The Saber and Scroll
itants of the Atlantic seaboard and the dwellers on the Pacific slopes are henceforth emphatically one people .” 5 This railroad , like other railroads around the country , was a symbol and creator of a “ new industrial order ” and signaled the arrival of a new modern age of technology and a new , uniquely American culture . 6
From 1862 to 1872 , the federal government awarded more than 100 million acres of land and millions of dollars “ in direct aid to support railroad construction .” Most of this money went to finance the transcontinental lines that were established during and after the Civil War . 7 The idea of a transcontinental line dates to the early 1800s and memorably to the last session of Congress in November 1845 . Asa Whitney , a New York merchant , presented a proposal and a request of public lands “ for the purpose of constructing a Railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific .” 8 The short article in The Cadiz Sentinel described the proposal as “ so vast and apparently chimerical ” and few political leaders seemed willing to entertain the idea . 9 When the United States acquired California in 1848 after the Mexican War , the idea of a transcontinental line gained momentum . Whitney even helped keep the proposal at the forefront of political and economic discussion by publishing outlines of possible rail routes . 10 Ten years earlier , before the railway had even begun to be built , the project had gained notoriety even in England . The Manchester Weekly Times and Examiner in June 1851 had this to say about “ Mr . Asa Whitney ’ s American Railroad :” “ Within little more than half a century a series of subject dependencies numbering a population ... has risen to the rank of a great nation , equal in its resources to the mightiest of the empires of the old world .” 11
Congress decided to connect the two coasts in 1862 for several reasons : to strengthen ties with California and Nevada and keep them in the Union during the Civil War ; to create a way to transport military goods and personnel west in probable future wars against the Indians ; to push more settlers to the West and mid-West ; and to form a way to more cheaply transport goods to the Pacific coast and from there into Asia . 12 During Reconstruction , American businessmen and politicians were just beginning to redefine “ the territorial and symbolic borders of both the state and of the nation in it .” 13 This era also redefined what it meant to be American — culturally , politically , and socially . While General Robert E . Lee ’ s surrender at Appomattox marked the end of the Civil War and signaled the permanent bonding of the Union , North and South , the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad and the Golden Spike ceremony symbolized the Union being held together , East and West . 14 As the South rebuilt its economy and infrastructure alongside the often violent political and economic issues of the time , former Confederates joined former Yankee Union soldiers to celebrate the feat . 15
The two most prominent men to lead the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad were Leland Stanford and Grenville Dodge . Stanford , Governor of California at the time , headed
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