The Importance of the Railways in Westward Expansion
“How important were railways in opening up the West?” (50 marks)
The world’s first transcontinental railway came into being on the 10th of May 1869, after 6 years of intense manual labouring, much of which had occurred during the tumultuous years of the American Civil War. As it entailed a huge 1907 mile route – beginning at San Francisco Bay, and ending in Iowa on the Missouri River – the line could be described as monumentally important as it travelled through six of the 37 existing states, and physically connected millions of acres of land. Whilst the transcontinental railway, however, was instrumental in expanding the West, there were many other factors that also aided this action, which included various piece of government legislation – such as the Gadsden Purchase and the Annexation of Texas – the role of farming, the invention of the telegraph, and former methods of transportation like the steamboats.
Originally known as the Pacific Railroad, this vast railway line could be considered to be very valuable in expanding the West as it allowed people of all economic status’ to travel there – formerly, stagecoach transportation across the continent had cost within the region of $1000 (nowadays, around £150-250,000), and took a gruelling nine months. Using the transcontinental railway meant the cost was a depleted $100, and the journey was far safer, and only lasted a maximum of 9 days. This would have been very appealing for people of lower economic standing, as they had the opportunity to trial life in the West. Many of the people who used the Railroad were those seeking the 160 acres of land offered by the 1862 Homestead Act, where much of the available land could be found running parallel to the line. The promise of a short and cheaper journey convinced many people to go West and become part of the 1.6 million homesteaders who received land from the US Government. The railway also led to huge social development in the West as towns began to grow in
The world’s first transcontinental railway came into being on the 10th of May 1869, after 6 years of intense manual labouring, much of which had occurred during the tumultuous years of the American Civil War. As it entailed a huge 1907 mile route – beginning at San Francisco Bay, and ending in Iowa on the Missouri River – the line could be described as monumentally important as it travelled through six of the 37 existing states, and physically connected millions of acres of land. Whilst the transcontinental railway, however, was instrumental in expanding the West, there were many other factors that also aided this action, which included various piece of government legislation – such as the Gadsden Purchase and the Annexation of Texas – the role of farming, the invention of the telegraph, and former methods of transportation like the steamboats.
Originally known as the Pacific Railroad, this vast railway line could be considered to be very valuable in expanding the West as it allowed people of all economic status’ to travel there – formerly, stagecoach transportation across the continent had cost within the region of $1000 (nowadays, around £150-250,000), and took a gruelling nine months. Using the transcontinental railway meant the cost was a depleted $100, and the journey was far safer, and only lasted a maximum of 9 days. This would have been very appealing for people of lower economic standing, as they had the opportunity to trial life in the West. Many of the people who used the Railroad were those seeking the 160 acres of land offered by the 1862 Homestead Act, where much of the available land could be found running parallel to the line. The promise of a short and cheaper journey convinced many people to go West and become part of the 1.6 million homesteaders who received land from the US Government. The railway also led to huge social development in the West as towns began to grow in