![Picture](/uploads/1/5/9/5/15950764/1364151823.png)
1803- Lewis and Clark set off with the Corps of Discovery, sparking interest in the West by reaching the Pacific Ocean.
1807- "On October 12, 1807, Fulton made his first steamboat trip up the Hudson River. How wonderful has been the effect of his discovery. In the short space of forty-three years steam power has revolutionized the world," Grenville Dodge, chief engineer of the Union Pacific.
1841- Settlers began to create a dangerous, treacherous path called the Oregon Trail.
1845- Congress proposed funding for a Transcontinental Railroad, but the bill was forgotten.
1848- The treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was ratified, granting a huge chunk of land to the US (see map).
1849- As gold fever swept across America, thousands travelled to San Francisco.
1853- The Gadsen Purchase provided flat land for a southern Transcontinental Railroad, which wasn't built until the 1880's.
1860- Theodore Judah engineered a path through the Sierra Nevada.
1860- Judah met Collis P. Huntington, who agreed to invest in a railroad company. Mark Hopkins, James Bailey, Charles Crocker, and Leland Stanford also join in and the six found the Central Pacific Railroad.
1860- On December 20, South Carolina seceded from the Union, sparking the Civil War.
July 1, 1862- President Lincoln urged Congress to pass the Pacific Railroad bill, funding the Transcontinental Railroad with $48,000 and 6,400 acres of land per mile of track. The Union Pacific Railroad was created to build a railroad from Omaha, while the Central Pacific built from Sacramento.
January, 1863- The Central Pacific Railroad laid its first tracks in Sacramento, CA.
July, 1864- Thomas C Durant, and others lobbied Congress to amend the bill, doubling the land grant to 12,800 acres per mile of track.
January, 1865- Chinese workers are hired by the Central Pacific greatly increasing the workforce.
April 9, 1865- The Civil War ended with the surrender of the Confederate Army. Lincoln, who promoted the railroad, was assassinated 5 days later,
June, 1865- Union Pacific started construction in Omaha, 2 years after the Central Pacific.
1867- Chinese railroad workers went on strike for better wages. They later go back to work at the same wage.
1868- The first passenger train traveled from Sacramento to Reno.
April, 1969- Congress decided the two companies will meet at Promontory Point, Utah, giving much coal-rich land to the Union Pacific.
May 10, 1869- The Central and Union Pacific Railroads met at Promontory Point, Utah.
1807- "On October 12, 1807, Fulton made his first steamboat trip up the Hudson River. How wonderful has been the effect of his discovery. In the short space of forty-three years steam power has revolutionized the world," Grenville Dodge, chief engineer of the Union Pacific.
1841- Settlers began to create a dangerous, treacherous path called the Oregon Trail.
1845- Congress proposed funding for a Transcontinental Railroad, but the bill was forgotten.
1848- The treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was ratified, granting a huge chunk of land to the US (see map).
1849- As gold fever swept across America, thousands travelled to San Francisco.
1853- The Gadsen Purchase provided flat land for a southern Transcontinental Railroad, which wasn't built until the 1880's.
1860- Theodore Judah engineered a path through the Sierra Nevada.
1860- Judah met Collis P. Huntington, who agreed to invest in a railroad company. Mark Hopkins, James Bailey, Charles Crocker, and Leland Stanford also join in and the six found the Central Pacific Railroad.
1860- On December 20, South Carolina seceded from the Union, sparking the Civil War.
July 1, 1862- President Lincoln urged Congress to pass the Pacific Railroad bill, funding the Transcontinental Railroad with $48,000 and 6,400 acres of land per mile of track. The Union Pacific Railroad was created to build a railroad from Omaha, while the Central Pacific built from Sacramento.
January, 1863- The Central Pacific Railroad laid its first tracks in Sacramento, CA.
July, 1864- Thomas C Durant, and others lobbied Congress to amend the bill, doubling the land grant to 12,800 acres per mile of track.
January, 1865- Chinese workers are hired by the Central Pacific greatly increasing the workforce.
April 9, 1865- The Civil War ended with the surrender of the Confederate Army. Lincoln, who promoted the railroad, was assassinated 5 days later,
June, 1865- Union Pacific started construction in Omaha, 2 years after the Central Pacific.
1867- Chinese railroad workers went on strike for better wages. They later go back to work at the same wage.
1868- The first passenger train traveled from Sacramento to Reno.
April, 1969- Congress decided the two companies will meet at Promontory Point, Utah, giving much coal-rich land to the Union Pacific.
May 10, 1869- The Central and Union Pacific Railroads met at Promontory Point, Utah.
Images from top to bottom:
mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010_11_07_archive, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg,
iptv.org/iowapathways/artifact_detail_large.cfm?aid=a_000409,
hellenicaworld.com/Images/USAEconomy/en/LelandStanford.html, railroad.lindahall.org/essays/cultural-impacts.html,
railroad.lindahall.org/essays/cultural-impacts.html,
historymartinez.files.wordpress.com
mononadoug.blogspot.com/2010_11_07_archive, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg,
iptv.org/iowapathways/artifact_detail_large.cfm?aid=a_000409,
hellenicaworld.com/Images/USAEconomy/en/LelandStanford.html, railroad.lindahall.org/essays/cultural-impacts.html,
railroad.lindahall.org/essays/cultural-impacts.html,
historymartinez.files.wordpress.com