As impressive an achievement as the Transcontinental Railroad was, it also signified the beginning of the end for the “untamed” American West. Hunting for sport became more popular, as passengers on trains hunted herds of bison as they rode across the Great Plains. These train-hunts were designed to both provide entertainment for passengers and to reduce food supplies for Native Americans, who relied on the bison as a staple for survival. Since Native Americans were some of the biggest opponents to westward expansion, lawmakers and railroad pundits alike supported these cruel hunting practices. Unfortunately for both the bison and Native Americans, these wasteful practices were incredibly successful in driving both populations to the edge of annihilation. Show The Transcontinental Railroad also commercialized parts of the agricultural west. Forcibly relocating dozens of Native American tribes and seizing their land opened land for pioneer farmers. Areas of the Great Plains that were previously considered unsuitable for farming were reallocated by the Homestead Act of 1862. As a trade for government subsidization, farmers that purchased this new, cheap farmland were expected to work the semi-arid grassland of the High Plains to repay their debts. Areas that could not be reached by railroad also experienced a sharp decline in population. As the costs of supplying plains and desert communities continued to rise, families moved to greener, more central states. Abandoned communities, isolated by land and resources, created ghost towns across the West. Although the railroad provided opportunities for growth for towns lucky enough to have access, most settlements that relied on wagons to transport goods found that they could not pay the costs necessary to ensure basic survival. When the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848, the US contained fifteen free and fifteen slave states. Controversy surrounded all of the proposed solutions to the problem of slavery in the territories. Additionally, northerners railed against the legality of slavery in the District of Columbia, and southerners, in turn, complained of northern failure to comply with the Fugitive Slave Law. All of these issues had to be resolved if new states were to enter the Union. Early in 1850, Henry Clay proposed a solution, known as the Compromise of 1850, to resolve these disputes. His proposal had six major points: · The admission of California as a free state. He presented all of these proposals together in an omnibus bill. Though Congress rejected the bill, all of its individual measures were passed. Still, the issue of the future of slavery remained far from settled, and the disagreement between North and South eventually spawned the Civil War. As the national focus centered on the growing conflict, the conflict itself, and, later, on the period of Reconstruction, expansion no longer monopolized Americans' attention. Even so, expansion continued at a steady pace. Between September 1850, when California was admitted to the union, and 1870, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, Nevada, and Nebraska were all admitted as states. Even so, much of the territory in the West remained uninhabited and unorganized. On May 10, 1869, at Promontory Point, Utah, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad companies connected tracks extending from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska. 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. By 1872, under the Pacific Railroad Act, Congress awarded the railroads over 170 million acres in land grants. The railroads created bureaus and sent agents to the East and to Europe to attract potential settlers on these lands. Portraying the West as a land of limitless opportunity, the bureaus offered long-term loans and free transportation to the West. Between 1870 and 1900, not only did the railroads attract settlers from nearby states, but also brought 2.2 million foreign immigrants to the trans-Mississippi West. Desiring quick payment of loans, railroads encouraged these settlers to grow and sell cash crops. The Homestead Act, passed in 1862, offered 160 acres of land to anyone who would pay $10, live on the land for five years, and cultivate and improve it. The Act encouraged many additional Americans and foreigners to move to the undeveloped West. Despite the romantic portrayals of the railroads, Western farmers continued to face difficult conditions. Suffering a depression between 1873 and 1878, and facing the constant threat of natural disaster, many returned East. Those who remained struggled to build homes and communities amid mosquito infestations and other harsh conditions. Farm settlements eventually became thriving communities, with churches, schools, and markets, and farmers grew close with their neighbors. The towns built opera houses and hotels and labored to bring modernization and sophistication to the West. How did railroads affect western migration?Between 1870 and 1900, not only did the railroads attract settlers from nearby states, but also brought 2.2 million foreign immigrants to the trans-Mississippi West. Desiring quick payment of loans, railroads encouraged these settlers to grow and sell cash crops.
How did the transcontinental railroad affect migration?It changed where Americans lived.
And, as Ronda notes, the first transcontinental railroad and the other lines that followed made it easy for immigrants to spread across the nation. “People come across the Atlantic on ships, get on trains, and end up in places such as western Nebraska,” he says.
What were some effects of the transcontinental railroad on Western cities?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.
How did the transcontinental railroad affect the western frontier?Railroads had a significant impact when they were introduced to the American West in the 1870s. Rail access spurred white migration and land occupation, altered the cattle industry, and affected the soil ecosystem.
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