Development of the United States: Transcontinental Railroad (1860s) (Essay Sample)

Development of the Unites States
Name
Institution
Introduction
In the Unites States, several geographical factors influenced government action in the execution of various projects. Some of these factors included location, natural resources, climate, and people's movement. Although these forces result in an increment in a country's size and various positive consequences, there are possibilities of adverse impacts.
Building of the Transcontinental Railroad (1860s)
In the early 1860s, a road linking America's west and east coasts was to be built and had been planned for construction since the introduction of the first locomotives. The need for this road was significant after the discovery of gold in California in 1848. As a result, many people traveled to the West. However, these areas experienced forbidding landscapes that made such an attempt a difficult action for the government. There were only two routes that headed to the west and traveling to these places would only be possible by wagons and ships that took close to four months to complete. The government had to lay 2000 miles of track and blast tunnels through mountains, bridges, and rivers. Moreover, natural ecosystems including wildlife habitats would be affected by the construction of this road. After the building of this path, impacts were immediate and drastic. Access to markets into the west coast was harnessed, and people's interaction in trade, marriages, and cultural ceremonies between east and west was drastically boosted. More so, government and political activities took only weeks to be executed (Howard et.al, 2002).
The building of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was built in the early 1900s. President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to lay long-term goals for American political, social, and economic prosperity. More so, there was a need to foster trade along Atlantic and the Pacific between the United States and Britain. However, government's action to construct the Panama Canal was affected by the location of this proposed canal. As a result, there was a heated debate which consequently led to a vote to build the canal in Panama. Treaties between these two nations were signed, but financial terms set were unfavorable for the British government, who rejected the offer. After continued congress and meetings, the United States decided to fund the project. The canal was completed in 1914 and was a symbol of technological advancements and economic liberalization. Additionally, foreign policies were m...