THE RAILROAD

…the road between Europe and Asia…

Essential Questions:

1.What was the Pacific Railway Act?

2.Who built the railroad?

3.What was the impact of the railroad?

The Transcontinental Railroad It linked Omaha,

Nebraska with Sacramento, California

A decades long project to unite the country

One of the crowning achievements of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency

Considered the greatest technological feat of the 19th century

The Pacific Railway Act The American Civil War was

raging Unity of the country became

pivotal A secessionist movement in

California was slowly becoming more popular

In May 1862, the Senate approved an act that called for the construction of the railroad Lincoln signed it into law in July

The act established two main lines: The Central Pacific

Started in the West The Union Pacific

Started in the East

The Pacific Railway Act It said that each railway was

required to build only 50 miles each year

The government offered each railway: Land grants Help to pay for the

construction depending on the terrain

Soon both railroads began to see which company could build the longest section of track

The route followed the main trails used for the opening of the West It followed the Oregon Trial

Laborers

Union Pacific track was built by: Irish laborers Veterans of the Union and

Confederate armies

Central Pacific track was built primarily by Chinese immigrants At first Chinese laborers

were thought to be too weak or fragile

But soon thousands of Chinese immigrants were hired to build the railroad

Thousands more were ‘imported’ from China

Golden Spike Six years after the construction

began the two railroads met at Promontory Summit, Utah

On May 10, 1869 the Golden Spike was driven into the track It symbolized the completion

of the transcontinental railroad

The world's first ‘live’ media event The hammers and spike

were wired to the telegraph line

Each hammer stroke was heard as a click at telegraph stations nationwide

Impact of the Railroad

Travel from coast-to-coast was cut from 6 months to just 1 week

Reduced the price of goods

Psychologically united East and West

Population Explosion: Settlers rushed into the west By 1890 the US Census declared

the American frontier was gone

Served as a symbol that American ingenuity, money, determination, and organization could accomplish great tasks