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Published byJennifer Morrison Modified over 9 years ago
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The Transcontinental Railroad-1869 A Symbol for America
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Brainstorm- What important roles can you envision for railroads in the future of the United States?
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Antebellum Railroads 1. no organization 2. no set gauge 3. various profit-seeking owners 4. favored Northeast businesses with “connections” 5. Lincoln in favor of Transcontinental Railroad-“bind up the nations wounds”
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What was needed to complete the greatest engineering feat of its time?
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1. Land Pacific Railway Act of 1862 A. Created 32 nd Parallel as the rough route for railroad B. Designated Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad companies to build RR.
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C. 170 million acres worth $1,000,000,000 (1 billion dollars) granted D. Each company received 10 sq. miles of public land per mile of track in states (20 sq. miles/ mile of track in territories)
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2. Loans to build A.Union Pacific- 1 mile=$16,000 on flat prairie or $48,000 on mountainous terrain
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B. Credit Mobilier Scandal- -Stockholders created construction company-Credit Mobilier -overcharged government-$73 million for $50 million work -donated shares of stock to reps. in Congress
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-VP Colfax and prominent congressmen (Rep. James Garfield) caught -No removals but hurt Republican Party
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3. Large, cheap, efficient labor force A.CP-over 10,000 Chinese-100s lost their lives-Sierra Nevada-TNT and Nitroglycerine- C 3 H 5 N 3 O 9 B.UP- over 8,000 Irish, German, and Civil War Vets C.Illness, death, and “Hells on Wheels”
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May 10, 1869 in Ogden, Utah; the rails meet *Stanford misses the golden spike*
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Results of the Union: The “Multiplier Effect” Speeding the pace of growth in many segments of the economy
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A. Increase in track mileage UP -1,086 miles of track CP -698 miles of track 1870-1880-amount of track in U.S. doubled 1880-1890-almost doubled again By 1900- 193,000 miles of track
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B. A new concept of time 1.Time of day = local matter-(12 minutes different from New York to Boston)- “High Noon” 2. Zones instituted by RR on November 18,1883 3. Became law in March 1918- Standard Time Act
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C. Hastened the collapse of Native American life in the West *took land used by Native Americans for millennia *nearly extinguished the native buffalo herd (reduced to a few thousand) *government troops used to kill and track down Native America war parties *Native American culture a victim of “progress” and “manifest destiny”
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“The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” General Sheridan, former Civil War general
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Two cultures collide
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