A history of the American nation . there not beensectional disputes and rivalries; Congress discussed the matter,but while northerners wanted a northern route, southernerswanted a southern route, and discussion begat further bitter-ness. The party platforms of i860 favored a transcontinentalrailroad, its construction to be furthered by governmental the outbreak of war the necessity of binding the far westto the rest of the Union became a plain duty; the coast region 478 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NATION and even the mountain districts were being peopled rapidly, andevery day added to the
A history of the American nation . there not beensectional disputes and rivalries; Congress discussed the matter,but while northerners wanted a northern route, southernerswanted a southern route, and discussion begat further bitter-ness. The party platforms of i860 favored a transcontinentalrailroad, its construction to be furthered by governmental the outbreak of war the necessity of binding the far westto the rest of the Union became a plain duty; the coast region 478 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NATION and even the mountain districts were being peopled rapidly, andevery day added to the need for a safe and rapid means ofcommunication. In 1862 Congress passed the important Act, which wasaltered in 1864. It chartered two companies; one, the Union Pacific, was to build westward, the other, thegraninid. Central Pacific, was to build from San Francisco eastward. Liberal money grants were made bythe government, and large areas of land along the right of way.^The passage of this measure in one respect is significant in. Trails to the West and Routes of Pacific Railroads constitutional history. No longer were there serious outcriesagainst the power of government to aid in internal improve-ments. Money and land were now given lavishly, and the plan ^ The Union Pacific has had a checkered career; its history tells of financialdiscord and of sharp practice, a tangled tale involving the reputation ofbusiness men and legislators and the loss of many a hard earned dollar bythe innocent investor. It is one of those epics of high finance, of whichthe last half of the nineteenth century furnished many an example. MODERN INDUSTRIAL AMERICA—1859-1903 479 of aiding railroad building by grants of the public domain wasestablished. The work on the two roads was begun with energy;each vied with the other in the race. They met at a pointnear Ogden, Utah. In May, 1869, the last spike was driven.^The new railroad did more than merely connect the people
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