July 25, 2025 • 30 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, before America had coast-to-coast rail lines, four men risked everything to make it possible. Known as the Big Four, they built the Central Pacific Railroad and played a crucial role in completing the first transcontinental railroad. Historian Roger McGrath shares how Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, Collis P. Huntington, and Mark Hopkins changed the course of American history with steel, vision, and sheer determination.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories.
Before the advent of the Transcontinental Railroad, a journey across
the continent meant a dangerous six month trek over rivers, deserts,
and mountains. Alternatively, a traveler could hazard a six week
free voyage around Cape Horn or sell to Central America
and cross the Isthmus of Panama by rail, risking exposure
(00:34):
to any number of deadly diseases in the crossing. This
is the story of the men known as the Big
Four who incorporated the Central Pacific Railroad and helped build
the Transcontinental Railroad. These four individuals risk their businesses, money, time,
and talent in order to achieve an unprecedented feat of engineering, vision,
(00:54):
and courage. Here to tell the story is Roger McGrath.
McGrath is the author of Gunfire Him and Vigilantes Violence
on the Frontier. A US marine and former history professor
at UCLA, Doctor McGrath has appeared on numerous History Channel documentaries,
and he is a regular contributor for US. Here in
(01:15):
Our American Stories. Here's McGrath.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
During the late nineteenth century, Leland Stafford, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins,
and Charles Crocker became so powerful in California that they
were known simply as the Big Four. That the power
came from building the Central Pacific Railroad, which accounted for
the western half of our nation's first trans continental railroad. Now,
(01:41):
the Big Four didn't start out life as the Big anything,
but like tens of thousands of others came to California
during the Gold to Our years, they didn't even strike gold,
at least not in the traditional sense. Their gold came
from mining the miners, that is, supplying the miners with
dry goods. It's hardware, tools, firearms, and the other necessities
(02:04):
of life on the frontier. From this modest beginning, they
rose to dominate life in California to a degree not
seen before or since.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
This is their story.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Leland, Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker are born in
New York State in Collis Huntington in Connecticut. Three of
the four grew up on farms. All spend their childhoods
in humble circumstances and work hard. The gold rush brings
them to California as young men. All soon turned from
(02:38):
digging for gold to establishing businesses in Sacramento. They become
fast friends and are soon forced to be reckoned with
In Sacramento, the new state capital, Crocker becomes a city councilman.
Stanford will later become governor. They are alert to every
new business opportunity, especially the possibility of building a railroad
(03:03):
across the.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Continent to California.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Talk of building a railroad to the Pacific coast begins
in eighteen forty five when he is a Whitney, a
New York businessman, proposes the idea to Congress. Whitney suggests
the government grant a sixty mile wide strip of land
between Lake Superior and the Oregon coast to any company
willing to risk construction. In eighteen forty five, Whitney's plan
(03:30):
is far ahead of its time. Nonetheless, Whitney launches a
campaign to convince both congressmen and the general public that
the railroad not only can be built, but is a necessity.
Well within a few years, most people are convinced a
trans cotton in railroad can be built, but is it
(03:51):
a necessity. There's a small population of Americans in Oregon's
Wilama Valley and businessmen who trade with the Orient. We'll
be able to avoid the voyage round Cape Horn. But
is that enough to justify such a project. The California
Gold rus puts an end to the necessity question. Tens
of thousands of Americans rushing to California, and it becomes
(04:15):
a state in eighteen fifty, so suddenly that California skips
the territorial stage. Within a few years, there are four
hundred thousand Americans in California. Without question. There is now
a need to connect California with the rest of the
United States. Now the question becomes which route to California.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Should the railroad take.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Northerners argue for a northern route and Southerners for a
southern one. Unfortunately, this is the anti Bellum decade and
North South antagonism. It is at a fever pitch. Congress
cannot decide upon a route. The Big Four following the
debates over the railroad closely. They are astute businessmen and
(05:01):
they know they will profit handsomely from a railroad connection
with the East. They take an interest in Theodore Judah,
a young railroad engineer and promoter who is building the
Sacramento Valley Railroad, a short line that runs from Sacramento
into the Gold Country at the same time, Judah is
(05:21):
thinking he needs partners with money and political influence. Even
before he finishes with the Sacramento Valley Railroad, Judah is
thinking of a trans continental railroad. He wants to build
the far western end of the railroad from Sacramento over
the Sierras to Nevada.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
He will need partners and money.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Judah and the Big Four joined forces in charge of
the Central Pacific Railroad, announcing plans to build over the
Sierras to Nevada. They want both federal support and the
promise of a rail line to connect their railroad with
the Mississippi Valley. The Four send Judah to Washington to
lobby Congress. Judah proves an effective lobbyist, and in eighteen
(06:08):
sixty two, Congress passes the Pacific Railroad Act, which provides
for the first trans Cootton Railroad. The Pacific Railroad Act
decrees that two companies will build the rail line. A
Central Pacific Railroad will build eastward from Sacramento across the
Sierras to Nevada. The Union Pacific Railroad will build westward
(06:30):
from Omaha, Nebraska, climb the rockies near South Pass, Wyoming,
and follow the Humboldt River to the California Nevada line.
Each road is granted a four hundred foot wide right away,
together with ten alternate sections of land. For each mile
of track laid. A section of land is six hundred
(06:52):
and forty acres or one square mile. In addition to
the land, the railroads will receive the government of he
wore Reaes to loan the companies on a first mortgage
basis sixteen thousand dollars for each mile of track built
in level country, thirty two thousands a mile in the foothills,
and forty eight thousand mile in the mountains. With the
(07:16):
passage of the Pacific Railroad Act, Theodore Judah returns to California.
Almost immediately disagreements are up with the Big Four. Judah
presents his construction plans for the railroad. They are two
grandiose for his partners, who are in this to turn
a profit, not build an engineering marvel. Judah is terribly
(07:39):
upset that he will have to compromise his vision for
a monumental project and heads east to see if he
can attract investors who.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Will buy out the Big Four.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Judah takes a steamer from San Francisco to Panama and
then crosses overland to the Caribbean coast to Panama to
catch another steamer to New York. Like thousands who take
this route, he contracts yellow fever in Panama. He arrives
in New York in poor condition. Within days, he is dead.
(08:14):
This leaves the Central Pacific Company in the hands of
the Big Four.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
The Big Four are very much alike.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Each is from what is called Old American stock. Each
is born and reared in the East in humble circumstances,
and comes to California in the gold Rush. Each is intelligent,
discipline and energetic, and is willing to work relentlessly. Each
is highly ambitious and convinced that his goal in life
is the pursuit of wealth. With four such hard charging individuals,
(08:48):
one would think that conflict is inevitable. Fortunately for the
Big Four, each proves ideally suited for a different role
in the Central Pacific Company. Leland's Stafford becomes the company
president and the public relations chief in California, he's the
company spokesman in seeking subsidies from the state in county governments.
(09:11):
Collis Huntington steps into Judas place as the Washington lobbyist
and the chief money raiser in the East, Mark Hopkins
manages the money and accounts for every penny spent. He
restrains as partners from making imprudent moves. Charles Crocker supervises construction.
(09:34):
In later years, Crocker likes to remind his partners that
whatever they had done, he had actually built the railroad.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And when we come back, we'll continue with this remarkable
story of these four different Easterners who unite the country
with the Transcontinental Railroad. Roger McGrath continues this story here
on our American Stories, And we continue here with our
(10:10):
American stories and with Roger McGrath and the story of
the Big Four in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.
And by the way, you heard the story of Theodore Judah,
and this is what happened is so many people trying
to get from the West coast to the East coast
taking that long multi part voyage, killed him, killed him.
And again we heard what we hear so often as
(10:31):
we talk about the building of American enterprises, and it's
different men and women coming together with different skills and
different skill sets, huddled around a common goal. Now, let's
return to McGrath and the story of the building of
the Transcontinental.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Railroad forty miles.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
The track has to be late before the first federal
subsidy is collectible. This is difficult because of the Civil War.
Materials are at inflated prices round the horn shipping charges
or sky Again, the labor supply is limited the Civil War.
In the booming Nevada silver and gold mines mean full employment.
(11:10):
At this time, the Big Four's own resources are modest.
Their Big Four status is years in the future. Moreover,
investors are not eager to buy stock in the Central
Pacific Company because the federal government holds a first mortgage guarantee.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
On the company.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
This means should the company go bankrupt, the government gets
first DIBs on the company's assets. Leland Stanford scores the
first victory in eighteen sixty two. It begins serving as
governor of California. It convinces the state government to buy
one point five million worth of stock in the Central
Pacific Company. Now this would be considered a conflict of
(11:54):
interest today, but in eighteen sixty two it's considered a
good move by the state. California desperately needs a railroad
to connect it with the East, and the Central Pacific
Company is the one designated to build the California portion
of the railroad by Congress. Most people at the time
(12:15):
think Stanford and his partners will benefit from the stock purchase. Okay,
but California will benefit far more if a railroad is built.
Collins Huntington then scores a second victory. In eighteen sixty four,
Congress amends the Pacific Railroad Act. The land grant is doubled,
(12:36):
and most importantly, the government reduces the security for its
loans from a first to a second mortgage. Now private
investors are willing to risk their money with a first
mortgage guarantee. Finally, Crocker solves the labor problem. At first,
(12:56):
Crocker relies upon white Californians, mostly immigrant Irish and Germans.
The wage scale has to be relatively high, and many
of the men look upon railroad work has a way
to earn a grubstake and then go off to gold
and silver strikes in Nevada. The labor turnover is excessive.
(13:17):
Crocker now the sides to try the Chinese. The Chinese
are already a familiar figure in California, comprising about five
percent of the general population and some ten percent of
the mining population. There are several powerful Chinese businessmen in
San Francisco and in Sacramento who act as labor contractors.
(13:40):
Crocker negotiates with them and they supply him with workers.
By the end of eighteen sixty five, Crocker has some
six thousand Chinese workers, and double that number by eighteen
sixty eight. It's important to understand that white railroad workers
are not fired and replaced by cheap Chinese laborers. The
(14:02):
construction crews are being expanded so rapidly that no one
loses his job. With the financial and labor problem solved,
the base of construction accelerates, and the Big four all
astute businessmen begin thinking of not stopping at the Kalifornia
Nevada state line, but laying track across Nevada. Collis Huntington's
(14:27):
lobbying efforts payoff again in eighteen sixty six. He convinces
Congress to again amend the Pacific Railroad Act and allow
the Central Pacific Company to continue building eastward until the
Central Pacific meets the Union Pacific.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Wherever that may be.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
By eighteen sixty eight, the Central Pacific is building across Nevada.
Compare with building through the Sierras.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
This is a piece of cake.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Tracks are laid for half the amount of the government's subsidy.
This more than makes up for losses in the Sierras. Nonetheless,
there are difficulties. The costs of rails, locomotives, cars, blasting powder,
and round the horn shipping are sky high. Moreover, in
the Nevada deserts there is no timber for ties and trestles.
(15:19):
The needed lumber must be brought in from the Sierras. Meanwhile,
the Union Pacific is will underway. Like the Central Pacific,
construction is slow at first, as the company struggles to
obtain workers and material from a nation.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Consumed by the Civil War.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
By the close of eighteen sixty five, only forty miles
of track stretches westward from Momah. During the next two years, though,
conditions improve rapidly. First, Grenville Dodge, a US Army general
who campaigned against Indians on the Great Plains and knows
the country will, gets a leave of absence from the
(16:00):
Army and is hired as the Union Pacific's chief engineer. Second,
Irish Civil War veterans begin to drift westward. With the
close of the war, Grenville quickly hires these hard drinking,
hard fighting Irish war veterans to fill the construction crews.
(16:20):
All is still not smooth sailing on the great Plains.
All materials have to be brought into that barren country.
Ties from the forests of Minnesota, stone from the quarries
of Wisconsin, and rails from the mills of Pennsylvania. Moreover,
several different tribes of plans Indians are on the warpath.
(16:42):
Work is frequently halted while construction crews grab rifles to
beat off attacks. By the spring of eighteen sixty eight,
the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific realize they are
engaged in the greatest race in history. The Central Pacific
is winging its way across the desert of Nevada. The
(17:02):
Union Pacific is working its way across the high plains
of Wyoming and through lone tree paths in the rockies.
Between the two railroads lay Utah, which the federal government
has defined as mountain country, although much of the route
the railroad will take is perfectly flat. In Utah, the
(17:22):
railroads are thus entitled to subsidies of forty eight thousand
dollars a mile. While building over relatively flat terrain. Each
company spurs its men on relentlessly in hopes of grabbing
off a major share of.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
The Utah prize.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
The Central Pacific builds three hundred and sixty miles a
road in eighteen sixty eight, the Union Pacific four hundred
and twenty five. The base of construction becomes feverish. In
eighteen sixty nine, the Union Pacific lays six miles of
track in one day. The Central Pacific counters with seven,
(18:04):
the Union pacifically seven and a half miles, and the
Central matches it.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Then the Union Pacific.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Lays an astounding eight and a half miles of track
in one day. At this point, Thomas Durant, the president
of the Union Pacific, asks Charles Crocker, if he thinks
a Central Pacific can top that eight and a half miles,
the two wager ten thousand dollars, equal to a million
(18:34):
dollars in today's money.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
And when we come back, we continue with this remarkable story,
and my goodness, the story of the Chinese workers and
the former Civil War vets who just happened to be Irish.
We hear that story told by Steven Ambrose. Go to
our American Stories dot com and that's the Transcontinental Railroad
from the workers point of view. At Ambrose does such
(18:57):
a great job of doing that and almost all of
his nonfiction. When we continue more of this remarkable story
the building of the Transcontinental Railroad and the Big Four
here on our American Stories. And we continue here with
(19:39):
our American Stories, and now let's continue with the story
of the Big Four and the Transcontinental Railroad.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Crocker assembles as best men and then waits for several
days until the railroads are approaching Promontory Summit and so
close together that should the Central Pacific break the track
lane record the Union, it will have no opportunity to respond.
With newspaper correspondents present and one other journalists acting as
(20:08):
the official timer, Crocker's boys swing into action. The first
rail is laid and others follow at the rate of
two hundred and forty feet of rail every.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
One minute and twenty seconds.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
The pace is fantastic, but can the Central Pacific crew
maintain it for hours on end? The crew doesn't slacken
his pace or stop until break for lunch. After resting
and eating, the crew springs back into action again at.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
The same record breaking pace.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
At the end of the workday, time is called and
the distance carefully measured. The Central Pacific crew has laid
ten miles and.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Fifty six feet of track.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
The Union Pacific record is broken, and Charles Crocker is
ten dollars richer. Now it's the general impression of most
today that the track lane must have been done by
a cast of thousands, and that, since this was the
Central Pacific, those laying the track must have been Chinese.
(21:17):
Not true on either count. The newspaper reporter, who was
timing the event said, quote, it may seem incredible, but nevertheless,
it is a fact that the whole ten miles of
rail were handled and laid down this day by eight
white men. These men were Michael Shay, Michael Kennedy, Michael Sullivan,
(21:42):
Patrick Joyce, Thomas Daly, George Elliott, Edward Killeen, and Fred mcnamarai.
These eight irishmen and one day handled more than three thousand,
five hundred rails one thousand tons of iron. On May tenth,
eighteen sixty nine, a group of workers and company officials
(22:04):
gather at Promontory Summit, Utah and watch the placing of
the last tie, the fixing of the last rail, and
the presentation of the various precious metal spikes, including the golden.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Spike from California.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Pats Off signals a telegraph operator to all the listening nation.
Prayer is being offered. Several minutes later, telegraph wires hum again.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
We have got none, praying.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific has the honor of
driving in the golden spike, actually tapping in the golden
spike with a mallet. It's too soft to be driven
with a sledgehammer. After the ceremony, all tap in the
golden spike is removed and a steel spike set in
its place. Stanford now takes a mighty swing with a
(22:56):
sledgehammer and missus. Thomas Durant of the Union Pacific takes
a mighty swing and missus with the count h and two,
a crew chief steps forward and drives a spike home.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
The Central Pacific.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Locomotive number one nineteen and the Union Pacific locomotive Jupiter
steam forward and touch cowcatchers. Their engineers have the first drinks,
and then the celebration becomes general. The entire United States celebrates.
Chicago makes a procession seven miles long. New York hangs
(23:35):
out bunting, fires one hundred guns and holds church services.
Philadelphia rings the Liberty Bell. Hundreds gather in the streets
of Buffalo and sing the Star Spangled Banner. In Sacramento
and San Francisco, people are celebrating until dawn and Leland Stanford,
Carlas Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker are.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
The heroes of the hour.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
The building of the trans Continental Railroad is the greatest
engineering and construction project up to that time in American history.
California had been isolated from the United States, despite the
Gold Rush and the admission of California to the Union. Now,
the completion of the trans Continental Railroad shatters that barrier
(24:26):
of isolation. Personally, Stanford, Huntington, Hopkins, and Crocker are transformed
from four middle class Sacramento businessmen into the Big Four.
They do not rest on the Laurels, but forge ahead
and form a second company, the Southern Pacific Railroad. They
(24:46):
laid tracks through California and eventually across Arizona, New Mexico,
and Texas until the mid eighteen eighties. In the arrival
of the San Fe Railroad the Big Four heaven monopoly
of rail tra exportation in California. The monopoly and the
wealth and power it gives them makes them truly the
(25:07):
Big Four, but with that comes critics and enemies. Though
president of both the Central Pacific and the Southern Pacific,
Stanford finds time to develop two wineries and a racehorse
breeding farm, and to build a mansion on Knob Hill
in San Francisco. He also becomes the president of a
(25:28):
steamship line. In eighteen eighty five, he is elected to
the US Senate. Also in eighteen eighty five, he establishes
Stanford University in honor of his son Leland Stanford Junior,
who died the year before of typhoid fever. Stanford donates
ekereachs for the university from his racehorse facility, which explains
(25:52):
why Stanford University's nickname the Farm. Stanford also donates about
two billion in today's money to fund the university. Stanford
dies at sixty nine years old in eighteen ninety three.
Collins Ennington continues as lobbyists for the Central Pacific and
(26:14):
the Southern Pacific Railroads in Washington, d C. Suspicions abound
that he greases the palms of congressmen, but nothing has
ever proved. In eighteen ninety one, he completes the building
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad across Virginia and through
West Virginia to the Ohio River. At the Ohio River,
(26:36):
he builds town of Huntington and develops it as an
industrial center. He also builds shipyards at Newport News and
several short lines throughout Virginia. Huntington's activities contribute to an
economic boom. Huntington donates tens of millions in today's dollars
to the building and maintenance of schools, museums, libraries, and
(27:00):
parks in Virginia. One of the schools that benefits enormously
from Huntington's bargesse is the Hampton Institute, Virginia's first Black college.
Huntington dies at seventy eight years old in nineteen hundred.
Most of his vast art collection goes to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York. Proceeds from the sale
(27:24):
of his Fifth Avenue mansion go to Yale University. Mark
Hopkins continues his role managing the financial affairs for the
Central Pacific in the Southern Pacific. His sage advice keeps
his partners from making rash moves with their new wealth.
He donates to various charities and begins a building a
(27:45):
mansion on nob Hill, but he dies at age sixty
four in eighteen seventy eight. His wife Mary finishes the
mansion and lives there until her death in eighteen ninety one.
The mansion is destroyed in the earthquake and fire of
nineteen six. The Mark Hopkins Hotel is later built on
(28:05):
the site. What is the penthouse suite at the top
of the hotel is converted in nineteen thirty nine to
a grand cocktail lounge and restaurant called the Top of
the Mark. When World War Two erupts, it becomes tradition
for couples to have their last dinner, drink, and dance
together at the Top of the Mark before the serviceman
(28:28):
departs for war. In the Pacific, Charles Crocker continues supervising
construction for the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific. He founds
towns along the Southern Pacific route across Arizona, New Mexico,
and names one of them Deming, in honor of his
wife's maiden surname. He serves for a time as president
(28:51):
of Wells Fargo. He buys controlling interest in the Woolworth
National Bank, reorganizes it, and names it Crocker Bank. In
eighteen eighty six, while visiting in New York, his carriage
overturns and he is seriously injured. He never recovers and
dies at age sixty five.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
In eighteen eighty eight.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
He leaves behind in the state valued at four hundred million,
something like six billion in today's dollars. Leland, Stanford, Collis Huntington,
Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker where real life hori show
alger characters who arose from humble beginnings to power and wealth.
(29:37):
They were emblematic of other larger than life figures who
arrived in the Old West when it was a wilderness
and helped transform it into a modern society.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
And special thanks to Roger McGrath for telling this story.
The Big Four and the Transcontinental Railroad and it Stephen
Ambrose reminded us in his version of the story, But
those thirty years in American history brought us the telegraph,
the Transcontinental Railroad, the Civil War, and the end of slavery.
And Ambrose called it the most transformational generation in American history.
(30:12):
The story of the Transcontinental Railroad. Here on our American Stories.
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories.
Before the advent of the Transcontinental Railroad, a journey across
the continent meant a dangerous six month trek over rivers, deserts,
and mountains. Alternatively, a traveler could hazard a six week
free voyage around Cape Horn or sell to Central America
and cross the Isthmus of Panama by rail, risking exposure
(00:34):
to any number of deadly diseases in the crossing. This
is the story of the men known as the Big
Four who incorporated the Central Pacific Railroad and helped build
the Transcontinental Railroad. These four individuals risk their businesses, money, time,
and talent in order to achieve an unprecedented feat of engineering, vision,
(00:54):
and courage. Here to tell the story is Roger McGrath.
McGrath is the author of Gunfire Him and Vigilantes Violence
on the Frontier. A US marine and former history professor
at UCLA, Doctor McGrath has appeared on numerous History Channel documentaries,
and he is a regular contributor for US. Here in
(01:15):
Our American Stories. Here's McGrath.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
During the late nineteenth century, Leland Stafford, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins,
and Charles Crocker became so powerful in California that they
were known simply as the Big Four. That the power
came from building the Central Pacific Railroad, which accounted for
the western half of our nation's first trans continental railroad. Now,
(01:41):
the Big Four didn't start out life as the Big anything,
but like tens of thousands of others came to California
during the Gold to Our years, they didn't even strike gold,
at least not in the traditional sense. Their gold came
from mining the miners, that is, supplying the miners with
dry goods. It's hardware, tools, firearms, and the other necessities
(02:04):
of life on the frontier. From this modest beginning, they
rose to dominate life in California to a degree not
seen before or since.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
This is their story.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Leland, Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker are born in
New York State in Collis Huntington in Connecticut. Three of
the four grew up on farms. All spend their childhoods
in humble circumstances and work hard. The gold rush brings
them to California as young men. All soon turned from
(02:38):
digging for gold to establishing businesses in Sacramento. They become
fast friends and are soon forced to be reckoned with
In Sacramento, the new state capital, Crocker becomes a city councilman.
Stanford will later become governor. They are alert to every
new business opportunity, especially the possibility of building a railroad
(03:03):
across the.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Continent to California.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Talk of building a railroad to the Pacific coast begins
in eighteen forty five when he is a Whitney, a
New York businessman, proposes the idea to Congress. Whitney suggests
the government grant a sixty mile wide strip of land
between Lake Superior and the Oregon coast to any company
willing to risk construction. In eighteen forty five, Whitney's plan
(03:30):
is far ahead of its time. Nonetheless, Whitney launches a
campaign to convince both congressmen and the general public that
the railroad not only can be built, but is a necessity.
Well within a few years, most people are convinced a
trans cotton in railroad can be built, but is it
(03:51):
a necessity. There's a small population of Americans in Oregon's
Wilama Valley and businessmen who trade with the Orient. We'll
be able to avoid the voyage round Cape Horn. But
is that enough to justify such a project. The California
Gold rus puts an end to the necessity question. Tens
of thousands of Americans rushing to California, and it becomes
(04:15):
a state in eighteen fifty, so suddenly that California skips
the territorial stage. Within a few years, there are four
hundred thousand Americans in California. Without question. There is now
a need to connect California with the rest of the
United States. Now the question becomes which route to California.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Should the railroad take.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Northerners argue for a northern route and Southerners for a
southern one. Unfortunately, this is the anti Bellum decade and
North South antagonism. It is at a fever pitch. Congress
cannot decide upon a route. The Big Four following the
debates over the railroad closely. They are astute businessmen and
(05:01):
they know they will profit handsomely from a railroad connection
with the East. They take an interest in Theodore Judah,
a young railroad engineer and promoter who is building the
Sacramento Valley Railroad, a short line that runs from Sacramento
into the Gold Country at the same time, Judah is
(05:21):
thinking he needs partners with money and political influence. Even
before he finishes with the Sacramento Valley Railroad, Judah is
thinking of a trans continental railroad. He wants to build
the far western end of the railroad from Sacramento over
the Sierras to Nevada.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
He will need partners and money.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Judah and the Big Four joined forces in charge of
the Central Pacific Railroad, announcing plans to build over the
Sierras to Nevada. They want both federal support and the
promise of a rail line to connect their railroad with
the Mississippi Valley. The Four send Judah to Washington to
lobby Congress. Judah proves an effective lobbyist, and in eighteen
(06:08):
sixty two, Congress passes the Pacific Railroad Act, which provides
for the first trans Cootton Railroad. The Pacific Railroad Act
decrees that two companies will build the rail line. A
Central Pacific Railroad will build eastward from Sacramento across the
Sierras to Nevada. The Union Pacific Railroad will build westward
(06:30):
from Omaha, Nebraska, climb the rockies near South Pass, Wyoming,
and follow the Humboldt River to the California Nevada line.
Each road is granted a four hundred foot wide right away,
together with ten alternate sections of land. For each mile
of track laid. A section of land is six hundred
(06:52):
and forty acres or one square mile. In addition to
the land, the railroads will receive the government of he
wore Reaes to loan the companies on a first mortgage
basis sixteen thousand dollars for each mile of track built
in level country, thirty two thousands a mile in the foothills,
and forty eight thousand mile in the mountains. With the
(07:16):
passage of the Pacific Railroad Act, Theodore Judah returns to California.
Almost immediately disagreements are up with the Big Four. Judah
presents his construction plans for the railroad. They are two
grandiose for his partners, who are in this to turn
a profit, not build an engineering marvel. Judah is terribly
(07:39):
upset that he will have to compromise his vision for
a monumental project and heads east to see if he
can attract investors who.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Will buy out the Big Four.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Judah takes a steamer from San Francisco to Panama and
then crosses overland to the Caribbean coast to Panama to
catch another steamer to New York. Like thousands who take
this route, he contracts yellow fever in Panama. He arrives
in New York in poor condition. Within days, he is dead.
(08:14):
This leaves the Central Pacific Company in the hands of
the Big Four.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
The Big Four are very much alike.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Each is from what is called Old American stock. Each
is born and reared in the East in humble circumstances,
and comes to California in the gold Rush. Each is intelligent,
discipline and energetic, and is willing to work relentlessly. Each
is highly ambitious and convinced that his goal in life
is the pursuit of wealth. With four such hard charging individuals,
(08:48):
one would think that conflict is inevitable. Fortunately for the
Big Four, each proves ideally suited for a different role
in the Central Pacific Company. Leland's Stafford becomes the company
president and the public relations chief in California, he's the
company spokesman in seeking subsidies from the state in county governments.
(09:11):
Collis Huntington steps into Judas place as the Washington lobbyist
and the chief money raiser in the East, Mark Hopkins
manages the money and accounts for every penny spent. He
restrains as partners from making imprudent moves. Charles Crocker supervises construction.
(09:34):
In later years, Crocker likes to remind his partners that
whatever they had done, he had actually built the railroad.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And when we come back, we'll continue with this remarkable
story of these four different Easterners who unite the country
with the Transcontinental Railroad. Roger McGrath continues this story here
on our American Stories, And we continue here with our
(10:10):
American stories and with Roger McGrath and the story of
the Big Four in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.
And by the way, you heard the story of Theodore Judah,
and this is what happened is so many people trying
to get from the West coast to the East coast
taking that long multi part voyage, killed him, killed him.
And again we heard what we hear so often as
(10:31):
we talk about the building of American enterprises, and it's
different men and women coming together with different skills and
different skill sets, huddled around a common goal. Now, let's
return to McGrath and the story of the building of
the Transcontinental.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Railroad forty miles.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
The track has to be late before the first federal
subsidy is collectible. This is difficult because of the Civil War.
Materials are at inflated prices round the horn shipping charges
or sky Again, the labor supply is limited the Civil War.
In the booming Nevada silver and gold mines mean full employment.
(11:10):
At this time, the Big Four's own resources are modest.
Their Big Four status is years in the future. Moreover,
investors are not eager to buy stock in the Central
Pacific Company because the federal government holds a first mortgage guarantee.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
On the company.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
This means should the company go bankrupt, the government gets
first DIBs on the company's assets. Leland Stanford scores the
first victory in eighteen sixty two. It begins serving as
governor of California. It convinces the state government to buy
one point five million worth of stock in the Central
Pacific Company. Now this would be considered a conflict of
(11:54):
interest today, but in eighteen sixty two it's considered a
good move by the state. California desperately needs a railroad
to connect it with the East, and the Central Pacific
Company is the one designated to build the California portion
of the railroad by Congress. Most people at the time
(12:15):
think Stanford and his partners will benefit from the stock purchase. Okay,
but California will benefit far more if a railroad is built.
Collins Huntington then scores a second victory. In eighteen sixty four,
Congress amends the Pacific Railroad Act. The land grant is doubled,
(12:36):
and most importantly, the government reduces the security for its
loans from a first to a second mortgage. Now private
investors are willing to risk their money with a first
mortgage guarantee. Finally, Crocker solves the labor problem. At first,
(12:56):
Crocker relies upon white Californians, mostly immigrant Irish and Germans.
The wage scale has to be relatively high, and many
of the men look upon railroad work has a way
to earn a grubstake and then go off to gold
and silver strikes in Nevada. The labor turnover is excessive.
(13:17):
Crocker now the sides to try the Chinese. The Chinese
are already a familiar figure in California, comprising about five
percent of the general population and some ten percent of
the mining population. There are several powerful Chinese businessmen in
San Francisco and in Sacramento who act as labor contractors.
(13:40):
Crocker negotiates with them and they supply him with workers.
By the end of eighteen sixty five, Crocker has some
six thousand Chinese workers, and double that number by eighteen
sixty eight. It's important to understand that white railroad workers
are not fired and replaced by cheap Chinese laborers. The
(14:02):
construction crews are being expanded so rapidly that no one
loses his job. With the financial and labor problem solved,
the base of construction accelerates, and the Big four all
astute businessmen begin thinking of not stopping at the Kalifornia
Nevada state line, but laying track across Nevada. Collis Huntington's
(14:27):
lobbying efforts payoff again in eighteen sixty six. He convinces
Congress to again amend the Pacific Railroad Act and allow
the Central Pacific Company to continue building eastward until the
Central Pacific meets the Union Pacific.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Wherever that may be.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
By eighteen sixty eight, the Central Pacific is building across Nevada.
Compare with building through the Sierras.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
This is a piece of cake.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Tracks are laid for half the amount of the government's subsidy.
This more than makes up for losses in the Sierras. Nonetheless,
there are difficulties. The costs of rails, locomotives, cars, blasting powder,
and round the horn shipping are sky high. Moreover, in
the Nevada deserts there is no timber for ties and trestles.
(15:19):
The needed lumber must be brought in from the Sierras. Meanwhile,
the Union Pacific is will underway. Like the Central Pacific,
construction is slow at first, as the company struggles to
obtain workers and material from a nation.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Consumed by the Civil War.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
By the close of eighteen sixty five, only forty miles
of track stretches westward from Momah. During the next two years, though,
conditions improve rapidly. First, Grenville Dodge, a US Army general
who campaigned against Indians on the Great Plains and knows
the country will, gets a leave of absence from the
(16:00):
Army and is hired as the Union Pacific's chief engineer. Second,
Irish Civil War veterans begin to drift westward. With the
close of the war, Grenville quickly hires these hard drinking,
hard fighting Irish war veterans to fill the construction crews.
(16:20):
All is still not smooth sailing on the great Plains.
All materials have to be brought into that barren country.
Ties from the forests of Minnesota, stone from the quarries
of Wisconsin, and rails from the mills of Pennsylvania. Moreover,
several different tribes of plans Indians are on the warpath.
(16:42):
Work is frequently halted while construction crews grab rifles to
beat off attacks. By the spring of eighteen sixty eight,
the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific realize they are
engaged in the greatest race in history. The Central Pacific
is winging its way across the desert of Nevada. The
(17:02):
Union Pacific is working its way across the high plains
of Wyoming and through lone tree paths in the rockies.
Between the two railroads lay Utah, which the federal government
has defined as mountain country, although much of the route
the railroad will take is perfectly flat. In Utah, the
(17:22):
railroads are thus entitled to subsidies of forty eight thousand
dollars a mile. While building over relatively flat terrain. Each
company spurs its men on relentlessly in hopes of grabbing
off a major share of.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
The Utah prize.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
The Central Pacific builds three hundred and sixty miles a
road in eighteen sixty eight, the Union Pacific four hundred
and twenty five. The base of construction becomes feverish. In
eighteen sixty nine, the Union Pacific lays six miles of
track in one day. The Central Pacific counters with seven,
(18:04):
the Union pacifically seven and a half miles, and the
Central matches it.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Then the Union Pacific.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Lays an astounding eight and a half miles of track
in one day. At this point, Thomas Durant, the president
of the Union Pacific, asks Charles Crocker, if he thinks
a Central Pacific can top that eight and a half miles,
the two wager ten thousand dollars, equal to a million
(18:34):
dollars in today's money.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
And when we come back, we continue with this remarkable story,
and my goodness, the story of the Chinese workers and
the former Civil War vets who just happened to be Irish.
We hear that story told by Steven Ambrose. Go to
our American Stories dot com and that's the Transcontinental Railroad
from the workers point of view. At Ambrose does such
(18:57):
a great job of doing that and almost all of
his nonfiction. When we continue more of this remarkable story
the building of the Transcontinental Railroad and the Big Four
here on our American Stories. And we continue here with
(19:39):
our American Stories, and now let's continue with the story
of the Big Four and the Transcontinental Railroad.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Crocker assembles as best men and then waits for several
days until the railroads are approaching Promontory Summit and so
close together that should the Central Pacific break the track
lane record the Union, it will have no opportunity to respond.
With newspaper correspondents present and one other journalists acting as
(20:08):
the official timer, Crocker's boys swing into action. The first
rail is laid and others follow at the rate of
two hundred and forty feet of rail every.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
One minute and twenty seconds.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
The pace is fantastic, but can the Central Pacific crew
maintain it for hours on end? The crew doesn't slacken
his pace or stop until break for lunch. After resting
and eating, the crew springs back into action again at.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
The same record breaking pace.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
At the end of the workday, time is called and
the distance carefully measured. The Central Pacific crew has laid
ten miles and.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Fifty six feet of track.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
The Union Pacific record is broken, and Charles Crocker is
ten dollars richer. Now it's the general impression of most
today that the track lane must have been done by
a cast of thousands, and that, since this was the
Central Pacific, those laying the track must have been Chinese.
(21:17):
Not true on either count. The newspaper reporter, who was
timing the event said, quote, it may seem incredible, but nevertheless,
it is a fact that the whole ten miles of
rail were handled and laid down this day by eight
white men. These men were Michael Shay, Michael Kennedy, Michael Sullivan,
(21:42):
Patrick Joyce, Thomas Daly, George Elliott, Edward Killeen, and Fred mcnamarai.
These eight irishmen and one day handled more than three thousand,
five hundred rails one thousand tons of iron. On May tenth,
eighteen sixty nine, a group of workers and company officials
(22:04):
gather at Promontory Summit, Utah and watch the placing of
the last tie, the fixing of the last rail, and
the presentation of the various precious metal spikes, including the golden.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Spike from California.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Pats Off signals a telegraph operator to all the listening nation.
Prayer is being offered. Several minutes later, telegraph wires hum again.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
We have got none, praying.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific has the honor of
driving in the golden spike, actually tapping in the golden
spike with a mallet. It's too soft to be driven
with a sledgehammer. After the ceremony, all tap in the
golden spike is removed and a steel spike set in
its place. Stanford now takes a mighty swing with a
(22:56):
sledgehammer and missus. Thomas Durant of the Union Pacific takes
a mighty swing and missus with the count h and two,
a crew chief steps forward and drives a spike home.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
The Central Pacific.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Locomotive number one nineteen and the Union Pacific locomotive Jupiter
steam forward and touch cowcatchers. Their engineers have the first drinks,
and then the celebration becomes general. The entire United States celebrates.
Chicago makes a procession seven miles long. New York hangs
(23:35):
out bunting, fires one hundred guns and holds church services.
Philadelphia rings the Liberty Bell. Hundreds gather in the streets
of Buffalo and sing the Star Spangled Banner. In Sacramento
and San Francisco, people are celebrating until dawn and Leland Stanford,
Carlas Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker are.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
The heroes of the hour.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
The building of the trans Continental Railroad is the greatest
engineering and construction project up to that time in American history.
California had been isolated from the United States, despite the
Gold Rush and the admission of California to the Union. Now,
the completion of the trans Continental Railroad shatters that barrier
(24:26):
of isolation. Personally, Stanford, Huntington, Hopkins, and Crocker are transformed
from four middle class Sacramento businessmen into the Big Four.
They do not rest on the Laurels, but forge ahead
and form a second company, the Southern Pacific Railroad. They
(24:46):
laid tracks through California and eventually across Arizona, New Mexico,
and Texas until the mid eighteen eighties. In the arrival
of the San Fe Railroad the Big Four heaven monopoly
of rail tra exportation in California. The monopoly and the
wealth and power it gives them makes them truly the
(25:07):
Big Four, but with that comes critics and enemies. Though
president of both the Central Pacific and the Southern Pacific,
Stanford finds time to develop two wineries and a racehorse
breeding farm, and to build a mansion on Knob Hill
in San Francisco. He also becomes the president of a
(25:28):
steamship line. In eighteen eighty five, he is elected to
the US Senate. Also in eighteen eighty five, he establishes
Stanford University in honor of his son Leland Stanford Junior,
who died the year before of typhoid fever. Stanford donates
ekereachs for the university from his racehorse facility, which explains
(25:52):
why Stanford University's nickname the Farm. Stanford also donates about
two billion in today's money to fund the university. Stanford
dies at sixty nine years old in eighteen ninety three.
Collins Ennington continues as lobbyists for the Central Pacific and
(26:14):
the Southern Pacific Railroads in Washington, d C. Suspicions abound
that he greases the palms of congressmen, but nothing has
ever proved. In eighteen ninety one, he completes the building
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad across Virginia and through
West Virginia to the Ohio River. At the Ohio River,
(26:36):
he builds town of Huntington and develops it as an
industrial center. He also builds shipyards at Newport News and
several short lines throughout Virginia. Huntington's activities contribute to an
economic boom. Huntington donates tens of millions in today's dollars
to the building and maintenance of schools, museums, libraries, and
(27:00):
parks in Virginia. One of the schools that benefits enormously
from Huntington's bargesse is the Hampton Institute, Virginia's first Black college.
Huntington dies at seventy eight years old in nineteen hundred.
Most of his vast art collection goes to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York. Proceeds from the sale
(27:24):
of his Fifth Avenue mansion go to Yale University. Mark
Hopkins continues his role managing the financial affairs for the
Central Pacific in the Southern Pacific. His sage advice keeps
his partners from making rash moves with their new wealth.
He donates to various charities and begins a building a
(27:45):
mansion on nob Hill, but he dies at age sixty
four in eighteen seventy eight. His wife Mary finishes the
mansion and lives there until her death in eighteen ninety one.
The mansion is destroyed in the earthquake and fire of
nineteen six. The Mark Hopkins Hotel is later built on
(28:05):
the site. What is the penthouse suite at the top
of the hotel is converted in nineteen thirty nine to
a grand cocktail lounge and restaurant called the Top of
the Mark. When World War Two erupts, it becomes tradition
for couples to have their last dinner, drink, and dance
together at the Top of the Mark before the serviceman
(28:28):
departs for war. In the Pacific, Charles Crocker continues supervising
construction for the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific. He founds
towns along the Southern Pacific route across Arizona, New Mexico,
and names one of them Deming, in honor of his
wife's maiden surname. He serves for a time as president
(28:51):
of Wells Fargo. He buys controlling interest in the Woolworth
National Bank, reorganizes it, and names it Crocker Bank. In
eighteen eighty six, while visiting in New York, his carriage
overturns and he is seriously injured. He never recovers and
dies at age sixty five.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
In eighteen eighty eight.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
He leaves behind in the state valued at four hundred million,
something like six billion in today's dollars. Leland, Stanford, Collis Huntington,
Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker where real life hori show
alger characters who arose from humble beginnings to power and wealth.
(29:37):
They were emblematic of other larger than life figures who
arrived in the Old West when it was a wilderness
and helped transform it into a modern society.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
And special thanks to Roger McGrath for telling this story.
The Big Four and the Transcontinental Railroad and it Stephen
Ambrose reminded us in his version of the story, But
those thirty years in American history brought us the telegraph,
the Transcontinental Railroad, the Civil War, and the end of slavery.
And Ambrose called it the most transformational generation in American history.
(30:12):
The story of the Transcontinental Railroad. Here on our American Stories.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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