When the road wasn't built yet, they would travel by foot, horse or boat. The situation wasn’t really good because they had to travel for days. They usually used a wagon and a horse so that they would arrive much faster. There was a person named Theodore Judah and Theodore Judah’s biggest dream was to build something that could help people travel much faster. Before the first lines were built in the early 19th century, the only means of overland transport for many were stagecoaches, boats or horse and cart. And none of these were particularly cheap or widely available, so few actually travelled outside their local area.
They also really wanted to go to the west because they wanted land and wealth. They went there because there was the California Gold Rush. They saw a lot of people get rich by finding gold. So they went there to find gold and left their families behind. They would Gold rush and mining opportunities (silver in Nevada) The opportunity to work in the cattle industry; to be a “cowboy” Faster travel to the West by railroad; availability of supplies due to the railroad. The opportunity to own land cheaply under the Homestead Act.
Beginning in 1863, the Union Pacific, employing more than 8,000 Irish, German, and Italian immigrants, built west from Omaha, Nebraska; the Central Pacific, whose workforce included over 10,000 Chinese laborers, built eastward from Sacramento, California. Half of the people went to the east side and the other went to the west and they started building it at the same time. Very generally, rail infrastructure construction costs can range from $2 million per mile in flat rural areas to $300 million per mile or more in urban areas. On May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, a golden spike was hammered into the final tie.
The railroad opened the way for the settlement of the West, provided new economic opportunities, stimulated the development of towns and communities, and generally tied the country together. The railroad network made it much easier, much faster, and much less expensive to travel around the country. This increased the communication between residents of different regions, helping unify the social and political discourse of the U.S. Railroads also helped people migrate.
When the road wasn't built yet, they would travel by foot, horse or boat. The situation wasn’t really good because they had to travel for days. They also really wanted to go to the west because they wanted land and wealth. They went there because there was the California Gold Rush. Beginning in 1863, the Union Pacific, employing more than 8,000 Irish, German, and Italian immigrants, built west from Omaha, Nebraska; the Central Pacific, whose workforce included over 10,000 Chinese laborers, built eastward from Sacramento, California. The railroad network made it much easier, much faster, and much less expensive to travel around the country.
Comments