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    The First Transcontinental Railroad: A History of the Building of the Pacific Railroad
    The First Transcontinental Railroad: A History of the Building of the Pacific Railroad
    The First Transcontinental Railroad: A History of the Building of the Pacific Railroad
    Ebook38 pages38 minutes

    The First Transcontinental Railroad: A History of the Building of the Pacific Railroad

    By James K. Wheaton

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    About this ebook

    The First Transcontinental Railroad, originally called the Pacific Railroad, was a railroad built in the United States between 1863 and 1869 that connected the western part of America with its eastern part. Built by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad, it connected the Eastern terminus of Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska with the railroad lines of the Pacific Ocean at Oakland, California. In time, it would link in with the existing railway network present on the Eastern Coast of America, thus connecting the Atlantic and Pacific coast of the United States for the first time by rail. Because of this, the line received a second nickname, “the Overland Route.”

    The railroad was a government operation, authorized by Congress during the height of the Civil War. Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Acts in 1862 and again in 1864. To pay for it, the US government issued 30 year bonds, as well as granting government land to contractors. The construction of the line was a major achievement by both the Union Pacific (constructing westward from Iowa) and the Central Pacific (constructing eastward from California). The line was officially opened on May 10, 1869, with the Last Spike driven through the railway at Promontory Summit, Utah.

    James K. Wheaton looks at the history in this eBook.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookCaps
    Release dateDec 6, 2011
    ISBN9781465947420
    The First Transcontinental Railroad: A History of the Building of the Pacific Railroad

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      Book preview

      The First Transcontinental Railroad - James K. Wheaton

      The First Transcontinental Railroad

      A History of the Building of the Pacific Railroad

      By James K. Wheaton

      By BookCaps Study Guides

      © 2011 by Golgotha Press, Inc.

      Published at SmashWords

      www.bookcaps.com

      Introduction

      The First Transcontinental Railroad, originally called the Pacific Railroad, was a railroad built in the United States between 1863 and 1869 that connected the western part of America with its eastern part. Built by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad, it connected the Eastern terminus of Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska with the railroad lines of the Pacific Ocean at Oakland, California. In time, it would link in with the existing railway network present on the Eastern Coast of America, thus connecting the Atlantic and Pacific coast of the United States for the first time by rail. Because of this, the line received a second nickname, the Overland Route.

      The railroad was a government operation, authorized by Congress during the height of the Civil War. Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Acts in 1862 and again in 1864. To pay for it, the US government issued 30 year bonds, as well as granting government land to contractors. The construction of the line was a major achievement by both the Union Pacific (constructing westward from Iowa) and the Central Pacific (constructing eastward from California). The line was officially opened on May 10, 1869, with the Last Spike driven through the railway at Promontory Summit, Utah.

      The Transcontinental Railroad revolutionized both the population and economy of the American West, which had been receiving settlers since the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 (under then President Thomas Jefferson). American’s movement west, under the premise of manifest destiny, brought out the best and worst in America. The belief was that out west was where dreams could be made (and with the Gold Rush of 1849, where riches could be found). This was the principle that originally brought settlers to the Americas, and it was in this idea that part of America culture, that a better life was available, was made. Expansion west, though, also brought with it war and suffering (both an official war with Mexico and unofficial ones against the American Indians), as well as bringing the North and South into conflict over the expansion of slavery. This disagreement of what to do with the lands out west (whether to allow them to be slave

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