceans. The railroad was built between 1863 and 1869. From 1863 and 1869, roughly 15,000 Chinese workers helped build the transcontinental railroad. Railroad construction workers in northern Utah. The transcontinental railroad was not the beginning of white settlers' battles with Native Americans. It took two tries to hammer the spike in correctly. It [the road] was built almost entirely by the labor of negroes, who here proved themselves admirable and trustworthy workmen; sober, equal to the severest toil, and winning the good opinion of everyone. Approximately 1,200 died while building the Transcontinental Railroad. The government encouraged the building of the transcontinental railroad by passing the Pacific Railway Act in 1862 and by offering land to railroad companies for every mile of track laid by that railroad company. Summary: Transcontinental railroads helped open up unpopulated interior regions of continents to exploration and settlement that would not otherwise have been feasible. The transcontinental railroad was very important and changed the country for many reasons: 1) In 1852 there had been only 5 miles of track west of the Mississippi, while in 1890 they changed into 72 000 miles. The Transcontinental Railroad was finished and opened for traffic on May 10, 1869. The Central Pacific. Hundreds died from explosions, landslides, accidents and disease. The transcontinental railroad transformed the American economy. The government offered each company land along its right-of-way. Thus, the last spike was made from iron just as all the other were. 2) Passenger cars brought settlers to Western lands in record numbers. What was the transcontinental railroad act? They inserted explosives into each hole, lighted the fuses, and were . They were paid less than American workers and lived in tents, while white workers were given. These blacks, of whom five thousand were employed on the road, [were] all formerly slaves in Eastern Virginia " 1 Was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line constructed . In many ways, the railroad "united" the United . Abraham Lincoln promoted the railroad, and by 1853 Congress ordered the routing of the new transcontinental railroad. The McKeen railroad motor car was a specialized self-propelled passenger car manufactured in Omaha. Two companies chosen by the government (Central Pacific and Union Pacific) were set to build from the West Coast and the Midwest, respectively. Transcontinental Railroad Fact 1: 1845: The proposal for the transportation system was presented to Congress by Asa Whitney Transcontinental Railroad Fact 2: July 1860: Engineer Theodore Judah reaches Donner Passand identifies the location as ideal for constructing a line through the Sierra Nevada. 300. Between 1865-1869, 10,000 -12,000 Chinese were involved in the building of the western leg of the Central Pacific Railroad. To maintain that vast area and to ensure its independence from the United States, it was necessary to build a railway to the west coast. To most Americans the West was as remote as the moon, its terrain as alien and forbidding. They built their part of the railroad to Promontory, Utah. This was designed to help boost trade and transportation throughout the country. Without the railroad then there might not have been as much trading from the West which would of resulted in a poor economy and fewer people interested in moving west. It was also built to boost business activities, economic growth, and the industrial activities in these areas. 3) Freight cars carried Western agricultural and mineral wealth back. After construction began, he said, "hurry up! Come to the Utah State Capitol and see this act, signed and dated by President Abraham Lincoln. The railroad rapidly shipped resources such as coal, timber, precious metals and even cattle from west to east and opened up new markets for the goods produced in eastern factories. They placed explosives in each hole, lit the fuses, and were, hopefully, pulled up before the powder was detonated. As best I can tell, the first major railroad land grants originated with the 1862 legislation that enabled the transcontinental railroad. But it was an irrevocable marker of encroaching white . The railroad ensured a production boom, as industry mined the vast resources of the middle and western continent for use in production. The reason why the railroads were encouraged was to connect states and allow people to travel in a safer manner. Where did the Transcontinental Railroad begin and end? The document was a stock certificate from the Central Pacific Railroad, the company that built the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad by employing more than 10,000 Chinese laborers. Jan. 1, 2019 Trump proposes transcontinental railroad Jan. 2, 2019 Federal court enjoins railroad plan Dec. 12, 2022 Supreme Court OKs new railroad Jan. 16, 2023 Environmental study will take 10 years July 30, 2033 Environmental study raises emissions concerns Aug. 1, 2033 EPA moves against rail line, citing emissions For others, however, the Transcontinental Railroad undermined the sovereignty of Native nations and threatened to destroy Indigenous communities and their cultures as the railroad expanded into territories inhabited by Native Americans. More than 40,000 Chinese immigrants arrived in California during the 1850s. It facilitated the ability of Coleman, Reese, Nelson and many other African American men and their relatives to migrate to Los Angeles to live their California Dream of new . Yes, while following the american river might have been lower at the highest point, the biggest reason was cost of construction and most importantly the grade. They were paid less than American workers and lived in tents, while white workers were given accommodation in train cars. H istorians agree that the driving of the golden spike marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, on 10 May 1869 was one of the most important events in United States history, as it was also in Utah history.

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