ipl-logo

The First Transcontinental Railroad Essay

2249 Words9 Pages

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.
The First Transcontinental Railroad, which united the east and west coasts, opened up a new frontier, enabling traversing the United …show more content…

His awe for the construction of a railroad began in 1844 when he returned from a two-year business trip to China. The journey convinced him of the potential impact of a transcontinental railroad across America. His approach centered mostly on trading with China and connecting the two countries to promote increased trade, immigration, and culture. He envisioned that a railroad would serve as a nexus for trade between Asia and Europe, as well as thrusting America into the spotlight. The greatest feature was that he saw tremendous room for human advancement. He …show more content…

Black powder was used for the majority of the railroad’s construction. But with the continuous use of it would take approximately well over a year to blast through the granite. It proved necessary to use nitroglycerin, however, the transport of the substance was banned. Central Pacific officials commissioned biochemist James Howden to develop the chemical on-site in order to comply with the new regulations. By June of 1867, the Central Pacific Railroad Company hastily built through the mountains and became the first company that arrived at Salt lake City first. At the start of 1869, the distance between the two companies was a mere four miles. Former Civil War General and newly elected president Ulysses S. Grant forewarned the two companies that the federal government will withhold their grants and funding if they did not decide on an endpoint. The two companies immediately arranged their meeting area to be Promontory Summit,

Show More
Related
1748 Words | 7 Pages

The American 16th president Abraham Lincoln approved the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, giving building contracts to only two railroad companies. The railroad later becomes a symbol of unity between the broken American nation. The construction of the railroad helped build the foundation of the transportation

Read More
438 Words | 2 Pages

6. Identify the place where the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads met. The Union Pacific and Central Pacific met at Promontory Summit to finish the final part of the track. The Union Pacific started in Omaha, Nebraska and Central Pacific started in Sacramento,

Read More
135 Words | 1 Pages

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.

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
751 Words | 4 Pages

As written in Samuel Brock’s journal entry in 1833, a woman by the name of Mrs. Lloyd was able to traverse “without fatigue a distance of five hundred miles in a little more than thirty-six hours” from Philadelphia to Richmond. (Document 4, Line 3) Samuel then goes on to say that others may also be able to experience the same journey. This goes on to show that not only would people be able to traverse faster and more efficiently, but goods and produce would also be able to reach other regions of the country faster as well. Additionally, the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s connected the west coast with the rest of the country, marking a turning point in American unification as it meant connecting people from different regions of the country together.

Read More
1176 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
1080 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
807 Words | 4 Pages

The Transcontinental railroad was an idea supported by many people. One of the first people to present the idea was Asa Whitney. Asa Whitney was a New York entrepreneur who presented the idea in 1845 of a railroad that would extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He got the idea after a trip to China that made him realize the need and benefits of the railroad. He spent a great amount of money to try and convince congress to go through with his idea (Revolvy.com).

Read More
276 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
1502 Words | 7 Pages

First transcontinental railroad The construction of the first transcontinental railroad undoubtedly changed the Country. Construction of the project took place between 1863 and 1869. The Transcontinental Railroad, also known as the Pacific Railroad and the Overland Route, was opened on May 10, 1869. It had a huge impact on expanding the nation to the west, and made transporting goods, and people across the country much faster. This caused people to sell more things to a wider range of consumers.

Read More
967 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
776 Words | 4 Pages

Marshall Lasater Mr. L Military History P6 1/27/23 Transcontinental Railroad Imagine a railroad that stretches across half of the nation. The Transcontinental Railroad was an immensely important development in American history. It connected the east and west coasts of the United States, allowing for faster transportation of goods and people across the country. The railroad also opened up new economic opportunities for businesses that could now easily move their products to far-away markets, leading to a period of unprecedented industrial growth in America during this time.

Read More
1010 Words | 5 Pages

The transcontinental railroad paved the way for the growth and development of the version of the American economy people experience today. The transcontinental railroad was built as a way to connect the east and west coasts in early America. This railroad was built by multiple railroad companies who hired migrant workers from the U.S. Despite these workers being put through dangerous work environments and destroying early settlements of America, the railroad not only substantially cut down travel time, created a vast amount of new settlement in the west, made transporting goods across the country easier, and ultimately changed the trajectory of America. Was the process of building this railroad worth the sacrifices of lives and history or was

Read More
383 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
889 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

More about The First Transcontinental Railroad Essay

Related Topics

Open Document