The Transcontinental Railroad And Westward Expansion Essay example --

The Transcontinental Railroad and Westward ExpansionThesis The transcontinental quetchroad greatly increased Westward expansion inthe United States of the States during the latter half of the nineteenth century.The history of the United States has been influenced by England in many ways.In the second half of the 1800s, the railroad, which was invented in England,had a major motion on Western expansion in the United States."Railroads were born in England, a country with densepopulations, short distances between cities, and largefinancial resources. In America there were differentcircumstances, a sparse population in a huge country, largestretches between cities, and only the smallest amounts ofm whizzy." ("Railroad" 85)The first American railroads started in the 1830s from the Atlantic ports ofBoston, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah(Douglas 23). Within twenty years, four rail lines had crossed the Allegheniesto reach their goal on W estern Waters of the Great Lakes or the tributaries ofthe Mississippi. Meanwhile, other lines had started West of the Appalachianmountains, and by the mid-1850s Chicago, St. Louis, and Memphis were connectedto the East. Still other lines were stretching Westward, beyond the Mississippi.An international route connected New England and Montreal and another onecrossed Southern Ontario between Niagara, New York, and the Detroit River.During the 1850s, North and South routes were developed both East and West ofthe Alleghenies. It was not until after the Civil War, however, that a unceasingrailroad bridge was constructed across the Ohio River. After the Civil War, thepace of railroad building increased. The Pacific railroads, the Union Pacificbuilding from Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific building from Sacramento,California, had started to build a transcontinental railroad during the war tohelp promote national unity. They were joined at Promontory, Utah, on May 10,1869, complet ing the first rail connection across the continent.Before the transcontinental railroad, the Eastern railroads had lines racecourseonly as far West as Omaha, Nebraska. The Western railroads had a few linesrunning North and South in California, far West of the wall of the Sierra NevadaMountains. In between these two networks was a huge gap of about seventeenhundred mi... ...chedby wagon, which would have discouraged many if not most of the settlers going tobecome farmers. Unlike the gold miners of the earlier years, the farmers did notdream of acquire rich quickly. They wanted to be self-sufficient, and they feltthat the land on the Prairie could help them do it. The railroad was anincredible catalyst in the population of the Mid-West and without it the area capability still be sparsely populated. The transcontinental railroad proved itsworth and had a tremendous impact on westward expansion. "In less than thirtyyears after the Civil War, all across the enormous gap spanned by the railroad,the interior was being conquered and domesticated." (Cooke 240)BibliographyCooke, Alistair. Alistair Cookes America. New York Alfred A. Knopf, 1977.Douglas, George H. All Aboard The Railroad In American Life. New York ParagonHouse, 1992.Horn, Huston. The Old West The Pioneers. New York Time-Life Books, 1974.Merk, Frederick. History of the Westward Movement. New York Alfred A. Knopf,1978."Railroad." Comptons Encyclopedia. 1990 edition."United States of America." The New Encyclopdia Britannica. 1990 edition.