The Transcontinental Railroad

In 1862, during the Civil War, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act to link the eastern United States to California. The Central Pacific built eastward from Sacramento, relying heavily on thousands of Chinese workers, who did much of the dangerous work of blasting through the Sierra Nevada. The Union Pacific built westward from Nebraska with many Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans. The two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah, on 10 May 1869, and a ceremonial golden spike marked completion.

The railroad cut the journey across the continent from months to about a week, opened the West to settlement and trade, and created national markets. It also accelerated the destruction of bison herds and the dispossession of Native American nations. Chinese workers, paid less than white workers, faced growing hostility, culminating in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.