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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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Leah Kurland 5/7/18 US-1/CPE Transcontinental Railroad Focus / Comprehension Questions (14 pts) Directions: Read the handout , watch the video clip and answer the following questions in complete sentences, including a proper topic sentence. Post your responses to the Schoology drop box provided. Video Notes: - Great plains → vast; untouched - Takes 6 months to cross - Lincoln signs transcontinental railroad into effect; 2,000 miles long - The Union Pacific starts from Omaha - Central Pacific starts in Sacramento - They meet in Utah; promontory point - Government doesn’t have enough money; pay companies in federal land - Must dig through the mountain; use Chinese laborers for the most deadly jobs - Use an explosive to demolish

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It was May 10th, 1869. The presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad lines met at Promontory, Utah to declare the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Spanning over 9,000 miles of track and built almost entirely by hand in just 6 years, the railroad was like nothing the nation had ever seen before. Not long after the railroad was completed, changes began rippling across the country. Economic, political, and social policies began to shift and transform.

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Since this day, America has greatly expanded and become one of the world’s leading countries. The development of America and its government did not just occur on its own. It took many great men, difficult decisions, and quite

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The railroad was first designed by George Stephenson whose original idea was to use steam to run the train and make transportation faster. When the US started using railroads and trains they purchased them from the Stephen Works company from Britain. “In the 1850s a boom in railroad development across the North was changing business organization and management and reducing freight costs. Railroads were influencing a rise in real estate values, increasing regional concentrations of industry, the size of business units and stimulating growth in investment banking and agriculture.

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From the year of 1860 to 1900, eight out of ten presidents were republican [doc 4]. At the time, the republican platform believed in enacting policies that would encourage the development of industry [doc 3]. The beliefs and power held by the Republican Party at the time is likely why the amount of railroads increased substantially, going from under forty thousand miles to nearly two hundred thousand miles in less than forty years [doc 2]. Railroads were the driving force behind the industrialization of the country; they provided relatively inexpensive, quick transport for raw materials, livestock, people, and foodstuff. Railroads made life in the United States much more convenient, and the public demand for them was so high that the federal government was willing to offer money and land to have them built.

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This railroad was one of the biggest evolution in transportation ever and allowed the United States to deliver important Goods and people in record time compared to before the Railroad was

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Transcontinental Railroad Tera Richardson, 4336787 History 102 B008 Sum 17 Professor Traci Sumner American Military University July 22, 2017 Abstract The transcontinental railroad was one of the biggest advocates for the industrial economy and westward expansion. The railroads could transfer goods and people across the country with ease, and quickly. While some bad came from this miraculous progression, such as the panic of 1873 and a yellow fever epidemic, the good outweighed the bad as it enabled the United States to fulfill its Manifest Destiny through westward expansion.

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A technique the workers developed was to place explosives on the side of cliffs. Workers in baskets would light the fuses and rapidly get pulled out. The central pacific built fifteen railroads over the course of construction

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Transcontinental Railroad The largest single construction project ever undertaken within the country left approximately eighty thousand people dead, weighing in as the fifth deadliest construction project in the world. The Transcontinental Railroad shortened the distance traveled from the east coast to the west coast from months in a horse drawn wagon to only eight days by train. On July 1,1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Pacific Railroad Act. Asa Whitney, a New York businessmen tried for this project as early as the 1840’s, however, the 1850’s was the year that the United States Army Corps of Engineers was granted permission to survey the routes.

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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.

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When creating my formal lesson plan, “Transcontinental Railroad: Big Business, Industry, and Expansion,” I originally intended to create a lesson plan that focuses on a large, student-centered activity in which students were to act out groups from the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads in a classroom-sized board game. Unfortunately, that particular lesson was too lengthy as it would take multiple days to complete. Therefore, I created a new lesson plan that took turns in being both student and teacher-centered to ensure that the material will be covered more efficiently. While my lesson plan was not as engaging as a game, I did implement an activity that called for students to think critically. Both lessons were guided by Dewey’s educational

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In between California and the rest of the country were the Great Plains which were not heavily populated so there was no easy way of trade and transportation to the growing western territories. A group of men called the “Big Four” which consisted of Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins, decided what the country needed was a transcontinental railroad. Their company, The Central Pacific Railroad company would hire 15,000 Chinese men to work on constructing the railroad due to the fact that they would work for less than the average American. This made transportation cheaper and quicker than ever

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In conclusion, the effects that the transcontinental railroad has on the United Stated were profound. The transcontinental has open up a lot of opportunities for this country. In fact the construction still remains open and anybody can site see this amazing historical event. Being able to have a transportation that can transport people and goods to each coast of the country has become best opportunity for people to explore the United States.

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The Tremendous Impact of Railroads on America In the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous.

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The transcontinental railroad was a railroad built by irish and chinese immigrants. They both started at different sides. This railroad was made to transport mail,goods and people.-Ducksters.com This makes me wonder if they carried livestock, because how else would they transport livestock. The Pony Express was the fastest mail system at the time.

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