Railroads In California's Impact On Travel And Migration

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First and foremost I believe the most important aspects of the Railroads in California to be the impact it had on travel and migration. During the Gold Rush there were only a few ways to get to California including very long ship travel going around the tip of South America as well as cross continental travel. Neither of these methods of getting to California was very convenient or easy as there were many dangers associated with them. When the Panama Railway was established connecting Panama and California by railway it made traveling a lot easier. A trip that before took several months to complete now only took a day or so. When the first trans continental railroad was established by joining the Central Pacific and Union pacific railroads it facilitated transcontinental travel. Omaha Nebraska to California now only took a few days. This ease of travel opened up the doors to California for the people who could afford it. …show more content…
Now that many people were migrating to California and travel across states was easier than ever. This set up California’s economy to boom. The ability to import and more importantly export goods was very important. It allowed gold acquired by miners to be exported to the east coast. Once people started setting up shop in California with other businesses they realized the great value. One industry that boomed was the agricultural industry. Citrus was among one of the first items exported on the transcontinental railroad upon its completion. Eventually other crops began to be grown in California. It made it so California’s economy blossomed as a