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Railroads for military, settlement, and economic needs: added map image and citation
[td][/td] [td]==Railroads for military, settlement, and economic needs==[/td]
[td]==Railroads for military, settlement, and economic needs==[/td] [td][[File:Land-grants Map United States 1878.jpg|thumb|1878 Map of the United States showing land-grants made for railroads and wagon trails.<ref>{{cite | last1=Powell | first1=John Wesley | title=Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States with a more detailed account of the land of Utah with maps | publisher=US Geological Survey | year=1879 | doi=10.3133/70039240 | doi-access=free | url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/unnumbered/70039240/report.pdf | access-date=2025-09-03 | page=}}</ref>]][/td] [td]The government granted vast tracts of land to railroad companies as an incentive to build railways across the undeveloped western half of the country. They came during the Civil War of 1861β1865, when most of the cash budget was devoted to military expenses, and the gold mined in California was urgently needed. There was a military danger: in 1862 the Confederacy was [[New Mexico campaign|attempting an invasion of California from Texas through New Mexico and Arizona]]. Furthermore, war with Britain and France was a serious possibility, which would cut off the oceanic connection to the West Coast. Financially, these land grants acted as a form of non-cash subsidy, making the construction of extremely expensive rail lines across a thousand miles of unsettled land financially feasible for private companies. Economically they would allow the creation of many thousands of new farms, ranches, mines and towns.<ref>Richard White, ''Railroaded: The transcontinentals and the making of modern America'' (WW Norton, 2011) pp.9β21.</ref>[/td]
[td]The government granted vast tracts of land to railroad companies as an incentive to build railways across the undeveloped western half of the country. They came during the Civil War of 1861β1865, when most of the cash budget was devoted to military expenses, and the gold mined in California was urgently needed. There was a military danger: in 1862 the Confederacy was [[New Mexico campaign|attempting an invasion of California from Texas through New Mexico and Arizona]]. Furthermore, war with Britain and France was a serious possibility, which would cut off the oceanic connection to the West Coast. Financially, these land grants acted as a form of non-cash subsidy, making the construction of extremely expensive rail lines across a thousand miles of unsettled land financially feasible for private companies. Economically they would allow the creation of many thousands of new farms, ranches, mines and towns.<ref>Richard White, ''Railroaded: The transcontinentals and the making of modern America'' (WW Norton, 2011) pp.9β21.</ref>[/td] [td][/td]
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[td][/td]Revision as of 10:13, 3 September 2025
[/td][td][/td] [td]==Railroads for military, settlement, and economic needs==[/td]
[td]==Railroads for military, settlement, and economic needs==[/td] [td][[File:Land-grants Map United States 1878.jpg|thumb|1878 Map of the United States showing land-grants made for railroads and wagon trails.<ref>{{cite | last1=Powell | first1=John Wesley | title=Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States with a more detailed account of the land of Utah with maps | publisher=US Geological Survey | year=1879 | doi=10.3133/70039240 | doi-access=free | url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/unnumbered/70039240/report.pdf | access-date=2025-09-03 | page=}}</ref>]][/td] [td]The government granted vast tracts of land to railroad companies as an incentive to build railways across the undeveloped western half of the country. They came during the Civil War of 1861β1865, when most of the cash budget was devoted to military expenses, and the gold mined in California was urgently needed. There was a military danger: in 1862 the Confederacy was [[New Mexico campaign|attempting an invasion of California from Texas through New Mexico and Arizona]]. Furthermore, war with Britain and France was a serious possibility, which would cut off the oceanic connection to the West Coast. Financially, these land grants acted as a form of non-cash subsidy, making the construction of extremely expensive rail lines across a thousand miles of unsettled land financially feasible for private companies. Economically they would allow the creation of many thousands of new farms, ranches, mines and towns.<ref>Richard White, ''Railroaded: The transcontinentals and the making of modern America'' (WW Norton, 2011) pp.9β21.</ref>[/td]
[td]The government granted vast tracts of land to railroad companies as an incentive to build railways across the undeveloped western half of the country. They came during the Civil War of 1861β1865, when most of the cash budget was devoted to military expenses, and the gold mined in California was urgently needed. There was a military danger: in 1862 the Confederacy was [[New Mexico campaign|attempting an invasion of California from Texas through New Mexico and Arizona]]. Furthermore, war with Britain and France was a serious possibility, which would cut off the oceanic connection to the West Coast. Financially, these land grants acted as a form of non-cash subsidy, making the construction of extremely expensive rail lines across a thousand miles of unsettled land financially feasible for private companies. Economically they would allow the creation of many thousands of new farms, ranches, mines and towns.<ref>Richard White, ''Railroaded: The transcontinentals and the making of modern America'' (WW Norton, 2011) pp.9β21.</ref>[/td] [td][/td]
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