Digital Collections

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of primary source materials associated with the Pacific Railway Act, including manuscripts, newspaper articles, government documents, and maps. Provided below is a link to the home page for each relevant digital collection along with selected highlights.

Abraham Lincoln Papers

Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress
The complete Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 20,000 documents.

Selected highlights from this collection:

Congressional Publications

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
This collection contains congressional publications from 1774 to 1875, including debates, bills, laws, and journals.

Pacific Railway Act References:

Selected references to the Pacific Railway Act can be found in the Congressional Globe on the following dates:

May 6, 1862
The House of Representatives first passed the Pacific Railway Act by a vote of 79 to 49.
June, 20, 1862
The Senate passed the Pacific Railway Act with amendments by a vote of 35 to 5.
June 24, 1862
The House of Representatives concurred with the Senate's amendments and passed the Pacific Railway Act by a vote of 104 to 21.

Historic Newspapers

Chronicling America
Historic American newspapers selected and contributed by state partners in the National Digital Newspaper Program.

Selected highlights from this collection:

In addition, the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room has created a series of topics guides to the newspapers included in Chronicling America, including a guide on the Golden Spike. In 1869, the Pacific and Union railroad tracks were joined by a golden spike, completing the Transcontinental Railroad. This guide provides access to material related to "Golden Spike" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.

Maps

Railroad Maps, 1828 to 1900
Contains 623 maps chosen from more than 3,000 railroad maps and about 2,000 regional, state, and county maps, and other maps which show "internal improvements" of the past century. The maps presented here are a selection from the Geography and Map Division holdings, based on the popular cartobibliography, Railroad Maps of the United States: A Selective Annotated Bibliography of Original 19th-century Maps in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, compiled by Andrew M. Modelski (Washington: Library of Congress, 1975). This annotated list reveals the scope of the railroad map collection and highlights the development of railroad mapping in 19th-century America.

The Transcontinental Railroad
An essay on the history of the transcontinental railroad.

Research Guides

The Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
A research guide on the Transcontinental Railroad created by the Science, Technology & Business Division.
Railroads: Sources for Historical Research
Railroads have played an important role in both the geographic and economic development of America. This guide created by the Science, Technology & Business Division provides selected print and electronic resources for those doing historical research on the railroad industry. The guide includes a section on the first Transcontinental Railroad.

Teachers

U.S. History Primary Source Timeline: Railroads in the Late 19th Century
Explore important topics and moments in U.S. history through historical primary sources from the Library of Congress

Today in History

May 10, 1869
Officials and workers of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railways held a ceremony on Promontory Summit, in Utah Territory—approximately thirty-five miles away from Promontory Point, the site where the rails were joined—to drive in the Golden Spike on May 10, 1869. The spike symbolized completion of the first transcontinental railroad, an event that connected the nation from coast to coast and reduced a journey of four months or more to just one week.

Pacific Railway Act: Primary Documents in American History

History, Humanities & Social Sciences: Ask a Librarian

Digital Collections

Abraham Lincoln Papers

Selected highlights from this collection:

Congressional Publications

Pacific Railway Act References:

Historic Newspapers

Selected highlights from this collection:

Maps

Research Guides

Teachers

Today in History