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Article: Transcontinental Railroad, Building of
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD, BUILDING OF
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD, BUILDING OF.
The Transcontinental Railroad was the result of the U.S. commitment to Manifest Destiny and its burgeoning industrial might. Long distances and slow transportation hampered contact between eastern and western commercial centers. Both the United States government and entrepreneurs sought faster transportation to link the two sections. For a decade after 1850, Congress studied possible transcontinental routes, but arguments over sectionalism and slavery blocked all plans. Not until after the South seceded and the Civil War had begun could Congress pass an effective transcontinental plan, the Pacific Railroad ...