A National Network
- 1856 - U.S. had railroads from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, 3 years later, there were tracks all the way to the Missouri River
- Start of Civil War = 30,000 miles of tracks. 1890 - railroad tracks had reached 180,000 miles.
- Transcontinental Railroad
Romance and Reality
- Brought new oppurtunities such as land, adventure and a fresh start for a lot of Americans at the time
- Building of the railroads provided a lot of jobs for chinese and irish immigrants as well as Civil War Veterans.
- Very dangerous - Native Americans
- accidents and disease killed and injured many
- 1888 - 2,000 men killed 20,000 men injured
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