Building the Transcontinental Railroad
In 1862 Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act paving the way for a railroad spanning both coasts of the United States.
The United States continued to expand westward during the early 1800s. People traveled across the Great Plains, which they called the Great American Desert. They did not realize that it was good farmland. Instead they went by wagon, on foot, and by boat to California and Oregon. The trip was very long and dangerous. In 1838, the Iowa Territory sent a petition to Congress. It asked for help to build a transcontinental railroad. Congress denied the petition. It seemed impossible. How could people build a railroad across the plains? How could they go over the western mountains?
Table of Contents
The Pacific Railway and Morrill Acts
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