How did the transcontinental railroad affect the settlement of the West?
The historic moment created the first transcontinental railroad, enabling travelers to go from coast to coast in a week’s time, making it markedly easier to travel west in search of land for settlement. Desiring quick payment of loans, railroads encouraged these settlers to grow and sell cash crops.
What happened as a result of the completion of the transcontinental railroad?
Just as it opened the markets of the west coast and Asia to the east, it brought products of eastern industry to the growing populace beyond the Mississippi. The railroad ensured a production boom, as industry mined the vast resources of the middle and western continent for use in production.
What effect did the construction of the transcontinental railroad have on coast?
What effect did the construction of the transcontinental railroad have on coast-to-coast communication? The railroad made coast-to-coast communication instantaneous. The railroad reduced coast-to-coast communication time from about a week to about a day.
What was the role of the railroads in the settlement of the West?
What was the role of the railroads in the settlement of the Great West? The railroads linked the newly acquired Pacific territories to the Union . The railroads brought the West into the world and the world to the West.
What were three benefits of building the transcontinental railroad?
The railroad rapidly shipped resources such as coal, timber, precious metals and even cattle from west to east and opened up new markets for the goods produced in eastern factories. Huge cities like Chicago emerged as industrial hubs from which to send western raw materials east, and eastern products to the west.
How did the Transcontinental Railroad change the United States?
“In the West, where the distances are so great, the railroad brought near and far closer together.” The railroad schedules also helped to push the United States into changing how it marked time, leading to the adoption of standard time zones in 1883.
How much did it cost to build the transcontinental railroad?
By one estimate, the project cost roughly $60 million, about $1.2 billion in today’s money, though other sources put the amount even higher. While the railroad’s construction was a mammoth undertaking, its effects on the country were equally profound.
How did the transcontinental railroad affect Chinese immigrants?
Chinese immigrants working on the Northwest Pacific Railway in the 1880s. 8. It increased racial conflicts.
Why did they cut down trees to build the railroad?
The massive amount of wood needed to build the railroad, including railroad ties, support beams for tunnels and bridges, and sheds, necessitated cutting down thousands of trees, which devastated western forests. Towns and cities that sprung up along the railroad further encroached upon what had been wild areas.