PEOPLE

Theodore Judah

. Civil engineer, "father of the Central Pacific Railroad"

. Surveyed route through Sierra Nevada

. Won financial backing from the "Big 4," later had much friction with them

Grenville Dodge

. Chief engineer of Union Pacific Railroad

. General in Union Army during Civil War

. Led military campaign against Plains Indians prior to becoming chief engineer

. Elected to Congress from Iowa in 1866, where he lobbied for UP

Abraham Lincoln

. Republican President of the United States, 1861-65

. Oversaw Union victory in Civil War

. Believed railroads were essential to progress

. Major supporter of Pacific Railroad Bill of 1862

Collis P. Huntington

. One of "Big 4" directors of Central Pacific Railroad

. Made fortune selling supplies to prospectors during California Gold Rush

. Invested Gold Rush earnings in CPRR

. Ensured CP was not as obvious about crooked dealings as was Crédit Mobilier

Thomas Durant

. Vice President of Union Pacific and head of Crédit Mobilier

. Known as "Doc"; best-known and least-liked of all involved in Transcontinental Railroad project

. Paid himself massive amounts of Union Pacific funds while almost bankrupting the railroad

. Forced to resign before scandal broke in 1872, and so escaped the brunt of backlash

Leland Stanford

. One of "Big 4" directors of Central Pacific Railroad

. Named President of CP, 1863

. Later became U.S. Senator and Governor of California

. With wife, founded Stanford University, 1891

Charles Crocker

. One of "Big 4" directors of Central Pacific railroad

. Oversaw construction work as chief contractor

. First to employ Chinese immigrant labor force

EVENTS

1860 Central Pacific Railroad Formed

. Huntington, Stanford, Crocker, James Bailey, and Mark Hopkins formed first board of directors, buying into Judah's concept of Transcontinental Railroad

1862 Pacific Railroad Bill

. Federal law authorized Central Pacific to build east from Sacramento

. Established Union Pacific with mandate to build west from Missouri River

. Did not establish meeting point for UP and CP, which led to later (very profitable) inefficiencies

. Funded construction by giving land grants to railroads adjacent to rail lines

1865 Chinese Labor on CP

. Crocker experimented with Chinese labor to mitigate turnover among Irish workers

. Eventually switched almost entirely to cheap and effective Chinese labor

. Never treated Chinese workers well

1869 Golden Spike

. Central Pacific and Union Pacific lines joined at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory

. "Golden Spike" ceremony celebrated completion of Transcontinental Railroad

1872 Crédit Mobilier Scandal

. Durant and others implicated in massive fraud in construction and finance of UP

. Scandal implicated many corrupt members of congress

GROUPS

The Big Four (a.k.a. The Associates)

. Four primary directors of Central Pacific: Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker

. Funded first phase of construction of Transcontinental Railroad

. All four became wealthy selling supplies to miners during California Gold Rush, then became immensely more wealthy as railroad barons

Central Pacific Railroad

. Given charter to build western part of Transcontinental Railroad by Congress

. Built challenging line through Sierra Mountains using Chinese labor force

Union Pacific Railroad

. Created by Congress in 1862

. Crédit Mobilier owned construction contract

. Employed mostly Union Army men, Irish immigrant laborers

CONCEPTS

Standard Gauge

. Standard for uniform width between rails

. Allowed for integration of smaller railroads into larger ones

Gilded Age

. Term, coined sarcastically by Mark Twain, for last quarter of 19th century

. Described an era marked by great wealth but also great corruption

. "Gilded" = golden on the outside, not golden inside

Self-Dealing

. When a person has position of control in two major companies and pays himself in one position from funds of another

. Avoids oversight from other parties

. What Durant did in Crédit Mobilier scandal

"Hell on Wheels"

. Makeshift towns that followed Union Pacific Railroad construction

. Workers would storm into tiny towns; saloons would be erected immediately

. Workers would proceed to gamble and drink away savings

. Famously violent

PLACES

Promontory Summit, Utah

. Place where Union Pacific and Central Pacific rail lines met, completing construction of Transcontinental Railroad