effects

• The Pacific Railroad Act offered generous incentives to the companies who needed to overcome huge distances and engineering challenge to build the line.
• • Protection from Indians was promised. This led to conflict and rid of any rights to land the Indian had on the route.
• Building a 2000km railway was difficult and expensive. No private company would risk taking it on. A loan of $16,000 for every mile built ($48,000 in mountain areas)
• A grant of 10 square miles of land alongside the track for every mile built. This particularly benefitted t Union Pacific who could sell off homestead land and establish towns on the plains.
• Disagreements - the North wanted to connect California with its big cities (e.g. Chicago) but the South wanted the railway to come through the southern states.  After the southern states left the Union in 1861, the northern states could decide where the railroad went. They chose a route from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska.