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The First Transcontinental Railroad
裴迪 裴迪 50903095595090309559
LOGO
The Building of the Railroads
• Built in 1860s • Two companies– Central Pacific Railroad Company–Union Pacific Railroad Company
• Met and joined railroad in Promontory, Utah• Date of completion 10 May 1869• By 1893 there were 6 major railroad
companies
LOGO
Why did America need Railroads?
• Communication from East to West was not very good
• Travelling time from East to West took more than 6 months
• The U.S. needed to keep up with other countries
• Trade links with China and Japan• Help to bring law and order to the
West
Effect of the Railroads: Quick and easy travel to the West
• Previous methods – Wagon Train– Foot– By boat– Pony Express
• The railroad turned a 6 month journey into a maximum of 8 days
the start of the first transcontinental railroad
In 1862,Congress granted land and loans for the building of first transcontinental railroad to tie California to the rest of the Union.
On July 1,1862,President Abralam Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act,authorizing the Union Pacific Railroad Company to exend westward across the Great Plains from Omaha,Nebraska,and the Central Pacific Railroad Company to extend eastward across mountain passes in sierras from Sacramento,California.
Accomplishment of The First Transcontinental Railroad
• May 10,1869• Promontory Point,
Utah• A golden spike was
driven into the ground to mark the lingking of Atlantic and Pcific states
The great enterprise had its share of shady espisodes
• by threatening to bypass a town,a powerful railroad could extract important concessions on rights of road,taxes and loans.
