Transcontinental Railroad Effects

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 greatest cultural conflict between the years 1865 and 1898 was the Transcontinental Railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad was a railway stretching from “sea to shining sea”. It was built by two teams of workers, the Central Pacific Railroad Company starting in Sacramento and the Union Pacific Railroad building west from the Missouri River. The teams worked day and night to connect the two ends in Promontory Summit, Utah. The Transcontinental Railroad was a major breakthrough in the connection of markets and the transportation of goods and people from coast to coast.

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.

Many Native American tribes, including the Sioux, had been hunting and living off of the land long before the white man had arrived. Through the years, these tribes had claimed ownership over the land and were enraged when the settlers began to invade and demolish their land, killing their main source of food and clothing, the buffalo. To make matters worse, President Andrew Jackson enacted the Indian Removal Act which authorized the forcing of these tribes onto reservations in Oklahoma and elsewhere. But, some tribes, the Sioux in particular, fiercely resisted. Hostilities between the Native Americans and the white man were now more apparent than ever. Raids carried out by both sides took place often. These raids resulted in the destruction and burning of housing and supplies and often led to a loss of numerouos lives. These happenings occurred around the same time that Jules Verne’s novel, Around The World In 80 Days, took place. An excellent example within the novel that correctly portrays the Native American’s hostility towards the people that they see as invaders takes place while the group is traveling by rail to Omaha.” They then perceived that the train was attacked by a band of Sioux. This was not the first attempt of these daring Indians, for more than once they had waylaid trains on the road.” The white man treated the Indians very poorly taking their land and their main food source. In result, the Indians fought back, and when they did so, the whites did too with just as much force. This controversy’s source was the very same railroad that impacted the West in many beneficial ways. There are always negatives and positives when a transformation occurs. The westward expansion of the transcontinental railroad is a prime example. It has impacted the land in multiple ways, and helped to form the thriving economy that makes up the area

The Transcontinental Railroad and the Interstate Highway System were not only the two biggest contributions in the history of transportation in the United States but are tremendously similar to each other in how they were built. Both systems were built in times of extremely desperate need of a way of transportation across the country which made them such big advantages to American society. The two systems have been majorly significant tools in the history the United States as well as modern day life.

The Transcontinental Railroad was the first line across the continent. The railroad line stretched from Omaha, Nebraska, all the way to Sacramento, California. This railroad allowed the United States the opportunity to expand westward, as both people and resources would be able to be shipped much faster than before. In 1862 The Pacific Railway Act was passed, which allowed the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad to construct the lines for the transcontinental railroad. On May 10, 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad was established at Promontory, Utah.

The first way that the economy was impacted was that with the ease and efficiency of the railroads, they created a large demand for goods and labor because they needed a lot of people to help build the railroads and also needed a large quantity of steel for the rails and wood for the railroad ties. Secondly the railroads created a huge national market because of the simplicity of delivering goods from place to place. The railroads helped the people in even the most rural place prosper with the cost efficient transportation of the trains. From 1830 to 1861, the United States laid aproximately 30,000 miles of railroad track, which led to an increase in demand for coal which was used to produce iron for the

The advancement of the railroad West added to the already tense relationship with the Native Americans of the Plains. The government tried to avoid conflict with Natives by signing treaties with them and establishing reservations. Nonetheless as the railroad headed west it spread into Native American lands, used up Native natural resources and violated previously established treaties. One example of the abuse of resources would be the slaughter

In the mid 18th century settlers moved to the west. Their move brought them more opportunities and a better lifestyle on the frontier. Such as the transcontinental Railroad. The railroad was spread out all over the U.S. in order to build this railroad they had to clear all of the buffalo out of the way of the path, so the white people started to kill the buffalo. Without the buffalo the indians would die.

Railroads allow for the movement of goods and people conveniently and quickly with few delays as compared to other modes of transportation. Cars and planes did not exist in the late 19th century and trains were astronomically important for the success of cities in the United States. While other forms of transportation fill the void that existed in the past, the efficiency of those modes of transport will keep declining over time as more cars hit the road and planes take off. Trains can be indefinitely expanded since it does not have to share its space with other vehicles. Railroads have paved the way for industrial America and will continue to as long as people and goods need to be

The transformation of the West changed the frontier into a new and growing part of the United States. Over the period of twenty five years the land changed drastically. New technologies were created allowing the expansion of the United States to continue marching forward. The Native Americans were conquered and the railroads brought greater civilizations.

Native Americans were greatly affected by the expansion of the United States during the 1800s. As the U.S. moved west, they stole large amounts of Native American land by settling the land and killing the Natives who once lived there. Also during this time, their culture was being taken from them due to assimilation. While United States citizens were expanding into the west, many Native American lives were lost. They were also responsible for destroying a major food and supply source for Native Americans.

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. With the advent of the railroad, many of these issues disappeared. Railroads had a major impact on advancing the American economy, transforming America into a modern society, and improving an antiquated transportation system.

To begin, when the topic of American history is brought up, people do not tend to bring up slavery and how it has impacted our country by once splitting it into two. Instead they bring up how our country gives independence and freedom to its citizens. This was not always the case, though in 1619 the first slaves were brought to Virginia by the Dutch to help boost production of tobacco and other important crops. These African American people were kidnapped and made to join the impoverished European people of the colony in working for wealthy colonists. The agreement when slavery first began was that if you worked for seven years you would gain freedom along with your own plot of

In the late 1800’s the United States was a young nation. That wanted to expand it’s boarder’s so they headed west. This began the great “Westward Expansion”. Due to the westward expansion natives were taken from their and pushed to reservation around 1849. Native tried to fight back. The government by either using forces or speaking politically. The government sold Native American land for profit. The westward expansion decreases the Native American population while the settlers benefit by it from land and gold.