The Power of the Road American West

What was the railroad expected to do for the West?  Allow for the exchange of goods and people between the east and west

What was the difference between a Charette and a Conestoga wagon?  Conestoga- drawn by large teams of mules  Charette- two wheeled, ox-drawn cart

What was the genesis of the American Express Company?  Californians petitioned for a overland mail route and Congress contracted John Butterfield who teamed up with Henry Wells and William Fargo (operators of a system of California stage lines) to form the American Express Company

How much did a letter cost to send by the Pony Express? (in todays dollars)  $180!!!  CRAZY!

What American politician came up with the plan to finance the construction of a transcontinental railroad?  Thomas Hart Benton  How much land did the gov’t give to railroads?  131 million acres

What was the Credit Mobilier Scandal?  Thomas C. Durant, leader of the Union Pacific, set up subsidiary corporation called the Credit Mobilier who was the principal stockholder.  Durant channeled all construction contracts to Credit Mobilier to exaggerate expenses up to 3X the real amount  This caused the UP business to have little profit and the Credit Mobilier to pay huge dividends

Who worked on the UP railroad? The CP Railroad?  UP- Irish  CP-Chinese

Julesburg, Colorado  It became known as the most scandalous UP camp with railroad workers, bartenders, gamblers, prostitutes and assorted criminals

Biggest Problem with the transcontinental railroad…  The work was shoddy!  Improperly laid ballasts  Railroad beds collapsed  Too sharp curves  Trains derailed  Wood rotted quickly  Ten million to fix the UP! (profits from Credit Mobilier 16 million)

5 railroads:  The Atchison  Topeka  Santa Fe  Southern Pacific  Northern Pacific

Key instrument in transforming the west from….  Preindustrial forms of economic activity to modern industrial technology

Henry George thought of the railroads success….  “The locomotive is a great centralizer. It kills little towns and builds up great cities, and in the same way kills little business and builds up new ones”  The railroad system was monopolized by four companies  Henry wondered by railroads reaped the benefits of the rising value of the land while society at large received so little.

American Robin Hood  Grew out of the passion people felt about the corruption of capitalist conquest in the west.  Only the companies were getting rich  Two ideas that caused it  Western antilaw tradition  Newer protests against corporate industrial power

Famous Strike:  The Pullman Strike  Nationwide railroad strike  shut down much of the nation's freight and passenger traffic west of Detroit, Michigan  Began in Pullman Chicago  May 11 th 1894

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

Why did America need Railroads?  Communication from East to West was not very good  Travelling time from East to West took 6 months +  It would help fulfil ‘Manifest Destiny’  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

Effect of the Railroads: Cheap land for people wanting to go West  Once the Railroads were built the Railroad companies had no use for the excess land  Sold land off cheap  Benefitted Homesteaders and Ranchers who came west.

Effect of the Railroads: Destruction of the Indians  Hunters used the Railroad to go west to hunt the buffalo  Hunters were only interested in buffalo skin  1875 southern buffalo herds wiped out  1885 northern buffalo herds wiped out  Indians depended on the buffalo, but now they were gone! 

Effect of the Railroads: Helps develop the Cattle Industry  Cattle were transported by the railroads making it easier to move them from Texas to the East  Cow Towns grew up around these railroad stops

The Power of the Road Essay Assignment  Using your notes from the beginning of the class, write a one page essay on the importance of the transcontinental railroad and the changes that occurred because of it.  Your essay must include the following:  1 page, well written essay  Description of the importance of the transcontinental railroad  Description of the building of the railroad  Description of the changes caused by the transcontinental railroad  Positive and negative effects of the railroad Due Tuesday May 10 th at the end of class