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The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on America's Industrial Growth

The Transcontinental Railroad, initiated in 1862 under President Lincoln's Pacific Railway Act, connected the East and West U.S. This monumental project saw fierce competition between Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads, employing a diverse workforce including Civil War veterans and Chinese immigrants. The undertaking faced harsh conditions and engineering challenges but was completed in four years. Railroads not only enhanced connectivity but spurred economic growth, leading to national standardization of time and new locomotive technologies. However, it also gave rise to corruption and scandals, shaping the American railway landscape.

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The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on America's Industrial Growth

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  1. Chapter 5: Industrialization Section 2: The Railroads SPOTLIGHT VIDEO

  2. The Transcontinental Railroad • Began in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act. • Connected the nation East to West. • Competition between 2 RR companies: • Union Pacific RR • Central Pacific RR

  3. Transcontinental RR • Union Pacific RR • Engineer: Greenville Dodge • Started in Omaha, NE & pushed West • Workers faced bad weather, angry Native Am. • Labor, $ & Engineering problems. • Workforce: Civil war vets, miners, framers, ex-convicts. • Central Pacific RR • Started in Sacramento, CA. • Owned by the “Big Four” • Grocer: Leland Stanford • Shop owner: Charley Crocker • Hardware store owners: Mark Hopkins & Collis P. Huntington • Hired 10,000 Chinese immigrants & paid them about $1.00/day.

  4. The Last Spike • Promontory, UT • Where two RR came together & final spike was Golden. • Despite Physical challenges, took 4 years to complete. • 1 mile of track: 400 rails; 10 spikes per rail. • CP RR = 688 miles of track • UP RR = 1,086 miles of track

  5. Railroads Spur Growth • Railroads linked the nation and increased the markets for many products. • Railroads spent HUGE amounts of $ on steel, coal & timber • Smaller RR companies were combined into large RR corporations. • Cornelius Vanderbilt—one of most successful RR moguls.

  6. RR’s spur growth (cont’d) • Increase safety on the rails, American Railway Association divided country into 4 time zones. • Eastern, Central, Mountain, & Pacific. • New locomotive technology • Invention of air brakes, longer/heavier trains • Travel is now faster & cheaper • Rail network helped unite Americans.

  7. Robber Barons • RR cost lots of money, so the Govt. gave companies land grants. • 1850-1860 federal govt program gave more than 120 acres to RR companies. • RR Entrepreneurs made a great deal of $ and this caused lots of corruption & bribery. • Jay Gould– one of the most notorious & corrupt RR owners.

  8. The Credit Mobilier Scandal • One of the biggest RR industry scandals • Construction company working for/with Union pacific RR signing contracts with them selves. • When the RR was about to go bankrupt, they offered congress shares of the company in exchange for more land grant. • Exposed during the election of 1872.

  9. The Great Northern Railroad • Ran from Saint Paul, MN to Seattle, WA. • Headed by James J. Hill • Only privately funded transcontinental RR-no land grants were given. • Offered low fares to homesteaders & later sold the homesteads. • Most successful TRR & the only one not forced into bankruptcy.

  10. Assessment • How did technology help unify the U.S.? • Why was the country divided into four (4) time zones? • How was the Great Northern different from other RR? • Writing: You are an employee of a major RR company. Your job is to write an advertisement to recruit workers for your corporation.

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