Pacific Railroad Essay Outline

It began the task of constructing a transcontinental railroad that would link the United States from the East Coast to the West Coast. "In the meantime, construction of several important railroads is being carried forward with energy. " People would not have to travel months in long wagon trains on a trip to the west. The transcontinental railroad was a significant development and it improved transportation, people could travel in a faster, safer, and cheaper way by train. Mail, supplies, trade goods, and other additional things could be shipped across the country and arrive in just a few days.

The railroad was vital in the setting of the west for the American people. The Pacific Railway Act gave the American people a much easier way of travel to the east. This made it more likely for large families to participate in the expansion due to the lack of hardship that many encountered during the Oregon Trail. The Act gave the Union Pacific Railroad the expansion from Nebraska west, while the Central Pacific Railroad moved from California east. Thus, the first railroad was completed when the two companies finally connected in Promontory Point, Utah in spring 1869.

After this invention the people will never know a world without machine transportation. Before the railroad, it took almost six months and costed up $1000 to travel between California and New York. After the transcontinental railroad was completed, it costed $150 and took one week. Easier business travel allowed growth through expanding markets and

The Transcontinental Railroad The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad was an important event in the United States history. There were many challenges in building it, but after it was finished, it connected the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. The railroad took three whole years to build, with the help of two railroad companies and thousands of other hired workers.

The United States came very far in this time period by constructing the first Transcontinental railroad, the first incandescent light bulb, and the first subway station in North America. The First Transcontinental Railroad was built in 1869 and stretched from Sacramento, California to Council Bluffs, Iowa where other railroads met to bring travelers to the east. This was the first railroad to stretch across the whole country and it opened up the United States to a lot of trade and traveling. Previously going across the continent would have taken months, but with the railroad it now only took weeks. This would have been very useful to explorers like Lewis and Clark who traveled to the new western territories.

The railroad replaced stage coaches and wagon trains and provided a quicker and safer means of transportation for both people and goods. The section titled “Results of the Railroad” of the textbook explains that “The transcontinental railroad increased both economic growth and the population in the West”. Further in the passage our textbook states that “...wood, metals, meat and grain...” were sent from the west and in return “eastern businesses shipped manufactured goods to the west”. With the increased ease of moving materials and expanding commerce, more and more people chose to move west.

The Effects of the Transcontinental Railroad: Native Americans, Society, and Economy The Transcontinental Railroad had a drastic effects on many aspects of life during the 1860s, including society, the economy, and the Native Americans’ way of life. These are just a few of the ways the Transcontinental Railroad changed the world. Native Americans were forced to relocate, society had a new outlook on life, and the economy had been boosted almost incalculably.

Transcontinental Railroad Travel predating the late 1860’s was a complicated and expensive opportunity. With the California gold rush of 1848 the push for a more universal mode of transportation was increasingly sought after. Men and families alike would either have to travel across the country westward by foot and wagon, or they would need to take a ship that would take them around much of South America before going back up north to California. The problem was not only did it cost in the thousands of dollars range, but the time in which it took was rather inefficient.

The Transcontinental Railroad “May God continue the Unity of our country as this railroad unites the two great oceans of the world - David Hewes” (gliderlehrman.com). The Transcontinental Railroad was built to make traveling from the East to the West easier. By doing that it also created a connection between the East and West part of the United States (history.com). The railroad was successfully built but also had struggles with the planning and building of the Union Pacific and of the Central Pacific. Before the Transcontinental Railroad was built, the journey westward was a real risk.

On May 10, 1869, one of the most compelling frontiers in the history of transportation transpired. The building of the transcontinental railroad heralded a new era in transportation in the country. Together, Union Pacific and Central Pacific, two rival railroad firms, built the well-known route in just under seven years with the aid of the government. The development of the United States transcontinental railroad played a vital role in the West's urbanization and growth. The driving of the Golden Spike in 1869 marked the end of seven years of construction that employed thousands and cost millions of dollars.

In the past, however, the experience that came with traveling was one of hardship. To venture even from one state to another could mean that one was to go through a long journey, spanning the time of weeks, even possibly months, riddled with threats along the way. This only became more evident as the USA expanded further and further west through extreme climates and mountainous terrain. It was clear that the US needed, more than anything at the time, a safe, quick, inexpensive way to travel long distances. To combat this issue, the Pacific Railroad Act was signed in 1862.

Because of the rapid settlement of the western land in the 1850s, Congress wanted to enforce a transcontinental railroad to replace America’s current weak transportation system—horse-drawn carriages were still used and soldiers often had to walk. But due to the constant competition between the Northern members and the Southern

Manifest Destiny brought an age of expansion and exploration upon the United States throughout the 1800s. The vast Great Plains were unexplored, and held lots of promise and opportunity for new communities and businesses. With the establishment of the railroad system, transportation became much more reliable and efficient, sending a wave of settlers to the West. Railroad companies also posted many advertisements that encouraged settlers to buy plots of land for reasonable prices. The railroad during this time played a key role in Western Expansion by giving people access to fertile and open land, uniting communities together, and lowering transportation costs, but inflicted cruel treatment on those who worked on the railroads.

Before the development of time zones, communities set their clocks according to the sun’s location at noon. Altogether, there were more than 300 local sun time zones in America (Why Do We Have Time Zones). The multiple different local time zones caused serious problems and confusion in train scheduling. In order for railroads to become safer and more efficient, the American Railway Association divided the country into four time zones (Chapter 12 Industrialization). The adoption of time zones unified America with an organized time system and provided a standardized schedule for travel

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began on July 7, 1877 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Workers became angry when the company had reduced their wages for the second time within the previous year. “The strikers refused to let the trains run until the most recent pay cut was returned to the employees” (“Great Railroad Strike of 1877”). The decrease in wages was a result of the economy’s recent downfall.