The Transcontinental Railroad was finished on May 10, 1869. For seven years the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railroad companies chugged toward one another. They started to lay track in 1862. The Central pacific and the Union Pacific saw this as a challenge as to who could lay the most track. The pacific railroad act had chartered the Central Pacific railroad company to start work in Sacrament, California and the Union Pacific to start work in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Central pacific was dominantly controlled by the "big four", Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, and Mark Hopkins. None of these men had any experience in railroads, engineering, or construction, but they were all ambitious businessmen that were capable of pulling major funding for the Central Pacific railroad.
The Union Pacific was completely controlled by Thomas Durant, who had illegally achieved his controlling interest in the company. This left him free to make all of the decisions for the company. Durant had previously been the owner of Missouri & Mississippi Railroad. Durant unlike the "big four" made his money illegally. By the time he took over control of the Union Pacific he had made a fortune in smuggling cotton out of the confederate states during the civil war.
After the civil war the transcontinental railroad project really started to get underway. The Union pacific were making quick progress across the planes. Unlike the Union Pacific, the Central Pacific was making little progress through the sierra Nevada. Because of the slow headway being made Charles Crocker, one of the "big four", decided to hire 14,000 Chinese immigrants. During this time period immigrants could be hired to work longer hours for much less pay. This caused many of the white railroad workers to dislike the Chinese men working on the railroad.
By the summer of 1867 the Union Pacific Railroad Company had cover nearly four times as much ground as their rivals who had just broken out of the sierra Nevada mountains. From 1867 to 1869 both companies were in a race to get to the final meeting point before the other, although no official final destination had been determined. The new president decided to withhold Federal Funds until the two companies decided on a place where the two sections of railroad would meet. Eventually the final meeting point that was decided on was Promontory point, which is just north of the Great Salt Lake. The final spoke to finish the railroad was driven into the ground on May 10, 1869.
Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/tcrr/
http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/transcontinental-railroad
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/tcrr-durant/
Was Stanford not more involved in the building of the railroad?
ReplyDelete"The Central pacific was dominantly controlled by the "big four", Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, and Mark Hopkins." All of the men had no prior experience in railroads. engineering or construction. Yet they were all really successful. They had the will, the determination and ambitiousness to fund the railroads. Do you believe that you must be skilled to be successful? That you don't need skill? Or that these four were just very lucky?
ReplyDeleteVery well and organised, how did the construction of the railroads help expand the american economy? How bad would racial tensions get among white americans and asian immigrants?
ReplyDeleteVery good overview. How did the chinese play a larger role in building the railroad? Did their working and deaths for the railroad help them get rights? Where they prosecuted and seen as not welcome as immigrants to the US?
ReplyDeleteGood and clear topic, however I think you should go a little more on the usage of the transportational railroad and it's influence on the country. As well as many of the important usages like having transportation for mail deliveries and the importance of spreading the American Dream.
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