pacificrailwayact

Pacific Railway Acts In 1862 and 1864 the government gave large pieces of land to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, know as the Pacific Railway Act. During the 1850s thru the 1870s both railroads combined recived more than 175 million acres of land this is larger than the state of Texas! These acts made cities start to form in the west and the government was happy because they got the west settled.

rmation Provided by: America Pathways to the Present (page 259) Picture Provided by: http://www.classbrain.com/artteenst/uploads/pacific-railroad.jpg