New Haven Joe posted:Here is a general time line:
1861 Civil War begins
1862 Pacific Rail Act Passed
Many people may not be aware that the second item was only possible because of the first. That Act had been before Congress many times in the years preceding 1862, but the controversy over the route divided the votes, and none was passed.
Each region had its own idea which route was best, and the South wanted a southern route. Their power in Congress prevented either the northern or the central route from being approved, but they couldn't quite muster the votes to pass their preferred route, either.
Only when the southern states walked out of the House and the Senate was a passage possible.
