The Transcontinental Railroad Act Signed By Pres - 891 Words

In 1860s a great iron band was built between Omaha and San Francisco. That iron band was the Transcontinental Railroad. An engineering feat many thought was impossible. Surprisingly, during the carnage of the Civil War it served as a leap of faith for America that the country will survive. It was fraught with challenges from the start ranging from political to financial. Yet it s completion started a new pivotal era for America. The Transcontinental Railroad connected the citizens of America, linking the East and West Coast in ways not seen at that time. Amid the carnage the Civil War, the United States took a leap of faith concerning its future. That leap was the â€Å"Pacific Railroad Act signed by Pres. Lincoln on July 2,†¦show more content†¦Financial and political challenges for the railroad began before track was even laid. Although California dignitaries heralded the railroad would bring â€Å"great wealth and prosperity† to the state. Some were still reluctant to invest in the Central Pacific’s side of the project. The reluctance of the CPRR funders may have been a combination of Judah s rocky relationship with the Big Four and the craziness of the idea itself. How were they to get over the Sierra Nevada? Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins were California’s wealthy railroad tycoons, commonly known as the â€Å"Big Four.† The Big Four, or The Associates,†[2] as they preferred to be called mistreated Judah and froze him out of his own company. After his tussle with The Associates, Judah took ill and left California. He never saw one track of the railroad laid, because he died shortly after in New York. The Union Pacific side was not without its share of troubles. Mainly attributed to the fact that the Pacific Railroad Act didn t specify a starting point for the eastern terminus of the railroad. Thomas Durant, vice-president of Union Pacific, saw this obscurity as a way to cheat the system. In the confusion Durant capitalized and made thousands of dirty dollars† meddling with stocks and moving the starting point from the original location. The problems before theShow MoreRelatedSocial Studies Grade 8 : Immigration Research Project1677 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough the country, and the government could not do anything about it. Italians came to America as transatlantic transportation became more affordable and word of American prosperity came via American recruiters and returning immigrants. Unlike their Pre-Civil War Count erparts, they had a major cultural impact on U.S society. In fact, some words used in the English language were actually borrowed from the Italian one. They also shared their techniques in religion, tradition, entertainment, foods, architectureRead MoreHomestead Act2916 Words   |  12 Pages The Homestead Act of 1862 made surveyed lands obtainable to homesteaders. The act stated that men and women over the age of 21, unmarried women who were head of households and married men under the age of 21, who did not own over 160 acres of land anywhere, were citizens or intended on becoming citizens of the United States, were eligible to homestead. This paper will show how the Homestead Act came to be enacted, who the homesteaders were and the effects of the Homestead Act on the pioneersRead MoreCultivation Of Tobacco And Its Effects On The United States2689 Words   |  11 Pageslevels, and their relationship was strongly based on various Acts placed upon the Colonies. After acquiring seeds from Trinidadian colonies, John Rolfe’s plantation of the tobacco plant caused the first real economic presence by selling them to European countries. 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Many indigenous peoplesRead MoreBoyer Dbq Teacher Guide10764 Words   |  44 Pagespermanent colonies for their own religious freedom than they were with converting or trading with the native peoples. D—Nicholas Perrot—Description of the opening of a new area for the fur trade reflects the way that the French made economic use of pre-existing North American ways of life. E—Berkely Discourse—Shows the raising of tobacco for export and the precarious financial basis of this economy. Students may point out that this type of economy required slave labor and that the development of otherRead MoreUs Customs and Border Protection7176 Words   |  29 Pageslargest number of working dogs of any U.S. federal law enforcement agency. K-9 teams are assigned to 73 commercial ports and 74 Border Patrol stations throughout the nation.[4][5] There are 327 officially designated ports of entry and an additional 14 pre-clearance locations[6] in Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean. CBP is also in charge of the Container Security Initiative, which identifies and inspects foreign cargo in its mother country before it is to be imported into the United States. Major officesRead MoreKey Functions of Airlines18082 Words   |  73 Pagesrecognized and production increased significantly to meet the rising demand for planes from governments. Most significant was the development of more powerful motors, enabling aircraft to reach speeds of up to 130 mph, more than twice the speed of pre-war aircraft. Increased power also made bigger aircraft possible. On the other hand, the war was bad for commercial aviation in several ways. It focused all design and production efforts on building military aircraft. In the publics mind, flying becameRead MoreHistory of Social Work18530 Words   |  75 Pageschildren, the handicapped and very old people – are often given minimal care and are worked long hours as virtual slaves. 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