Transcontinental Railroad

Babanjit S. Boyal A Glitch in the Modernity of Western America In the few beginning passages of Richard White’s “Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America” he talks about how big monopolized corporations in the late nineteenth and early twenty first centuries built an overabundance of railroads adjoining the East with the West in the United States. These railroads where indefinitely built ahead demand when analyzing the fact that the country had just finished fighting the Civil War at the time.

The railroad is only bringing more and more settlers to our old land while we are stuck in the reservations. The railroad builders have abused our old land. They have killed so much of our food, the buffalo, to make way for the railroad and are only using a few of the parts of the buffalo. When they were building the railroad, a few brave Natives fought against

Without the assistance of the U.S. government, railroad construction between 1860 and 1900 would have been greatly curtailed. Building railroads was very expensive and railroad companies could not build them without help, in the form of grants, from the U.S. government. Congress also helped out the railroad companies in the form of land grants.

Statistical analysis of these factors has revealed that the railroad was a factor leading to settlement, with at least one half of urban growth in the Midwest in the late 1800s coming directly from railroad systems (Atack et al., 2010). As previously mentioned, poor soils and precipitation rates of the middle American continent prevented rich agricultural production found further east. This meant that farms would have to be larger to produce an equal amount of food and dense populations would benefit from supplementation from eastern production. By default, this meant the western development needed to originate in eastern cities and matriculate through towns and railroads to eventually reach western settlers (Wand and Latham, 2001).

In the western United States during the 19th century, the nation was impacted for the better by miners, homesteaders, and railroads. Although all of these different groups of people had an effect on the United States, one group prominently had the most significant impact. Miners, homesteaders, and railroads proved to be beneficial to the growing nation’s development, and railroads were the most effective in opening up the West. Miners were the first group to start transforming the West, making it a vital part of the United States’ economy, and building new towns.

In the late 1800’s manifest destiny had taken over and many were moved to the west. With this movement came new inventions designed to make life easier and more productive, but it had a negative effect on the nation contrary to popular belief. The expansion of the railroads during the late 1800’s had a negative effect on many, including the natives Americans and other businesses. The Native Americans were the most affected by the expansion of the railroad. The first thing the iron roadway affected was the native American food source, the buffalo.

Many environmental changes occurred during the transcontinental railroad’s construction. Wherever workers could not overcome terrain, they changed it instead. The transcontinental railroad route was made up of tunnels, cuts, fills, and bridges. Even though it remains a marvel to have built and planned, many of the resources on the route were used to a great expense. With the land along the railroad, timber, water, and minerals could be collected and sold.

Without the development of railroads, America would not have become what it is today. The railroad played a huge part in the economy and in the war. Many people were able to build their lives because of how easy it was to move objects. Before the transcontinental railroad was made the way goods were transported was by sea around South America. The railroad stretched 2000 miles through the America compared to the 18,000 miles needed for ships to travel.(“Digital History”) With this shorter distance allowed for more people to be able to obtain goods.

In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act (lindahall.org). This act gave the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific the land for building the railroad (ducksters.com). The government was paying these two companies by milage and that caused some problems to occur. They were paid $6,000 per mile on flat land, $32,000 for building on the high plains, and $48,000 per mile through mountains (tcrr.com).

During this time period there were great technological advancements. One of these advancements was railroads. Railroads were a positive change because it helped transport people and goods across the country. Businesses depended greatly upon transportation in order to transport their goods. Despite the positives of railroads, there were negatives.

The railroad was America's first technological corridor. Just as it fostered the growth of the American economy, it also fostered the development of the nation's public discourse and intellectual

Steel, Steam, and the Death of a People In October of 1893 the Central Pacific Railroad Company drove the first spike into what would soon become the most important railroad in the world and one which would change U.S. history forever. In the west the route began in San Francisco. Across the great plains the eastern route began in Omaha, Nebraska. They met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869.

The building of roads, canals and railroads played a large role in the United States during the 1800s. They served the purpose of connecting towns and settlements so that goods could be transported quickly and more efficiently. These goods could be transported fast, cheap and in safe way through the Erie Canal that was built to connect the Great Lakes to New York. Railroads were important during Civil War as well, because it helped in the transportation of goods, supplies and weapons when necessary. These new forms of transportation shaped the United States into the place that it is today.

Transportation is one of the leading factors in the growth and furthering of our society and America as a whole. From the settlers in wagons to the average people of today in fancy cars and buses. The expansion of transportation and the technology advancements we have made throughout history have improved the rate at which America is able to urbanize. In 1758 the first ever rail road was placed, however they didn 't truly take as they were only a cheap way to transport coal and was mostly a privately owned rails.

Technology contributes to the growing economic inequality in the United States by increasing its operating expenses. During the 1890s, most American farmers experienced a drought that has affected the quality of their crops. Eventually, the value of these crops lessened, and farmers were not able to break even and earn as much as before. While the drought occurred, railroad companies became ambitious and wanted to earn more for their business. Due to the farmers’ dependency on the railroad to transport their crops, railroad companies “raised the cost of transporting farm produce” (Judis, 22).