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Period: to
Transcontinental Railroad
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Asa Whitney Proposal
Asa Whitney presented a plan for the governement to subsidize the building of a railroad which would go from the Pacific Ocean to the Mississippi River. -
Setttlement of Oregon boundary
Increased support for the project. -
Aquisition of Western territories from Mexico
Helped increase support. -
Discovery of gold in California
Increased support for the project. -
Congress appropriates fund for a survey.
Congress gave funds for a survey of certain routes. There was intense rivalry over the routes. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Stephen Douglass introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act which was intended to win approval for a line from Chicago. However, the sectilonal controversy between the North and South delated these plans. -
Public Railway Act
Congress created two railways. The Centrail Pacific which was going to go East from California, and the Union Pacific which would go west from Omaha, Nebraska. -
Union Pacific and Central Pacific construction begins
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Two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah.
The Union Pacific met with the Centrail Pacific. A golden spike joined the two. The first transcontinental railroad had been completed. -
Three more lines are finished
The Norther Pacific RR went from Lake Superior to Portland, Oregon. The Santa Fe went from Atchison, Kansas to Los Angelas. The Southern Pacific went from Los Angeles to New Orleans. -
Great Northern is completed
The fifth line.