A Railroad to the Pacific

Settlement of the western territories in the 1850s increased the need for efficient rail transport to the Pacific Coast, but members of Congress could not agree on what route it should follow. Northern members wanted a northern route; southern members sought one advantageous to their region's interests. To inform this debate, in 1853 Congress authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to survey four potential rail routes. Intense sectionalism blocked further legislation until southern states seceded. In 1862, a northern-controlled Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act.


Map, Exploration of a Railroad Route, 1854-1857, compiled by G.K. Warren et al., 1858	Lithograph, "Nez Perces (Meeting in Woods)," U.S. Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys, ca. 1855	Chromolithograph, "Fort Unionand Distribution of Goods to the Assinniboines [Assiniboines]," U.S. Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys, ca. 1855

Color lithograph, "A Conical Hill 500 Feet High," U.S. Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys, ca. 1855	U.S. War Department, Reports of Explorations and Surveys, ca. 1855	Proposed Routes and Selected Route for the U.S. Pacific Railroad

E PLURIBUS UNUM —
OUT OF MANY, ONE

HISTORY OF CONGRESS
AND THE CAPITOL

A Railroad to the Pacific

E PLURIBUS UNUM — OUT OF MANY, ONE

HISTORY OF CONGRESS AND THE CAPITOL

A Railroad to the Pacific

E PLURIBUS UNUM —
OUT OF MANY, ONE

HISTORY OF CONGRESS
AND THE CAPITOL