Railroad Construction in the Decades After the Civil War

Advances

The Transcontinental Railroad was arguably the greatest of all constructions in the postbellum era. Completed in 1869, it consisted of two lines -- the Central Pacific that started in San Francisco, and the Union Pacific that started in Omaha, Neb. -- meeting at Promontory, Utah. The task was completed by huge forces of immigrant workers, mainly Irish and Chinese. By 1875, a further 11 major railroads had been constructed, like the Ohio and Mississippi railroad and the Illinois-St. Louis coal road.

The Native Americans were at the geographical heart of railroad construction after the Civil War. By 1907 there were 14 railroads that ran directly through Indian territory, including the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. Consequently, the railroads met with hostility from native tribes who sought to protect their lands and autonomy. The Cherokee sued the Southern Kansas Railway Company in 1887 when it constructed two rail lines without tribal consent. They were, however, unable to defeat the railroad expansion of the post-Civil War era.

A major obstacle hit post-Civil War railroad construction in 1873. Known as the Great Panic, it was caused primarily by the bankruptcy of the banking firm Jay Cooke and Company. Heavily involved in railway construction, the firm's collapse was a disaster for the country's economy, with 89 of the nation's 364 railroads also declaring bankruptcy. As the financial pressure resulted in wage cuts and, in many cases, widespread unemployment, workers all over the country went on strike in protest. It was not until 1879 -- and following the failure of some 18,000 businesses, according to PBS's "American Experience" -- that the depression caused by the Great Panic came to an end.

Railroad construction was hit again with the Great Strike of 1877. It began on July 16 when workers on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad protested against pay and working conditions. Within two weeks the strike had spread from as far as New York to San Francisco, bringing America's railroads to a halt. By the time the strike ended in August, more than $10 million worth of railroad property had been torched. It was not until 1887, however, that federal regulation of the industry was introduced, when Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act.