Module 4 Reflection: Western Economic Expansion: Railroads and Cattle

http://www.americanyawp.com/text/17-conquering-the-west/

To began during Western Economic Expansion natural resources were a major factor to help the western economy grow. Through growth and connections, the number of settlers began trying to move the Native people out to then replace the memory of the Wild West. No other government had attracted such a huge lump sum of capital until the "first modern business enterprise", also known as railroads came to better the United States. This business created an opportunity for some and also created the American West.

The transcontinental railroad went across western plains and mountains connected to the West Coast. These were built by the west Central Pacific and from the east by the Union Pacific, the two roads were linked in Utah in 1869 to great national fanfare. The 1862 Pacific Railroad Act gave bonds of between $16,000 and $48,000 for each mile of construction and provided vast land grants to railroad companies. 1850 to 1871  railroad companies received more than 175,000,000 acres of public land, an area larger than the state of Texas. Through this many investors wanted to be a part. The railroads in 1850 were 9,000 miles in the United States. To manage these networks of freight and passenger lines, companies converged rails at hub cities. Of all the Midwestern and western cities that grew from western resources and eastern capital in the late nineteenth century, Chicago was the most spectacular. 

As western civilization grew cowboys came about and also hoped one day to become ranch owners themselves experienced wages that were extremely low. People just starting work earned about  $20–$25 per month, and those with experience might earn $40–$45. Trail bosses could earn over $50 per month. And it was very hard work that had to be done. On a cattle drive, cowboys worked long hours and faced extreme weather changes including blowing dust. By linking the Plains with national markets and rapidly moving people and goods, the railroads made the modern American West.