What was the most significant accomplishment of the railroad?
One of the most significant technological achievements of the 19th century, the first Transcontinental Railroads panning the width of the United States was completed May 10, 1869. The railroads were incredibly important to the country’s burgeoning economy and population.
What was the main goal of the Pacific railroad Act?
The act was an effort to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean and to secure the use of that line to the government. The legislation authorized two railroad companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, to construct the lines.
Why did people work on railroads?
The Promise of Gold Mountain The discovery of gold in California lured Chinese as well as Easterners to the hills of California. When reality fell short of promise, the immigrants turned to employment on the railroads.
What did Chicago workers do in the 1880s?
In the 1880s, workers’ organizations, led by the Knights of Labor, joined with political radicals and reformers to organize a national effort to demand an eight-hour workday. During the first week of May 1886, 35,000 Chicago workers walked off of their jobs in massive strikes to protest their lengthy work weeks.
Who was involved in the Pullman railway strike?
The strike and boycott. At the time of the strike, 35 percent of Pullman’s workforce was represented by the American Railway Union (ARU), which had led a successful strike against the Great Northern Railway Company in April 1894. Although the ARU was not technically involved in the Pullman workers’ decision to strike,…
What was life like for industrial workers in the 1870s?
Many of the demands made by industrial workers in the 1870s—for example, for an eight-hour workday—were not fulfilled until World War I, or even the 1930s. Industrialization, immigration, and urbanization became new sources of social conflict and instability.
What was working conditions like in Chicago during the Long Gilded Age?
The documents that follow therefore span the “long Gilded Age” to portray working conditions, workers’ organizations, and demonstrations in Chicago from the Haymarket Affair in 1886 to the reform campaigns of the 1910s. What were working conditions like in Chicago during the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-centuries?