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Asa Whitney presented to Congress a plan for the federal government to subsidize the building of a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific.
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A reason for increase in support for the railroads.
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A reason for increase in support for the railroads.
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A reason for increase in support for the railroads.
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Congress appropriated funds to survey various proposed routes.
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Rivalry routes was intense, however, and when Senator Stephen Douglas introduced his Kansas-Nebraska Act, intended to win approval for a line from Chicago, the ensuing sectional controversy between North and South forced a delay in plans.
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A Republican-controlled Congress enacted legislation providing for construction of a transcontinental line. The law provided that the railroad be built by two companies; each recieved federal land grantsfor 10 alternate sections per mile on both sides of the line.
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The Union Pacific RR began construction from Omaha, Nebraska, while the Central Pacific broke ground at Sacramento, California. The two met in Promontory, Utah.
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A golden spike joined the two railways, thus completing the first transcontinental railroad.
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Three additional lines were finished, The Northern Pacific RR streched from Lake Superior to Portland, Oregon; the Santa Fe extended from Atchison, Kansas, to Los Angeles; and the Southern Pacific connected Los Angeles with New Orleans.
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The Great Northern was the fifth line and was finished in 1893. Each of the companies recieved extensive grants of land, although none obtained government loans.
