Railroad Development: Social, Economic & Political Impact

Introduction: Transforming a Continent

In the span of about fifty years in the middle of the nineteenth century, the United States changed from a vast country separated by wide, empty spaces to a nation connected by railroads. In the process, the railroads affected the social and economic development of the country and had major effects on some of the most important political events in American history.

When railroad construction began in the United States, most travelers crossing the country to the west coast could spend up to six months in transit, very often walking beside their wagons. Until the completion of the transcontinental railroad, only wagon paths crossed the continent (UP, 2002).

By comparison, shortly after the transcontinental railroad was completed, people were being encouraged to travel by train across the country as a leisure activity. In 1869, Samuel Bowles wrote that the railroad "brings… a new world of nature and of wealth… full of delightful surprises for the lover of scenery, the student in science, the seeker of opportunity for power and for riches. It is the unrolling of a new map, the revelation of a new empire, the creation of a new civilization, the revolution of the world's haunts of pleasure and the world's homes of wealth" (Bowles, 1869).

Social Changes Driven by Railroad Expansion

When the railroad industry began, many small companies had built stretches of tracks — often of different gauges — that covered only a couple of miles (SU, 2002). The transcontinental railroad, the pinnacle of nineteenth-century railroad construction, would join two very distant and different areas of the United States: the east and west coasts. To do so, it would have to cross "some of the most difficult terrain on Earth," described as "ruinous space" by a Boston newspaper (UP, 2002). Building the railroad across the country required over 20,000 men. All labor was done by hand, and the number who died in the effort is unknown (UP, 2002). Along the way, railroads made dramatic changes in American life.

As railroads developed, they opened new areas for settlement (AUG, 2002b). The trains facilitated westward expansion by making such travel safer and faster (Lander, 1855). Ironically, they both divided families and served to bring family and friends together. This is noted in the diary of a building engineer of the time, who wrote: "In March [1886] the Beech Creek Railroad was completed to Clearfield, and when the summer schedule was made out passenger trains were run to Clearfield" (Jencks, 1999). When tracks were laid, passengers followed.

As railroads looked to cross the country, the information surveyors sent back added greatly to knowledge about the unexplored regions of the nation. One surveyor reported to Congress: "…The impractical nature of the western mountains shuts the northern route from the western terminus" (Lander, 1855). However, in another part of the surveying report, the engineer noted other natural resources available to an expanding country, describing "exposed frontier for over 1,500 miles, and in direct vicinity of a great navigable river" (Lander, 1855). He further reported a pass at Walla Walla, though impractical for trains even though it had been used by wagon trains. Exploration of the West by railroad companies seeking routes provided detailed information for mapping the frontiers more accurately, which in turn facilitated both population growth and commercial expansion.

One of the problems encountered was a shortage of labor, as many adventurous men had been lured to California's gold fields (UP, 2002). One solution was to recruit and hire immigrants. Chinese laborers were valued for railroad building because China had a tradition of accomplishing great construction projects, such as the Great Wall (Steiner, 1979). Chinese laborers understood the importance of one man's contribution to a great endeavor. Work bosses were at first reluctant to employ the Chinese, who appeared slight by comparison. One said, "From what I've seen of them, they're not fit laborers anyway. I don't think they can build a railroad" (Steiner, 1979).

They were first given jobs that white men refused to do. Foremen soon found, however, that the Chinese made excellent workers. Within a few years, 90% of the laborers were from China (UP, 2002).

Despite their tremendous contributions to building the railroads of the West, Chinese laborers were often subjected to serious prejudice, being called "little yellow men, midgets and monkeys" (Steiner, 1979). Sometimes the discrimination turned dangerous: on several occasions, Irish laborers set off blasts without warning the Chinese, causing serious injuries. One day, a Chinese blasting crew returned the treatment to the Irish, and the problem ended (Steiner, 1979).

After the Civil War, as railroads worked their way west, cattle ranching and mining operations expanded in the region as well, providing new opportunities for those prepared to move westward (Rapczynski, 2002).

Crossing the country with a railroad required using Native American lands. The Native Americans saw this as a threat and an invasion. They began attacking construction sites without warning, and the Union Pacific Company had to form its own army to deal with the problem. One of the construction bosses wrote: "In 1866 the country was systematically occupied… day and night, summer and winter…" (UP, 2002). The Union Pacific contacted General Sherman, then in charge of the military in the West, and Sherman mounted a campaign to end the railroad's "Indian problem" (UP, 2002). Sherman was well aware of the Native American dependence on the bison. The railroad split the herds, and railroad employees began systematically killing the bison, accelerating the decline of the species on the plains. Once tracks were built, the railroads encouraged travelers to kill bison "for sport" as the train passed herds (Rapczynski, 2002). The decline of the bison shortened the period of hostilities between the railroads and the Native Americans (UP, 2002).

Conclusion

The building of the great railroads were engineering marvels. In some places the tracks climbed twenty-five hundred feet within fifty miles, and then dropped six thousand feet within seventy-five miles (Lander, 1855). The laborers blasted through mountains to create tunnels and built trestles larger than any seen before, with all work done by hand. In the process, railroads changed the social, political, and economic climate of the country, as they encouraged immigration and migration, transformed how Americans thought about business investment, and helped preserve the Union.