1. Chapter 9, Section 2 IMPACT OF RAILROADS

2. RAILROADS LINK THE NATION Railroad boom 1865 – 35,000 miles of track in the US 1900 – over 200,000 miles 1862 Pacific Railway Act Abraham Lincoln Transcontinental Railroad Union Pacific and Central Pacific

3. UNION PACIFIC Omaha, NE in 1865 Grenville Dodge Obstacles Blizzards Deserts Indian attacks Veterans, Irish immigrants, ex-convicts, ex-miners

4. CENTRAL PACIFIC California, 1863 Judah sold to “Big Four” 4 Sacramento merchants (Stanford!) Obstacles Shipped from the East Not enough workers Hired 10,000 Chinese

5. 1869 IN UTAH! Increased markets for products stimulated economy by buying home resources

6. CORNELIUS VANDERBILT Largest steamboat fleet Bought NY rails - linked them together New York Grand Central Terminal Vanderbilt

7. NEED FOR A NATIONAL SYSTEM Before 1880s each town set clocks by the sun Confusing and dangerous for train scheduling 1883, American Railway Association created four time zones Faster and more efficient

8. LAND GRANTS Federal govt. Land to railroads Encouraged construction RR companies sold to settlers Money for material

9. ROBBER BARONS Jay Gould “Insider trading” Use to own RR’s Manipulated stock prices Bribery More land grants from Congress = more money from land

10. CREDIT MOBILIER SCANDAL Construction company Union Pacific owners, some Congress Signed contract with themselves, over charged Union Pacific Congressmen bought shares below market value – not okay leaked out to press

11. THE GREAT NORTHERN James J. Hill Low fares to homestead settlers along the route Products demanded in China East to Washington, to Asia Extra cash for exporting Successful without land grants