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Asa Whitney presented a plan to Congress to subsidize the construction of a railroad that would span from the MIssissippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
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Congress approved funds to begin serving the routes of the proposed railroad.
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Congress, controlled by Republicans, pushed and passed the legislation that allowed for the construction of a transcontinental railroad.
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Construction began in Omaha, Nebraska by the Union Pacific Railroad, and from Sacramento, California by the Central Pacific Railroad.
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Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met in Promontory Summit, Utah. Stanford finished the line with a golden spike stuck by a silver mallet.
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Three railroads were finished in 1883, the Northen Pacific (Lake Superior to Portland Oregon), Santa Fe (Atchison, Kansas to Los Angeles, Ca), and Southern Pacific (Los Angeles, Ca to New Orleans, La).
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The Great Northern Railroad was completed in 1893.
