The Positive And Negative Effects Of The Transcontinental Railroad In The United States

The Transcontinental Railroad stemmed from the belief that Americans had about the destiny to travel westward and expand across North America, also known as Manifest Destiny. The railroad was completed in 1869, after the Civil War. Two groups of workers starting from different sides would build half of a railroad to meet in the middle, Promontory, Utah. The Union Pacific had begun construction in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific in Sacramento, California.The Central Pacific consisted of Chinese laborers who were paid as little as twenty-eight dollars a month to do the dangerous work of flattening the Sierra mountains for the railroad.1 Many of the Chinese workers had already resided within the United States because of the aftermath of the Gold Rush. Most of the workers coming from southern China in hopes of escaping poverty and the instability of their hometowns. China itself was facing economic problems due to population, draughts, and conflicts between the peasants and Chinese rulers. The

The railroad that was completed made it easier for the spread of ideas, the expansion of settlement, and the movement of goods across the United States. However there were many negative impacts of the construction of the Railroad such as the damaging of the Native American way of life, and destruction of the environment to make way for the railroad. Today, the impacts from the Railroad lied in movement. The Railroad made it easier for the movement of large groups of people and the movement of trade and ideas. The current United States railroad system today is largely based on the Transcontinental Railroad and transports nearly thirty-nine percent of shipments. The Transcontinental Railroad brought the United States together and as a nation, the United States was able to develop not only technologically but