The Transcontinental Railroad

Bailey, Budd. The Transcontinental Railroad. Part of the Primary Sources of Westward Expansion series. 2018. 64p. ISBN 978-1-5026-2642-4. Available at 385.09 BAI on the library shelves.

Born on the Atlantic, the young American nation slowly spread across the Appalachians and reached the Mississippi river. The Louisiana Purchase, negotiated with France under Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, led to a massive territory being added. Further explorations and conflicts completed the addition of land to the United States. The distances involved in settling the West were enormous and traveling from one coast to the next could take up to eight months by ship or six weeks in a wagon, assuming there were no delays or violence along the way.

This large amount of land, coupled with rising tensions between the North and the South over the issue of slavery, led the government to explore chartering companies to build a railroad to link both coasts. It wasn’t until 1862, however, during the Civil War, that Congress mandated two companies, starting from opposite ends, to build the first transcontinental railroad. By the time the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific had connected their tracks in Utah in 1869, traveling times had been cut down to a week, with some trains able to make the trip in three and a half days.

Along the way, Native Americans were pushed out and bison and buffaloes, principal sources of food, were eliminated. Settlers grabbed more and more of the land, pushing Native Americans into reservations. A lack of labor encouraged the arrival of thousands of Chinese workers, but the local population resented them. Camps of fortunes evolved into villages and towns, before growing into massive railroad hubs like Chicago and Kansas City. Thus, speedier travel also led to the destruction of a way of life.

Fans of history will appreciate the thoroughness of this book and its heavily researched information. Pictures appropriately compliment the text, providing an excellent historical read.

Books in the Primary Sources of Westward Expansion series include Native American Resistance, Homesteading and Settling the Frontier, The Gold Rush, The Transcontinental Railroad, Lewis and Clark and Exploring the Louisiana Purchase, and Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War.