Transcontinental Railroad Thesis

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.

The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad began in 1863 with two companies: Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads being tasked with building it from opposite

This allowed immigrants who were looking for better lives a broad access into different parts of the US. They could settle down permanently without having to worry about long distance journeys taking days upon weeks just to reach their destination point safely ultimately creating a more unified nation overall. It created in tons of jobs for the immagrants across the

That is about half of the country's spending in 1868! (Kiger 2). One ton of steel cost 150 dollars in the 1860s. The railroad used 1350 tons of steel. Along with that steel there were tons of spikes to keep the track down and also miles and miles of wood beams layed down. Also the companies paided their workers close to nothing. Maybe a few dimes a day. They did this because they were immigrants and would work for very little. Lastly, on May 10th, 1869 the presidents of both railroad companies met in Promontory, Utah. There they drove in the ceremonial gold spike into a rail line that connects both