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how did the transcontinental railroad affect the environment

by Ms. Rowena Steuber DDS Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

The completion of the Railroad also meant that silver ore, lead, and coal could be shipped out of Utah for profit. The transcontinental railroad

Transcontinental railroad

A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway co…

brought significant changes to Utah’s environment. It altered landforms in Echo and Weber Canyons by creating cuts, fills, and tunnels.

The massive amount of wood needed to build the railroad, including railroad ties, support beams for tunnels and bridges, and sheds, necessitated cutting down thousands of trees, which devastated western forests. Towns and cities that sprung up along the railroad further encroached upon what had been wild areas.Sep 4, 2019

Full Answer

What were the negative effects of the transcontinental railroad?

What were the disadvantages of the transcontinental railroad?

  • Many people died while building the Transcontinental Railroad.
  • Native americans got pushed out by the Americans who were moving west, and they lost their land.
  • The workers on the Transcontinental Railroad were very underpaid for being overworked.

What are some pros and cons of the transcontinental railroad?

 

  •   When the Transcontinental Railroad was finished people could ship their products to the other side of the country a lot easier. ...
  • The Transcontinental connected the east and the west together.
  • The Transcontinental Railroad made it easier for people to settle in the west.  

How did the transcontinental railroad affect the economy?

What were some of the benefits of the transcontinental railroad quizlet?

  • Quick travel time.
  • inexpensive.
  • move crops.
  • make more money.
  • more immigration.
  • transfer supplies.

What was one benefit of the transcontinental railroad?

What was one benefit of the transcontinental railroad? The transcontinental railroad transformed the American economy. The railroad rapidly shipped resources such as coal, timber, precious metals and even cattle from west to east and opened up new markets for the goods produced in eastern factories.

How does railroad affect the environment?

On average, railroads are three to four times more fuel efficient than trucks. That means moving freight by rail instead of truck lowers greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75%, on average.

What were the negative effects of the Transcontinental Railroad?

However, the Transcontinental Railroad had a negative impact on the Plains Indians. They were forced to move away from the railroad despite it running through Indian Territory. The workers often killed buffalo for meat, and the track itself disrupted the Plains Indians buffalo hunting.

What were three effects of the Transcontinental Railroad?

Railroads had a significant impact when they were introduced to the American West in the 1870s. Rail access spurred white migration and land occupation, altered the cattle industry, and affected the soil ecosystem.

What was the biggest impact of the Transcontinental Railroad?

Just as it opened the markets of the west coast and Asia to the east, it brought products of eastern industry to the growing populace beyond the Mississippi. The railroad ensured a production boom, as industry mined the vast resources of the middle and western continent for use in production.

Was the Transcontinental Railroad good or bad?

Good and bad The railroad is credited, for instance, with helping to open the West to migration and with expanding the American economy. It is blamed for the near eradication of the Native Americans of the Great Plains, the decimation of the buffalo and the exploitation of Chinese railroad workers.

What was one positive and negative effect of the growth of railroads?

One negative effect were building and running the railroads was difficult and dangerous work. More than 2,000 workers had died. Another 20,000 workers had been injured. A positive is railroads made long-distance travel a possibility for many Americans.

What are 5 facts about the Transcontinental Railroad?

5 Facts About the Transcontinental Railroadof 05. The Transcontinental Railroad Was Initiated During the Civil War. ... of 05. Two Railroad Companies Competed to Build the Transcontinental Railroad. ... of 05. Thousands of Immigrants Built the Transcontinental Railroad. ... of 05. ... of 05.

How did the railroad impact society?

Railroads became a major industry, stimulating other heavy industries such as iron and steel production. These advances in travel and transport helped drive settlement in the western regions of North America and were integral to the nation's industrialization.

What was one positive and negative effect of the growth of railroads?

One negative effect were building and running the railroads was difficult and dangerous work. More than 2,000 workers had died. Another 20,000 workers had been injured. A positive is railroads made long-distance travel a possibility for many Americans.

What might have been the disadvantages of railroads for the people who lived along the routes or near the stations?

Even though railroads made life a little bit easier, it was hazardous to the environment, and the people, such as the destruction of natural resources, more pollution in the air also affected people causing even more diseases and made it much harder to breather with these conditions.

What were the effects of railroad expansion?

Not only did the railways provide greater opportunity through extending markets, but they also stimulated more people to start businesses and thereby enter the markets. An extended marketplace provided a greater number of individuals the opportunity to produce and sell goods.

What were some effects of the railroad on American culture?

In the West, railroads helped open new territory to economic exploitation, and then played a large part in the creation of the first national parks. They also pioneered modern forms of hotels, resorts, and restaurants. As the nineteenth century ebbed, every aspect of society and culture was reflected in the railroad.

What was Stanford's life like during the railroad era?

Essay: Biography of Leland Stanford—1824–1893 —Stanford's life extended throughout the railroad era. Some entrepreneurs became phenomenally wealthy as a result of the railroads. The wealth that was created helped spur investment in new technologies. Available on the EDSITEment resource New Perspectives on the West.

When was the first train robbery?

Picture Essay for Young Readers: The First Known Train Robbery in the U.S., October 6, 1866 —Available on America's Library, a link from American Memory.

When did the stage coaches leave Ogden?

Photograph: Stage coaches leaving Ogden for Salt Lake City Circa 1869 —The railroad was a more efficient means of transportation than the stagecoach.

Did the founders travel faster than a horse?

At the time of the Founders, nothing in the U.S. — no message, no commerce, no person — could travel faster than a horse. Students can compare different historical modes of travel. Many links to information on overland travel prior to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, as well as firsthand accounts of Early Travel on the Transcontinental Railroad. Further information may be obtained through these links from EDSITEment resources:

Can students take field trips to see model recreations of early railroads?

Students can take a field trip to see model recreations of early railroads.

Can students compare the days of the early railroads with today's railroad operations?

Students can contrast the days of the early railroads with today's railroad operations. If students have had a chance to ride a train, they can start the comparison with their own experience. Many firsthand accounts of early travel on the Transcontinental Railroad are available via a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library.

How did the railroad affect the environment?

It took a heavy toll on the environment. The massive amount of wood needed to build the railroad, including railroad ties, support beams for tunnels and bridges, and sheds, necessitated cutting down thousands of trees, which devastated western forests.

What was the effect of the Transcontinental Railroad on California?

The completion of the transcontinental railroad led to heightened racial tensions in California, as white workers from the East Coast and Europe could more easily travel westward where immigrant laborers were prevalent, says Princeton University Assistant Professor of History Beth Lew-Williams, author of The Chinese Must Go: Violence, Exclusion, and the Making of the Alien in America.

What did the Transcontinental Railroad do?

1. It made the Western U.S. more important. “What the transcontinental railroad did was bring the West into the world, and the world into the West,” explains James P. Ronda, a retired University of Tulsa history professor and co-author, with Carlos Arnaldo Schwantes, of The West the Railroads Made. In particular, it helped turn California ...

How much freight did the Transcontinental Railroad transport?

By 1880, the transcontinental railroad was transporting $50 million worth of freight each year. In addition to transporting western food crops and raw materials to East Coast markets and manufactured goods from East Coast cities to the West Coast, the railroad also facilitated international trade.

How did the Transcontinental Railroad help California?

2. It made commerce possible on a vast scale. By 1880, the transcontinental railroad was transporting $50 million worth of freight each year.

How much did the Transcontinental Railroad cost in the 1860s?

Building of the Transcontinental Railroad, circa 1869. 3. It made travel more affordable. In the 1860s, a six-month stagecoach trip across the U.S. cost $1,000 (about $20,000 in today’s dollars), according to the University of Houston’s Digital History website.

How did the railroad affect Native Americans?

And the railroad and other rail routes that followed made it easy for large numbers of hunters to travel westward and kill millions of buffalo. That slaughter impacted Native Americans, who had hunted buffalo in moderation, and weakened their resistance to settlement of the west.

What was the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad?

The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad. On May 10, 1869, as the last spike was driven in the Utah desert, the blows were heard across the country. Telegraph wires wrapped around spike and sledgehammer transmitted the impact instantaneously east and west. In San Francisco and New York, wires had been connected to cannons facing outward ...

What was the railroad?

The railroad was America's first technology corridor. Improved Public Discourse. As it encouraged the growth of American business, so too did it promote evolution of the nation's public discourse and intellectual life.

What was the web of rails?

A Web of Rails. The transcontinental railroad did not long remain the sole venue of travel through America's center. Lines spiderwebbed outward from its branch points, conveying north and south the settlers coming west to consume millions of acres of land.

What happened to the wires in San Francisco and New York?

In San Francisco and New York, wires had been connected to cannons facing out ward across the ocean. When the signal from the spike came through, the cannons fired. The world was put on notice: the transcontinental railroad was completed and America was moving to the forefront of the world's stage. The World Grew Smaller.

What happened in 1890?

By 1890, even the Powder River Valley — the rich hunting ground so hard won by red Cloud and the Oglala Sioux — would be lost. New treaties scattered the Indians to reservations and opened the last great Native American holding to the settlers so steadily branching outward from the iron road.

Who dreamed of a competing canal?

A Competing Canal. Railroad pioneer Asa Whitney had once dreamed an iron route would re-center the world toward America, making it a conduit of exchange between Asia and Europe. In this sense, his vision of the grand project remained unfulfilled.

Was the Transcontinental Railroad a battle?

The transcontinental railroad was not the beginning of white settlers' battles with Native Americans. Nor was it the final nail in the coffin. But it was an irrevocable marker of encroaching white society, that unstoppable force which would force Indians onto reservations within decades.

How did railroads help the West?

With the aid of the federal government in both massive land grants and financial funding, railroad entrepreneurs and private investors transformed the western United States. From making locations like Las Vegas, Aspen, Sun Valley and other majorly populated and popular cities possible - in addition to national parks - railroads allowed both the population and preservation of all the west. Constructed in response to the gold rush of the 1850's and 60's, investors and businessmen realized the rush would eventually end and new markets must be explored. Advertising tourism and railway traffic forced railroad companies to align themselves with certain groups with certain values, such as environmentalists. Preserving the untouched and exotic natural beauty of the west, from the southern Grand Canyon to the northern mountains and evergreen forests, railroad companies promoted national parks and conservation. Such promotion also coincided with the new markets of exotic resorts and domestic tourism, a part of a new leisure travel business railroad companies advertised along side newly formed national parks. Subsidized railroad companies in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries were the most important factor in the substantial increase in leisure travel related markets such as national parks, resorts, and the rise of major western cities with the increased accessibility to once isolated and untraversed regions.

What did railroad companies do to preserve the West?

Preserving the untouched and exotic natural beauty of the west, from the southern Grand Canyon to the northern mountains and evergreen forests, railroad companies promoted national parks and conservation.

Why were cities like Las Vegas a possibility?

Although a later advertisement, cities like Las Vegas were a possibility because of the ease of access to them provided by the Central and Union Pacific rails. In addition, irrigation efforts from both the Central/Union and Southern Pacific supplemented the survival and growth of such cities.

Why did Aspen grow?

A product of railway progress much like Las Vegas, Aspen sprouted up in part because of its natural beauty and proximity to railway lines. Both were advertised by railway companies.

What is the transcontinental railroad?

Having a railroad that connected both the east and the west, has been referred to throughout history as being the transcontinental railroad, and this construction had detrimental effects on the environment.

How did the environment affect the Civil War?

According to Matthew M. Stith, " The natural and built environment directly shaped the course and outcome of the Civil War. Disease, weather, terrain, animals, food, and a host of other environmental factors were all inextricably tied to both large-scale campaigns and back yard battles across the South. The environment influenced critical engagements just as much as it affected civilian efforts to survive. It dictated guerrilla tactics as much as it influenced military and domestic supply systems. The environment molded the war, and the conflict shaped the natural environment. Environmental forces determined where, when, and how battles were waged and won, and they dictated the course of the war on the home front. Hundreds of thousands of work animals and livestock perished in the war. Combatants cut down or blasted apart millions of trees. Controlled deforestation became a strategy for combating Confederate guerrillas, and felled trees fueled fires for large and small armies. Union commanders found that a successful war against the Confederacy meant also destroying the Confederacy’s built environment. The Civil War had become a war over and with the environment and it rapidly devolved into a series of particularly brutal, if localized, total wars amidst larger scale regular campaigns.

How many miles of railroads were there in 1890?

As seen on the map, by 1890 there was 163,597 miles of railroads stretching across the entire United States, which in turn had its negatives such as destroying of land, habitat loss, species depletion, and more; but it also had it benefits as well.

Why was California important in the 1890s?

Since the railroads were able to stretch out westward and people were able to travel to California, by the 1890's California and its citizens had a very important part in the conservation of nature and the environment.

How many miles did the railroad run from East to West?

The main difference seen in this story map, is that now there is a completed rail line from East to West, and as the map points out between 1860 to 1870 the railroad system grew from 30,626 miles to 52,922 miles. Having a railroad that connected both the east and the west, has been referred to throughout history as being ...

How did the environment influence the war?

It dictated guerrilla tactics as much as it influenced military and domestic supply systems. The environment molded the war, and the conflict shaped the natural environment. Environmental forces determined where, when, and how battles were waged and won, and they dictated the course of the war on the home front.

When was the Interstate Highway System created?

The Interstate Highway System was created in 1956 and was designed to connect all 50 states and be completed by the 1980's. As this map reflects, by 1974 there was already immense amounts of highways connecting these states, making it easy for humans to travel across the country in their vehicles at any given time.

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Url:http://exhibits.usu.edu/exhibits/show/transcontinentalrailroad/utahafterthegoldenspike/impacts

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Url:https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/150th-anniversary-impact-transcontinental-railroad

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Url:https://www.history.com/news/transcontinental-railroad-changed-america

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Url:http://digitalexhibits.libraries.wsu.edu/exhibits/show/2016sphist417/anton-grose-supreme-court-juri/effects-of-transcontinental-ra

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