The Trans-Continental Railroad

Long distances and slow transportation made things difficult for the Eastern and Western commercial centers. The United States Government, as well as entrepreneurs, wanted to create something to make and easier access between the two sections. For many years after 1850, Congress studied possible transcontinental routes, but arguments over sectionalism and slavery blocked all plans. Not until after the South seceded and the Civil War had begun could Congress pass an effective transcontinental plan. Then the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 was passed.

The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 needed for two railroad companies to complete the transcontinental line. The railroad would be a "land-grant railroad". This meant that the government would give each company 6,400 acres of land and up to $48,000 for every mile of the track they built. The money made this idea even more appealing. It would also bring more settlers to the West who would need the railroads to haul freight.

The thing that made the congress hesitant to fund the building of the railroads, was their fear that they would never be completed. Because of this fear, something called a caveat was written into the act. The caveat stated that the railroads must be completed by July 1,1876. If the railroads were not completed by this day, then the companies would forfeit their money, land, and all of the constructed track.

The Union Pacific Railroad was the company that built the eastern half of the railroad, which started in Nebraska. The Central Pacific Railroad was the company that built the Western half. The Central Pacific Railroad was owned by entrepreneurs in California.

"Preliminary work began, even as the nation still fought the Civil War. Surveyors and engineers had to scout and map workable routes. After the war, several army generals served as engineers on the project. They included Grenville Dodge, a favorite general of Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, who became the Union Pacific's chief engineer.Work progressed rapidly after the Civil War. The project attracted many former soldiers, both Union and Confederate, as well as Irish and Chinese immigrants. The Central Pacific quickly had to tackle the rugged Sierras in California. Rather than go over or around them, engineers chose to go through them. But such a plan required tons of dynamite and someone to set the charges. The Chinese were often willing to do the hazardous work for less pay than other Americans, and they became a backbone of the Central Pacific work crew. Men working on both lines braved the extremes of heat and cold, hostile Native Americans, and disease as they advanced." (source)

The two railroads reached northern Utah at about the same time. The work crews kept working and passed each other because the government had not yet decided where the rails would meet. Government then decided for their meeting point to be in Promontory Point, Utah. A ceremony was held, it included the driving of a symbolic golden railroad spike. Then the two lines linked on May 10,1869, seven years ahead of schedule.

1893 World Fair

The World Fair in 1893 was held in Chicago. It was held in order to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the new world. The primary designer of the World Fair was Daniel Burnham and Fredrick Law Olmsted. It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. The fair covered over 600 acres of land and featured over 200 buildings of classical architecture, canals and lagoons.

It hosted people of many cultures from all around the world. About half the U.S. population (27 million people), attended the World Fair during its six month run. Its large scale and grandeur set it apart from all other world fairs. It soon became the symbol of emerging American Exceptionalism.

The dedication ceremonies for the fair were held on October 21, 1892, but the fairgrounds were not actually opened to the public until May 1, 1893. The fair continued until October 30th 1893. The World Fair did not just celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery, but it also was held in Chicago to show the world that Chicago had risen after being destroyed in 1871 by the Great Chicago Fire. October 21st 1893 was declared “Chicago Day” at the fair. On this day the record for outdoor event attendance was set, drawing 716,881 people to the fair.

On opening day the World Fair was a sight to see. It attracted so many people from all over the world. The fair was opened by President Grover Cleveland. About 129,000 people showed up on opening day. The prices to enter were fifty cents for adults and twenty-five cents for children. Though it was bit pricey at its time, people gladly paid the money to enter.

I think that the most important thing debuted at the fair was the ferris wheel. The ferris wheel was the most visited attraction at the fair. It was invented by George W. Ferris; he spent about $275,000 constructing this vast attraction. Over 1.5 million people rode the huge ferris wheel during its five months of operation. The ferris wheel help represent how the World Fair of 1893 was a grand example of the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was an era of reform and the fair represented this greatly.

"Era of Poor Politicking"

After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became the new leader of our country. We will be looking at the period of time of Johnson’s presidency through McKinley’s. We will be looking at the choices they made which drastically changed our country, of lack of choices to differ our country.


During the presidency of Johnson, the radical republicans disregarded his ideas and passed legislation over his veto. In 1867 Johnson was impeached for breaking one of the laws that the radicals enforced. Ulysses S. Grant was the next president. Yes, he was a great general in the war, but when it came to his presidency, he made little effort to impact the country.

The next president was Rutherford B. Hayes.

“Beneficiary of the most fiercely disputed election in American history, Rutherford B. Hayes brought to the Executive Mansion dignity, honesty, and moderate reform.” (source)

After Hayes came James A. Garfield. Just as Garfield was beginning to make a good impact on the government during the reconstruction period, he was assassinated. His presidency only lasted for one year. He was succeeded by Chester A. Arthur. While president, Arthur passed two major acts. These acts were the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Pendleton Civil Service Act. Cleveland came next. He was the only president to leave the White House and then return for a second term four years later. He vetoed many acts and bills.

Next to come was Benjamin Harrison. He passed many acts while serving his term. In one year he passed three substantial acts. Many people believe that his term was a productive one. And finally the last president in the “era of poor politicking” was William McKinley.

“William McKinley, Jr. (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States, and the last veteran of the American Civil War to be elected to the office.By the 1880s, McKinley was a national Republican leader; his signature issue was high tariffs on imports as a formula for prosperity, as typified by his McKinley Tariff of 1890. As the Republican candidate in the 1896 presidential election, he upheld the gold standard, and promoted pluralism among ethnic groups. His campaign, designed by Mark Hanna, introduced new advertising-style campaign techniques that revolutionized campaign practices and beat back the crusading of his arch-rival, William Jennings Bryan. The 1896 election is often considered a realigning election that marked the beginning of the Progressive Era.” (source)

McKinley was then assassinated, becoming the third American president to be assassinated.

After researching this group of presidents, I can see why anyone would call this the “era of poor politicking”. Many of the presidents that I have mentioned, didnat make much of an impact on our country. They also didn’t help it in ways they should have. Some of the presidents, however, didn’t get a chance to make changes because they were assassinated, impeached, etc. Some of these presidents were faced with opposition, while others just didn’t try much to make a difference.

Radical Reconstruction

The Radical Republicans believed that blacks should have the same rights and opportunities as the whites. They also believe that the Confederate leaders deserve to be punished for their roles in the Civil War. Leaders of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts strongly disagree with Andrew Johnson's lenient policies. This caused much political uproar. It would cause a great political war.

Americans had thought for a long time that the federal government played too large of a role in the affairs of state. But the Radicals felt that times like these called for direct intervention in state affairs and laws, which designed to protect the freed slaves. At the core of their beliefs was the idea that black slaves must be given a chance to compete in a free-labor economy. In 1866, the Radical Republicans also introduced a bill to lengthen the Freedmen's Bureau and began to work on a Civil Rights Bill.

President Johnson completely disagreed with the Radical Republicans. He vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, because he said that it would increase the size of government. He vetoed the Civil Rights Bill as well. Moderate Republicans were disgusted at Johnson's racism. They joined the Radicals to undo Johnson's Civil Rights Act veto. This was the first time in history that a major piece of legislation was overturned. The Radicals hoped that the Civil Rights Act would lead to a federal judicial branch with courts that enforced rights.

Congress then focused on amending the Constitution. In 1867 the Fourteenth Amendment was approved, which prohibited "states from abridging equality before the law." The second part of the Amendment called for a reduction of a state's representatives if the right to vote was denied. Republicans basically offered the South a choice — accept black freedom or lose congressional representation.

I think that the Radical Republicans faced so much opposition because the issue they were fighting against was a very controversial one at the time. Many people believe that they were the cause of the failure of this policy. I'm not sure if I think they were the whole reason for this failure but I think they were at least partially responsible.