Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper

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During the construction of the transcontinental railroad, the contracts for construction were awarded to two main companies, the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad. The Central Pacific, led by a group of investors including Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, and Charles Crocker, was responsible for building the railroad from Sacramento, California to the east. The Union Pacific, led by Thomas Durant and Grenville Dodge, was tasked with constructing the railroad from Omaha, Nebraska to the west. These companies were awarded the contracts based on their previous experience in railroad construction, their financial resources, and their political connections. The government also provided significant financial incentives, including …show more content…
By the time the transcontinental railroad was being built in the 1860s, slavery had already been abolished in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 had declared all slaves in Confederate territory to be free.The construction of the transcontinental railroad did involve various forms of labor including the use of immigrant laborers, many were Chinese and Irish. These laborers faced harsh working conditions, low wages, and dangerous working conditions. They were often subjected to discrimination and exploitation. People called the build of the transcontinental railroad a race because it was a race between state and federal land grants.They called it a race because the companies wanted to see who could lay as much railroad track down as fast as possible. The 2 companies had 180,000,000 acres of land by the end of construction.The construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 19th century was a race for several reasons. The race was driven by economic interests and the desire to connect the east and west coasts of the United

Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper

The Transcontinental Railroad, acclaimed for its impact on American society, was the keystone in economic prosperity in the United States of America. Allowing for faster transportation of materials, goods, and humans, the railroad created an industrial surge in American industries shaping the international economic powerhouse that we are today. With something this big and important, recognition and credit should be given to those who made it happen. However, unlike Canada, the United States has failed…

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Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper

how many industries can say they have been around as long as the railroads? How many industries can say they connected a nation from one coast to the other? How many single industries have made as much money as the railroads? Would it not be considered a great accomplishment to be able to lay claim to just one of these, but the railroad industry can lay claim to all three. During the American Industrial Revolution, the railroad expansion became the linkage of the nation and the driving force…

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Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper

America during the 19th century was the construction of the transcontinental railroad. After the southern states left the Union, on July 1, 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act. This allowed railroad companies such as the Union Pacific and Central Pacific to build railways connecting the east to the west part of the United States. Foreign immigrants in searching for a better life made the construction of the railroad possible. Thousands of Chinese immigrants came to America…

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Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper

The transcontinental railroad was a very influential and important invention for the United States. It made our country more connected, and made people and ideas move much faster. Compared to the time it took to travel across country with boat or wagon; you could say the railroad gave us essentially Instant travel from coast to coast. The Idea of the transcontinental railroad was brought about by Ted Judah and Grenville Dodge. They were building from two sides of the country and decided to connect…

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First Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper

The First Transcontinental Railroad Americans today dream of flying cars and weekend trips to Mars. However in the 1800s they dreamed of being able to ride a train from coast to coast. This dream started with a proposal by Asa Whitney to Congress in 1845 asking for federal funding. Unfortunately, this revolutionary idea was not approved. Sixteen years later Theodore Judah gathered a group of investors and established the Central Pacific Railroad Company With the backing of the investors, Judah…

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Westward Expansion Research Paper

Territory to the west coast. Westward expansion to the Pacific Coast wouldn’t have been as efficient, or perhaps not possible, without several key factors. This research paper will discuss such factors. The major influences of a continuous westward expansion of America include the nationally accepted idea of Manifest Destiny, the invention of the railroad and telegraph, and the expansionist policies of the United States government, especially of President James K. Polk. Manifest…

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Tea party research Essay

Tea party research Charles Darwin/ evolution – 19th century scientist who created the theory of evolution/ survival of the fittest which would be mutated to fit the argument of the Robber Barons “Business Darwinism” only the determined and imaginative business will survive while weaker ones will be bought out or bankrupted. Jane Adams/ Hull house – Jane Addams was a social activist that advocated women’s rights, protection for children, the poor, and the oppressed she was a major player in…

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Third Transportation Revolution

system and proposing a $20 million ($324 billion in 2010 dollars) program to develop canals and roadways. This visionary blueprint by government officials and industrialists laid the ground¬work for the construction of the Erie Canal and the Transcontinental Railroad. Our freight transportation system was not built for the explosive growth of coast-to-coast shipping and international trade experienced over the past two decades, and our economically vital gateways and corridors, our primary port, road…

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What Is Literacy

cognition…’ and during the course of my research I found numerous articles about the many assorted benefits once can gain if they will but listen to that little voice. Annie Murphy Paul, who is a regular contributor to Time, CNN, Forbes and many others, recently wrote an article entitled “The Science of Intuition: An Eye-Opening Guide to your Sixth Sense”. Within the article Paul provides a lengthy list of benefits, backed up by a plethora of cited research, that an individual can take full advantage…

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Chapter 19 Notes Essay

laboratory devoted to industrial research, which created the incandescent light bulb three years later. Electricity soon replaced steam as the main source of power. Henry Ford experimented with a gasoline-burning internal combustion engine for c automobile, American makers producing more than 4,000 by 1900. Orville and Wilbur Wright staged the first airplane flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. The transcontinental railroad, finished in 1869, and three more railroads (Southern Pacific; Northern…

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