Research Paper on:
1865 to 1945 Construction of American Railroads

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
from 1865 to 1945. 1865 saw the end of the Civil War, and 1945 saw the end of WWII. And, in these years the railroad played an important part as  its construction was still changing and meeting the needs of the country and the needs of technology. The construction and alteration of the railroad in these years serves to illustrate  many things about American history. In the following paper we examine some of the events relating to the construction of the railroad from 1865 to 1945. The Railroad  Before entering into the year 1865 we must first point out that in 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, which authorized "the construction of the first transcontinental  railroad. Theodore Judah had the vision to build a railroad across the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, and then to continue the railroad across the United States. The Central Pacific  Railroad was financed by The Big Four: Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins" (Anonymous Railroad History timeline). These are the events, the decisions, the dreams that would  influence the construction of the railroads in the United States. As mentioned, 1865 saw the end of the Civil War, but during this time construction was taking place in an  effort to be able to ship supplies and other necessities to the soldiers at war. It was the first war to be fought with the railroad, in fact, as one  author indicates, "The American Civil War (1861-1865) has been called the first railroad war. Battles were fought over rail junctions and repair facilities. The side that could use the railroad  most effectively, and keep the other side from its use, had the advantage" (Anonymous National Railroad Museum: Green Bay, Wisconsin Tguide1.htm). One of the central routes chosen for the