Union Pacific & Transcontinental Railroad

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject History - World History - Modern History, grade: B, New York University, language: English, abstract: The First Transcontinental Railroad was built in the United States of America. It was originally known to the people of America as the 'Pacific Railroad'. However, this name later on changed to become the 'Overland Route'. This railroad was laid down between the years of 1863 and 1869 . The railroad was constructed by the Central Pacific Railroad of California. The Union pacific Railroad was also constructed around this period. The eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska was connected to the Pacific Ocean which was at Oakland California by this rail road. The rail road did pass through the Ogden, Utah and Sacramento, California as it connected these two terminus. The railroad thus was linked with the railway network of the Eastern United Sates. This railway network in this region was already existent. Thus, this link up made it possible for the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of the United States of America to be connected for the very first time by a railway network. This railway line became popular in no time and the people referred to it as the Overland Route . Union Pacific & Transcontinental Railroad in Context The construction and operation of this railway line got its authorization during the civil war. The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 gave the go ahead for the construction of the railroad. The United State Congress also supported the idea of the construction of this railroad. They supported the initiative using the 30-year old United States government bonds . This way, the railroad construction was granted huge tracks of government-owned land to lay down the railroad on.