Saturday, September 26, 2009

Transcontinental Railroad

The Transcontinental Railroad stretched from Missouri to California. The railroad was built by two companies, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific. It took them three years to finish the Transcontinental Railroad. Book source.

The idea of building a transcontinental railroad was first proposed by the transcontinental Railroad was built by the Cental Pacific and Union companies. The Transcontinental Railroad began to undergo construction in Omaha, Nebraska (Book source) and, when finished, ran from Missouri to California. The railroad was finished at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869.

Many of the people who worked on the railroad were Chinese. Book Source. "The first Chinese were hired in 1865 at approximately $28 per month to do the very dangerous work of blasting and laying ties over the Sierras." Source. By 1868, a year before the railroads were finished, two thirds of the workers hired were Chinese.

The Transcontinental Railroads aided people in transportation across America. This would normally take somebody around six months to accomplish. However, the Chinese-Americans would still have to face hardships, even though they had worked willingly for lower pay. The railroads also, "created the skeletal structure of the Western transportation system." Source.


The Transcontinental Railroad ran from Missouri to California. The railroads were finished on May 10, 1869. A great effort was put into this project by the Chinese, although they were discriminated against while working on the railroad and after it was finished.