Transcontinental Railroad

The last spike was laid in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869.

When Oregon opened and California was admitted to the Union, Americans began to convince Americans that a transcontinental railroad should be built to connect the West Coast to the rest of the country in the East.  While everyone that a continental railroad needed to be built, there were disagreements as to where itts Eastern starting point should be.  Many southerners believed the starting point for the railroad should be New Orleans.  Eventually it was decided that the starting point in the East would be in Omaha, Nebraska.  In the West, the Central Pacific Railroad built eastward from Sacramento, California.  When the last spike was laid  on May 10, 1869 in Promontory, Utah, the railroad extended across six states.


In order to create the territory of Nebraska, Stephen A. Douglas would have to repeal the Missouri Compromise.  By forcing his bill through Congress, Douglas misjudged the deep-rooted dislike of slavery in the North.  His bill resulted in the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, angering the North.