. The student's American history . induced Congress to make a survey, andthe discovery of precious metals in Colorado, with the settle-ment of Denver, stimulated the work still more. In i860 bothof the great political parties declared that a transcontinental rail-road was imperatively demanded by the interests of the wholecountry. The outbreak of the Civil War soon gave unmistak-able emphasis to the demand for joining the East and the FarWest in closer political, commercial, and military union. While the war was in progress, the Government offered togive nearly 13,000 acres of land and a loan
. The student's American history . induced Congress to make a survey, andthe discovery of precious metals in Colorado, with the settle-ment of Denver, stimulated the work still more. In i860 bothof the great political parties declared that a transcontinental rail-road was imperatively demanded by the interests of the wholecountry. The outbreak of the Civil War soon gave unmistak-able emphasis to the demand for joining the East and the FarWest in closer political, commercial, and military union. While the war was in progress, the Government offered togive nearly 13,000 acres of land and a loan of over $28,000for every mile of the proposed road which any company wouldbuild and equip with a line of telegraph. Two companiesaccepted the offer. The Central Pacific Company beganwork (1865) at the San Francisco end, and the Union H O w 3 3a. a- a. 3 O O) Ln ftO 9 CI w o S, 5^ £ »3 e> 3 3 o- (/)IO$ _, m Si Z] -Iin o 33m r m?n >-0 O > H m C/) > zo T3> H -I > DD^ 33 m 33O> ?3 o V) I> m o >. It^tii).] RECONSTRUCTION, THE NEW NATION. 481 Pacitic at Omaha. While the Central Pacific wasclimbing the Sierras on its way eastward, the Union Pacific was rapidly pushing its way westward across the plains ofNebraska. Five years later, the engines met at Promon-tory Point, near Ogden, Utah. There the last rail waslaid. The next day (May 11, 1869) a through train from NewYork — the first that ever crossed from ocean to ocean —passed Promontory Point on its way to San Francisco. Thatmeant that steam and electricity had conquered three thousandmiles of space, and that the Republic at last held the wholebreadth of the continent with an iron grasp. Commercially, the Pacific road put the Eastern States inquick communication with China and the Indies, so thatcargoes of teas, silks, and spices shipped from Asia could bedelivered in New York in a months time. Politically, the road had a most important influence. Beforeit was built the Atlantic and the Pacific
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidstudentsamerican01mont
