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Asa Whitney
Presented to Congress a plan for the federal government to bulid a railroad from Mississippi River to the Pacific. -
Congress
Congress appropriated funds to survey various proposed routes. -
Kansas- Nebraska Act
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 the plans -
During the Civil War
During the Civil War, a Republican-controlled Congress enacted legislation providing for construction of a transcontinental line. -
Union Pacific & Central Pacific
In 1863 the Union Pacific RR began construction from Omaha, Nebr., while the Central Pacific broke ground at Sacramento, Calif. The two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah -
Finished
May 10, 1869, a golden spike joined the two railways, thus completing the first transcontinental railroad -
Three additional lines
Three additional lines were finished in 1883: the Northern Pacific RR stretched from Lake Superior to Portland, Oreg.; the Santa Fe extended from Atchison, Kans., to Los Angeles; and the Southern Pacific connected Los Angeles with New Orleans.
