ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the golden spike,

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the most highly valued volleyball move in the game.

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The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad as depicted

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in the painting is an example of what emerging political

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trend of the late 19th century?

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And here are your potential answers.

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So what exactly is this question asking?

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We know that expanding the railroads westward was, well,

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expansive. It involved new immigrants laying the tracks,

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members of Congress providing incentives,

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and wealthy industrialists counting each and every dollar they made. Ooh.

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So we just need to figure out which answer best reflects

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this enormous effort to make sure the trains ran on time.

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Was the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad

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a reflection of A -

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the reluctance of Congress to invest in large-scale infrastructure?

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Quite the opposite. Congress not only endorsed the railroads,

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but they also gave them millions of dollars in land and subsidies

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in the process. So that means A and D are both out of the question.

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Did laying the last spike of the First Transcontinental Railroad reflect

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B - the refusal of companies to compromise with local legislatures?

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Well, actually, railroad companies and local legislatures

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cooperated all the time. Probably a bit more than they should've.

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In the Credit-Mobilier scandal,

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the Union Pacific Railroad set up fake corporations,

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gave legislatures stock in exchange for land,

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and for political favors, and then reported false earnings,

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causing the stock to soar and get everyone rich.

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Except the taxpayers, who eventually had to foot the bill.

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Sounds like a solid business plan, fellas.

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All right, well that means the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad

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was a reflection of C - the growing interconnection between

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big business and politicians. Cha-ching.

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In the late 19th century, it was all aboard with the big business

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gravy train and politicians were no exception.

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Corruption was rampant and politicians went out of their way

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to befriend the tycoons, hoping they might have a

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favor should they ever find themselves out of a job.

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So the correct answer is C.

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Seems like pretty much everyone was on the wrong side of the tracks.

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[ train runs ]

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