TECHNOLOGY: 

Transcontinental Railroad

The Gilded Age

 The term "gilded" can also refer to an interior that is not covered in gold.

 From the end of the Civil War to the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a period known
as the Gilded Age.

The United States was beginning to experience great change

 More railroads
 New factories
 New inventions
 More immigrants
 Discovery of new mines
 New farms and ranches in the Great Plains
But the Gilded Age had a dark side. Not everyone benefited from the country’s growth in technology,
industry, and population.

Industrial Revolution
 Machines began to replace hand tools during the Industrial Revolution, and factories began to
replace craft shops.
 American industry underwent even more radical transformations following the Civil War.
 New technologies were invented by inventors, and new ways for business owners to run their
operations were discovered.

Free Enterprise
 The United States' free enterprise system expanded exponentially.
  In an economic system known as free enterprise, businesses are allowed to sell a wide range
of products and services.

Transcontinental Railroad

Expanding Rail Transportation

 Plans were being made to connect railways that would connect the Atlantic to Pacific coasts even
while Abraham Lincoln was president.
 Rail lines had been worked from the Atlantic coast to Nebraska.
 Now, the objective was to connect a Nebraska-to-Pacific Coast railway.

Two Railroad Companies

 Two businesses were granted permission to construct the railroad by Congress in 1862.
 They also received money and land from the government.
 From Omaha, Nebraska, the Union Pacific Railroad expanded westward.
 The Focal Pacific Railroad assembled east from Sacramento, California.
Building the Railroad
 Most of the Association Pacific track was worked by Irish workers, veterans of both the Association
and Confederate armed forces, and Mormons who wished to see the railroad go through Ogden,
Utah.
 Most of the Central Pacific track was built by Chinese workers.
 Most men received between one and three dollars per day, while Chinese workers received
significantly less. They eventually went on strike, which resulted in a modest salary increase.
The Railroads Meet
 The two railroads met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869.
 The first transcontinental railroad was completed with a prayer written on a golden spike.

Inequality on the rise: The growing divide between haves and have-nots
 Many people who took part in this study agreed that digital life is likely to make people's lives better
at the top of the social and economic ladder in the coming decades. Concerns that a continuation
of current trends will result in a widening economic divide that will leave the majority in the dust of
the privileged class were expressed by a significant portion of those who predicted that the use of
the internet will result in change for the worse for the majority of people over the course of the next
fifty years.

The Growth of Railroads

 Before the Civil War, most of the railroad tracks in America had been built in the Eastern USA.
 Gold was discovered in the West and people slowly began migrating westward.
 Travel was slow & difficult, often taking months.
 There was a desire to build a transcontinental railway that connected the East coast with the riches
of California and the West.

Building the Transcontinental Railroad

 Civil War vets, Irish laborers, and free African Americans started working westward from Omaha.
 Chinese workers started eastward from Sacramento.
 They met at Promontory Point, Utah.
The Transcontinental Railroad
Railroads would have a significant impact on the economic, cultural, and social development of the
Western United States
 The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad had a major effect on the settlement and growth of
the USA.
 Farms, ranches, and small towns sprang up in the West as settlers were encouraged to ‘Go West”.
 Natural resources of lumber, coal, and steel fueled the growth of factories and jobs in the East.
 Eastern cities would benefit from increased availability of food grown in the West.

Impact of the Railroads

 Western farmers and ranchers sent their wheat, corn, and beef to be processed in Mid-western
cities in Michigan and Illinois.
 These raw materials were turned into products to be shipped to the crowded cities of the East.
 The demand for beef increased as refrigerated rail cars allowed meat to last longer and be
transported to hungry cities.

Development of a National Market

 A national market began to emerge as railroads, canals, the telegraph, and telephone linked the
country together.
 National producers could ship their goods cheaper and would dominate sales in the West.
 Advertising gave manufacturers the ability to expand across the nation.
 Catalogs became “wish lists” as things could be ordered and delivered by the trains.

Impact of Population Growth

 The USA experienced a rapid population growth, as the population jumped from over 2 million to
76 million in just 50 years, cities were crowded
 A high birth rate and a steady stream of immigrants created a rising demand for goods and the
growing population was a supply of cheap labor.
 This population growth favored business expansion.

Laws Against Anti-Competitive Practices

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
  Railroads often charged small farmers more to ship goods than they did large companies.
 States passed laws to stop this, but the Supreme Court ruled these laws were unconstitutional.
 Congress finally passed the Interstate Commerce Act that prohibited unfair practices by the
railroads.
 The Interstate Commerce Commission was created to enforce these laws.

Laws Against Big Business

 Teddy Roosevelt is carrying a club saying, “Greater Railroad Regulation”.
 Roosevelt felt there were ‘good’ trusts (those that didn’t harm the publics interests) and ‘bad’
trusts (those that created monopolies) and it was the government’s responsibility to stop the bad
trusts.
 TR became known as the ‘Trust-busting’ president.
 The railroad trains are labeled with words like: ‘bribery’, extortion, and lack of competition’.
 This was to show that the railroads took advantage of the average American, particularly the
small farmers.

Impact of Transcontinental Railroad

 The Transcontinental Railroad and other railways improved travel and trade.
 The USA’s population exploded.
 Development of a national market.