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[Pages S2767-S2768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE
Mr. ROMNEY. Mr. President, the Transcontinental Railroad is a
testament to the enduring American spirit of industry and national
unity.
[[Page S2768]]
On the precipice of the American Civil War, Utah's delegate to the
U.S. House of Representatives, William Henry Hooper, recognized that
``A great band of Union throughout the family of man is a common
interest.'' Hooper petitioned Congress in his belief that ``a Central
Road would unite that interest as with a chain of iron, and would
effectually hold together our Federal union with an imperishable
identity of mutual interest.''
William Henry Hooper's letter to Congress would take several months
to reach Washington, DC, as any westward travel beyond the Mississippi
River required wagon, stagecoach, or horseback.
The U.S. Congress would, however, approve such an undertaking, and
soon, a National Central Railroad began to manifest from the worn hands
of laborers to execute a vision of national unity, a feat that would
propel American power and change the course of our history.
These hands belonged to men of differing national origins and creeds,
who labored together under one banner, often fleeing significant
hardship in pursuit of economic opportunity in the American West.
Roughly 15,000 Chinese immigrants, 10,000 Irish immigrants, and 4,000
Latter-day Saints joined the national effort to complete the most
remarkable and ambitious engineering project of the 19th century.
On May 10, 1869, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads
formally met at Promontory Summit, UT, and the 17.6-carat golden spike
officially linked the East and West Coasts, marking a watershed moment
for American trade, commerce, and population.
A 6-month journey across the continent was reduced to 1 week. Within
a decade of the railroad's completion, Salt Lake City's population more
than doubled, further boosting Utah's significance in the national
economy.
Brigham Young recognized the enormous opportunities that global trade
would bring to Utah and the country and the abundant and yet untapped
resources of iron, coal, stone, and timber.
In pursuit of a national railroad project, Brigham Young recognized
that ``mineral resources of California, and these mountains, will never
be fully developed to the benefit of the people of the United States,
without the construction of such a road, and upon its completion, the
entire trade of China and the East Indies will pass through the heart
of the Union; thereby giving our Citizens the almost entire controls of
the Asiatic and Pacific trade.''
Indeed, the Transcontinental Railroad would transform the American
economy in profound ways. This achievement revolutionized
communications, global trade routes, and allowed for the movement of
people across the country at an unprecedented scale.
On the sesquicentennial of the completion of the Transcontinental
Railroad at Promontory Summit, let us remember the sacrifice of those
laborers who would not live to see to its conclusion, but whose
contributions helped transform the Nation and the world.
The 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike is also a celebration of
the limitless American imagination, spirit of ingenuity, and industry
that made this incredible project a success.
Let us not forget the example these pioneers set for us as we go
forward in a new era of challenges and opportunities.
____________________
