Question 14 • TX-US History Studies Since 1877 A
The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 authorized the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads to build a transcontinental line toward each other. The Central Pacific built eastward from California, while the Union Pacific built westward from the Missouri River. So the act called for two companies to build the line from opposite directions, not to compete to build the whole route or construct two separate transcontinental routes.
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