How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Change America

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The rise of one of the most powerful countries in the world was not easy, it took a lot of effort, time and of course sacrifices to build such an empire. Before this country could continuously grow and expand in the right direction, a lot of conditions had to be met. America, in order to succeed and to achieve the status of a global power country, had to obtain stability on many levels, but that caused at times conflicts with the rest of the world and even with its own citizens. However, over the time this great country was able to achieve its main goals; it became politically strong, it built sustainable economy and its military abilities continuously grew in power. One of the most important moments of American growth development was definitely …show more content…

The country not only experienced rapid economic and political growth, which resulted in numerous significant improvements but also drastically expanded its horizons by developing the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. This project transformed Americans lives on many levels forever. Although the final results of the completed project were fulfilling, the decision-making process was quite challenging. In 1953 Congress tried to find the best potential transcontinental railroad route among five that have been previously authorized, however, each single engineering company and the political group had their own idea which one is the best. “ The top choice …show more content…

Civil engineer Theodore Judah who was located in Sacramento, California began his construction on the west coast and the Union Pacific Railroad began the constructions in 1865 on the east coast in Omaha, Nebraska. The two railroads companies met in Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869, where the tracks were connected with a golden spike. “Construction of the first stage to Nevada cost $14.1 million, and the whole railroad cost $64.6 million (1860 dollars). With a loan of $37 million (1860 dollars) and 5.5 million acres granted to the railroad companies, it was the largest project supported by the federal government in the nineteenth century.” (Duran

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