Railroads 1 yes 2 33 OR 1859

Railroads

1. yes 2. 33 (OR 1859) 3. yes 4. State = org government, powers in Constitution Territory = laws enacted by congress, federal government power over 5. 60, 000 people, ask to be admitted 6. yes, bad farming 7. More states more settlement, RR encourages settlement 8. Nope 9. mud. Bricks, imported wood cow patties 10. boats, carriage, horses, RR later 11. letters, telegraph 12. Cheap land, build RR 13. Tax deductions, land, money 14. Part in building, cheap land

Homestead Act 1862 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Give land to actual settlers Not under private or state ownership Head family, over 21, military service, never aid enemy, use land for own use. Yes same terms as men 160 acres Apply in person at land office, prove qualify (#3) 10 years, live whole time and build on 1. 25 Speculators, RR builders: sell land for profit. Need to live on for 10 years & cannot divide till much later

Pacific Railway Act 1862 1. Build RR and telegraph to pacific from MO river 2. Lay out, locate, construct, etc RR & telegraph 4. Rocky MT, Sierra Nevada 5. Blizzards, extreme weather, Dynamite 6. Same as Union, race to lay most track to make most money 7. Rocky 3 X amount of money Sierra 2 X amount of money 8. Spread communication 9. 200 ft get rid of their claims 10. Close to Railway for travel and getting products, didn’t pay for it so pure profit 11. Land Grants, 16 bonds of $1, 000 for each section of 1 mile` 12. 28 million acres

Benefits 1. Increase markets, RR buy products (steel, coal, etc) 2. Create single RR, link different markets 3. Spread settlement west, sell more goods, Time zone, safety standards

Before Civil War most RR were short tracks connecting close cities

Transcontinental Railroad Railway extending coast to coast 1862 – Pacific Railway Act n n Abe Lincoln Each company given huge loans and land grants

Union Pacific Pushed West from Omaha, Nebraska Grenville Dodge Obstacles. Blizzards, Desert heat, Native Americans Labor, Money, Engineering problems Workers: Civil War vets, Irish Miners, ex-cons Use pickaxes to level Camped or slept in bunk cars

Central Pacific Pushed east from CA Theodore Judah (Engineer) Sold stock to: Leland Stanford & 3 others Obstacles: Sierra Nevada, Equipment had to be shipped from East Workers: Chinese immigrants, Vets, miners, ex-cons chisel plow & TNT throw Sierra Nevada

Golden Spike Union Pacific met Central Pacific at Promontory Point, UT May 10, 1869 (7 yrs to complete) National event – Coast to coast shipping now available

Railroad Spur Growth RR spurred Industry: Access to resources Increase size of market Faster more practical means of transporting goods RR also bought supplies -steel, coal, timber

Railroads Consolidation Capitalistic looked to unite many small rail lines

Cornelius Vanderbilt -RR tycoon -Boat Captain -Controls all RR between NY and Chicago -1871 builds Grand Central Station

Benefits of Railroads Time Zones n n Previous use solar time Trying to set schedules = confusing 1883 – 4 times zones rail service more reliable and safer

Benefits of Railroads New innovations – locomotive tech. and air brakes United different regions Efficient, speedy, travel/shipping Cost of shipping down

Land Grant System Building and running a RR cost lots of money Too risky for most private investor Government gave RR companies land grants n n 1850 – 28 Million + acres 1862 – 120 million + acres RR companies sold land to settlers n covered most building costs

Robber Barons RR investors made huge sums of money Accused of cheating investors & government Jay Gould (Worst Offender) n insider trading n manipulate stock prices Government bribery = more land grants n RR men learn there was more money in land then in RR n bribed state legislature & congress to get more land grants

Credit Mobilier Biggest scandal to hit RR – 1872 Credit Mobilier – Construction Co for Union Pacific n n made deals with themselves to do work overcharge government RR almost bankrupt by 1869 n n sold stock to congress at bargain prices received new land grants Angry assoc. told newspaper about the dealings Investigation revealed several congressmen involved: n n James Garfield – future president Schuyler Colfax- VP *Scandal left all RR tycoons with a bad reputation

The Great Northern James J. Hill – owner n n Took no land grants & subsidies Arranged with import, export business to haul goods to & from west coast Most successful transcontinental RR n only one not forced into bankruptcy