Union Pacific Railway Act of 1862

E11064

United States federal statute railroad legislation

The Union Pacific Railway Act of 1862 was a landmark U.S. federal law that authorized construction of the first transcontinental railroad and provided government support through land grants and bonds.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form	Occurrences
Pacific Railroad Act of 1862	1
Pacific Railway Act of 1862	1

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States federal statute ⓘ railroad legislation ⓘ
amendedBy	Pacific Railway Act of 1864 ⓘ
authorizedConstructionOf	Central Pacific Railroad connection ⓘ Union Pacific Railroad ⓘ surface form: Union Pacific Railroad main line first transcontinental railroad in the United States ⓘ
beneficiary	Central Pacific Railroad ⓘ surface form: Central Pacific Railroad Company of California Union Pacific Railroad ⓘ surface form: Union Pacific Railroad Company
bondAmountPerMile	$16,000 per mile on level grade ⓘ $32,000 per mile in the high plains ⓘ $48,000 per mile in the mountains ⓘ
citationStyleName	12 Stat. 489 ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
enactedBy	United States Congress ⓘ
financingMechanism	30-year government bonds ⓘ
historicalEra	American Civil War era ⓘ
impact	accelerated settlement and economic development of the American West ⓘ established a model for federal land-grant support of railroads ⓘ strengthened federal control over transcontinental transportation and communication ⓘ
jurisdiction	United States government ⓘ surface form: United States federal government
language	English ⓘ
legalStatus	public law ⓘ
obligatedRailroadsTo	carry government mails ⓘ give government priority in use of the line in time of war ⓘ transport government troops and munitions ⓘ
presidentDuringEnactment	Abraham Lincoln ⓘ
providedSupportThrough	government bonds ⓘ land grants ⓘ
purpose	to promote construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean ⓘ to secure government use of the railroad and telegraph for postal, military, and other purposes ⓘ
regionAffected	Great Plains ⓘ Pacific coast of North America ⓘ surface form: Pacific Coast Rocky Mountains ⓘ
relatedTo	Homestead Act of 1862 ⓘ Pacific Railway Act of 1864 ⓘ surface form: Pacific Railway Acts
requiredGauge	standard gauge track ⓘ
requiredTelegraphLine	construction of a telegraph line along the railroad route ⓘ
routeEndPoint	Pacific Ocean ⓘ
routeStartPoint	Missouri River ⓘ
sectionWidthGranted	10 alternate sections of public land per mile on each side of the track ⓘ
shortDescription	Law authorizing construction of a transcontinental railroad with federal support ⓘ
signedBy	Abraham Lincoln ⓘ
signingDate	1862-07-01 ⓘ
subjectMatter	federal subsidies ⓘ public lands ⓘ railroad construction ⓘ telegraph lines ⓘ
title	Union Pacific Railway Act of 1862 self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Pacific Railway Act of 1862
year	1862 ⓘ

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

First Transcontinental Railroad → authorizedBy → Union Pacific Railway Act of 1862 ⓘ

this entity surface form: Pacific Railroad Act of 1862

Union Pacific Railroad → foundedBy → Union Pacific Railway Act of 1862 ⓘ

Union Pacific Railway Act of 1862 → title → Union Pacific Railway Act of 1862 self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Pacific Railway Act of 1862