The Railroad Essential Questions: What was the Pacific Railway Act? Who built the railroad? What was the impact of the railroad?

The Transcontinental Railroad It linked Omaha, Nebraska with Sacramento, California A decade long project to unite the country 1863-1869 One of the crowning achievements of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency Considered the greatest technological feat of the 19th century

The Pacific Railway Act The need for the Railroad Unite the country, East to West A secessionist movement in California was slowly becoming more popular The Union needed the gold and silver from California and Nevada In May 1862, the Senate approved an act that called for the construction of the railroad The act established two main lines: The Central Pacific Started in the West, Sacramento, CA The Union Pacific Started in the East, Omaha, Nebraska

The Pacific Railway Act It said that each railway was required to build only 50 miles each year The government offered each railway: Land grants- 160 acres per mile of track laid Help to pay for the construction depending on the terrain Soon both railroads began to see which company could build the longest section of track The route followed the main trails used for the opening of the West such as the Oregon trail

Laborers Union Pacific track was built by: Irish laborers Veterans of the Union and Confederate armies Central Pacific track was built primarily by Chinese immigrants At first Chinese laborers were thought to be too weak or fragile But soon thousands of Chinese immigrants were hired to build the railroad Thousands more were ‘imported’ from China

Golden Spike Six years after the construction began the two railroads met at Promontory Summit, Utah On May 10, 1869 the Golden Spike was driven into the track It symbolized the completion of the transcontinental railroad The world's first ‘live’ media event The hammers and spike were wired to the telegraph line Each hammer stroke was heard as a click at telegraph stations nationwide

Impact of the Railroad Travel from coast-to-coast was cut from 6 months to just 1 week Reduced the price of goods Psychologically united East and West Population Explosion: Settlers rushed into the west By 1890 the US Census declared the American frontier was gone Served as a symbol that American ingenuity, money, determination, and organization could accomplish great tasks