The Railroads Role in the Settling of the West
The Railroads Role in the Settlement of the West
One of the largest contributing factors in the settling of the American West was the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Development was a slow process in much of the west, due in large part to how long the journey took. The completion of the railroad made it both a faster and much safer way to travel across the country. In 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act was signed. It promised federal support to build the first transcontinental railroad. Two companies were chosen to take on this enormous project, they were awarded generous land grants and were given millions of dollars in government loans so that they could complete the project. The Union Pacific Railroad started laying tracks heading west from Iowa, while the Central Pacific Railroad was laying tracks heading east from California. The two sets of tracks finally merged together in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, creating the first transcontinental railroad.
Before the completion of the railroad travel to the west was primarily done by horseback or wagon train. This type of travel took several months to complete and was a very strenuous and dangerous journey, especially when travelling through Indian country. After completion of the railroad the same trip was reduced to a week’s time, while making it a far less dangerous trip especially for the women and children. Passengers were offered free trips, along with long term loans from the railroad companies. This was all done in an effort to attract Americans to the newly developing west.
Railroad company executives no longer viewed the Great Plains which covered much of the American West as the inhabitable Great American Desert as it had once been described. The vast native grasslands that are so predominant in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas that was once thought of as unlivable tracts of land due to the lack of trees to supply lumber that was needed for building homes. There was
One of the largest contributing factors in the settling of the American West was the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Development was a slow process in much of the west, due in large part to how long the journey took. The completion of the railroad made it both a faster and much safer way to travel across the country. In 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act was signed. It promised federal support to build the first transcontinental railroad. Two companies were chosen to take on this enormous project, they were awarded generous land grants and were given millions of dollars in government loans so that they could complete the project. The Union Pacific Railroad started laying tracks heading west from Iowa, while the Central Pacific Railroad was laying tracks heading east from California. The two sets of tracks finally merged together in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, creating the first transcontinental railroad.
Before the completion of the railroad travel to the west was primarily done by horseback or wagon train. This type of travel took several months to complete and was a very strenuous and dangerous journey, especially when travelling through Indian country. After completion of the railroad the same trip was reduced to a week’s time, while making it a far less dangerous trip especially for the women and children. Passengers were offered free trips, along with long term loans from the railroad companies. This was all done in an effort to attract Americans to the newly developing west.
Railroad company executives no longer viewed the Great Plains which covered much of the American West as the inhabitable Great American Desert as it had once been described. The vast native grasslands that are so predominant in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas that was once thought of as unlivable tracts of land due to the lack of trees to supply lumber that was needed for building homes. There was