2.+Industry+djt


 * = [[image:timezonebuttondjt.gif width="239" height="80" align="center" link="TIme Zones djt"]] ||= [[image:robberbaronsdjt.gif width="240" height="80" align="center" link="Robber Barins djt"]] ||= [[image:transcontinental-railroad-djt.gif width="240" height="80" align="center" link="Transcontinental Railroad djt"]] ||

=Railroads= Federal legislation during the Civil War--the Pacific Railway Act and its amendments, the Homestead Act, the Federal Banking Act, and the Land-Grant College Act--changed the face of the West forever. With the end of the Civil War, railroad building re-accelerated. New towns were founded, many laid out by railroad surveyors. Former towns grew into great cities, based on their rail connections--Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, Fort Worth, Minneapolis-St. Pard, Denver, Salt Lake, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle. The Santa Fe and the Northern Pacific companies (both now part of BNSF Railway) directly sponsored immigration efforts and promoted improved agricultural practices. The cattle industry of the Southwest and the great wheat belt of the Midwest became economically viable because there was a transportation network to support them. Eastern industries prospered, supporting the legions of western settlers.