Immediate and long term impacts of the Transcontinental Railroad
There were many immediate and long term impacts of the construction and use of the Transcontinental Railroad. A short term impact of the Transcontinental
Railroad was its affect on bison. The Union Pacific Railroad went into Native American lands. The Indians raided the labor camps, but that will be touched on more
later. The Union Pacific responded to this by increasing security and hiring marksmen to kill bison, which were a primary food source to the Native Americans. The
pointed wedge of iron bars at the front of early train engines was called a "cow catcher" It was used for Bison in the same way, lifting and pushing the animal off the
tracks, but it usually killed the animal. Also, tourists who went west would sometimes entertain themselves by shooting bison from the train windows. There was also
killing of bison for the leather of their skin. All of this dropped the bison population from between 30-100 million, down to a few hundred. This was short term because
conservationists later brought the number back up. A long term impact of the Transcontinental Railroad was, as briefly touched on in the previous paragraph, it’s
impact on the Native Americans. They lost hunting grounds, and as stated, lost bison by the millions. New treaties scattered these Native Americans to reservations.
Another long term impact was how the world grew smaller. People could get from one place to another in much faster time. The coasts were connected. Another
Long term impact was the boom in interstate trade. Within just ten years, the railroad shipped $50 million worth of freight coast to coast every year. The railroad was
America's first technology corridor. Yet another impact was that the trains carried ideas. A conversation could start in the East and end in the West, a book
purchased in the west could be on a shelf in the east a week later. The railroad brought transcontinental culture. People also gained better access to minerals, and
mining towns started to be developed. The railroad also helped the military. Before, if there was a war it took troops a while to get to it, now, it would be much quicker
for them to get to the battle field. This Railroad also helped the government with governing the Western United States since it was easier to keep in contact with
them. Another impact was on communication, people had almost instant communication through the telegraph lines. Farm products could be shipped from the west
to the eastern and southern markets. People could more easily relocate west, promoting the westward expansion.
By River Murphy Julian Charter School 1/9/15