1 jul 1862 ano - Pacific Railway Act of 1862

Descrição:

A federal act granting large tracts of land to Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad to construct a transcontinental railroad from the eastern Missouri River to the Sacramento River. The Southern Pacific railroad was originally intended to be the first transcontinental railroad, connecting California to Texas, but the project was suspended after the latter state seceded from the Union. The companies were lacking in laborers to construct the railroad, so they employed large numbers of Chinese immigrants, who could be paid very little and who would often work on the most arduous and dangerous activities. The project would be finished in 1869.