83: Transcontinental Railroad (pt 1): Industrialization, Ted Judah & The Rise of the Central Pacific

History That Doesn't Suck

ProfGregJackson

Education, History, Society & Culture

4.5 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Every great enterprise has been ridiculed in the outset.” This is the story of the rise of the railroad. Travel on land is slow. Arduous. Inhibited by rough terrain like mountains, rivers, and bogs. That reality makes Americans view the continent’s interior as an inaccessible “Great Desert,” only to be visited by daring pioneers passing through en route to Oregon Country or California. But technology is changing. “Iron horses” are starting to run at rapid speeds across rails. And as these rails stretch across the east, some dreamers, thought crazy, are suggesting this rail could traverse the entire continent. Could the US Government support such a ludicrous idea? It seems impossible, but might such a rail help keep the massive, continent-wide nation together as Civil War breaks out? Theodore “Crazy” Judah thinks so, and teaming up with four influential, business-savvy Californians, he means to find out. This is the rise of the Central Pacific Railroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:02.4	It's August 25th, 1830, and Fanny Kimble stands in awe of the site before her. Renan
1:08.5	for her beauty and brilliance on stage, the dark-haired 20-year-old actress numbers
1:12.7	among a select group of 16 people, invited to see and try out this new transportation
1:17.8	contraption being built just outside of Liverpool. Called a railway, it consists of a steam-powered
1:23.4	engine that propels carriages at rapid speeds along a track. In this case, the track is 31
1:29.3	miles and connects the English cities of Liverpool and Manchester. Now, this railway isn't
1:34.4	open for business yet, but today, Fanny and her fellow 15 guests get to try it out.
1:40.7	And this is mind-blowing. To think, massive groups of people and goods traveling long distances
1:46.9	on land as fast or faster than a horse. In fact, that's just what many people are comparing
1:52.7	this thing to. They call it a steam horse. Fanny will make the very same comparison between
1:59.0	animal and engine when she later tries to describe this moment to a friend in a letter.
2:04.9	I will give you an account of my yesterday's excursion. We were introduced to the little
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