LEADER 03944cam 2200481 a 4500001 ocm53284834 003 OCoLC 005 20141211192402.0 008 030808s2004 dcuab c 001 0 eng 010 2003017858 020 0792267672 020 0792269934 (label on back cover) 035 (Sirsi) o53284834 035 (OCoLC)53284834 040 DLC |cDLC |dIG# |dDPL |dILC |dXY4 |dBAKER |dEHH |dUtOrBLW 043 n-us--- 049 EREE 050 00 TF25.U5 |bH35 2004 082 00 385/.0978 |222 100 1 Halpern, Monica. |=^A628106 245 10 Railroad fever : |bbuilding the Transcontinental Railroad, 1830-1870 / |cMonica Halpern. 260 Washington, D.C. : |bNational Geographic, |c©2004. 300 40 pages : |billustrations (some color), color maps ; |c24 cm. 336 text |2rdacontent 337 unmediated |2rdamedia 338 volume |2rdacarrier 490 1 Crossroads America 500 Includes index. 520 Presents a history of the building of the transcontinental railroad and its effects on American life. By the 1840s, daring Americans were trickling westward to begin a new life in the great wide open. When gold was discovered in 1848, the promise of riches drew people by the thousands out to California. But the journey was slow and dangerous, since the best ways of travelling were by wagon and on foot. During the "railroad fever" of the 1830s, thousands of miles of track were laid, mostly throughout the Northeast and the South. Few had dreamt of extending this new travel westward-but all it takes is a few. Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862, allowing for the start of the first transcontinental railroad. Though construction problems and hard times confronted them, American workers, Chinese immigrants, and former slaves pounded away through the rough geography of the western U.S., paving a path for the new train. A day in the life of a railroad worker was not an easy one. The work was backbreaking; the conditions were terrible; and workers were often faced with attack from Native Americans. The building of the railroad turned into a great race between two companies, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific, to see who could finish their part of the railroad faster. The company that got farthest stood to make the most money. The "great race" turned into a national pastime-with reports of progress dominating the news. Railroad Fever illuminates the struggles of the railroad worker, the anger of the Plains Indians, and the many changes in both American life and geography that were prompted by the railroad. The completion of the transcontinental railroad left empty boomtowns across the country, changed the ethnic face of America, and, of course, created a new exciting and fast way of travel. Like the other titles in the Crossroads America series, Railroad Fever is illustrated with period paintings, drawings, and photographs. Also included are a glossary and an index. 610 20 Union Pacific Railroad Company |xHistory |vJuvenile literature. |=^A171155 610 20 Central Pacific Railroad Company |xHistory |vJuvenile literature. |=^A215284 650 0 Railroads |zUnited States |xHistory |vJuvenile literature. |=^A1065670 650 0 Pacific railroads |xHistory. |=^A335015 650 0 Railroads |zWest (U.S.) |xHistory. |=^A1114277 830 0 Crossroads America. |=^A628107 856 41 |3Table of contents |uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip047/2003017858.html 994 C0 |bERE 938 Ingram |bINGR |n0792267672 938 Baker & Taylor |bBKTY |c12.95 |d9.71 |i0792267672 |n0004439146 |sactive 938 Baker & Taylor |bBKTY |c21.90 |d21.90 |i0792269934 |n0004439148 |sactive 596 1 998 1060497