HIST 150C3 1st Edition Lecture 4Railroads and MigrationTranscontinental Railroad:Pacific Railroad Act-stretched from midwest to west coast-congress passed this legistlation in 1862-it authorized two companies to build the railroad-the Union Pacific Railroad Company, which began in Omaha, Nebraska-the Central Pacific Railroad Company, which began in Sacramento, CA-each company received 6,400 acres of public lands for every 40 miles of track it laid-these companies also received government loans ranging from $16,000-$48,000per miles of track completed.-by completing of the railroad, the two companies received a total of 155,000,000 acres of public landUnion Pacific-began in Omaha, Nebraska-workers=mainly Irish immigrants-mainly male workforce-700lb tracks…about 500 men to lay one piece of trackCentral Pacific-began in Sacramento, CA-took 2 years to make their way through Sierra Nevada MountainsSierra Nevada Mountains-railroad became stuck here (difficulty laying track)Charles Crocker-head of Central Pacific-difficulty recruiting workers because of harsh conditions-kept losing workersPromontory Summit-in Utah-where the 2 railroads met-May 10, 1869: workers gather to lay the final tracks.Settlements and the Railroad:“End of Track” towns-began as informal settlements-catered to the railroad workersThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.-there was gambling, prostitution, alcohol-encouraged people from the east to move to support the railroad workers-every 20-30 miles they establish an endpoint Base Camps-individuals move to these base camps to stayChinese Immigration and Labor:-recruited to help with the Central Pacific railroadPage Law (1875)-barred immigration of Chinese women-based on a racial sterotype-argued that it was protecting Chinese women who were being brought to the U.S. as prostitutes.-one of the first times that we see the U.S. working to limit immigration into the country.Chinese Exclusion Act (1862)-barred all Chinese immigrants from entering the country for 10 years-first ever federal law passed that banned a group of immigrants into the country based on their race/nationality-1904: This act becomes
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