CHAPTER ONE The Road to the Railroad 4 CHAPTER TWO The Central Pacific Railroad 12 CHAPTER THREE The Union Pacific Railroad 24 CHAPTER FOUR Promontory Summit and Beyond 34 Key Locations 42 Stop and Think 44 Glossary 46 Learn More 47 Index 48 About the Author 48 CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE THE ROAD TO THE RAILROAD In the late 1700s the British ruled 13 North American colonies When the American Revolutionary War 1775 1783 ended the colonies became the United States of America This sparked the beginning of a transformative period for the United States The new country stretched from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean It reached from the Great Lakes almost to the Gulf of Mexico The Louisiana Purchase included 827,000 square miles 2 14 million sq km of land 5
