MCAP Social Studies Grade 8 Practice Test

Two railroad companies built the Transcontinental Railroad. One began in Sacramento, California and pushed eastward, while the other started in Omaha, Nebraska and moved westward. They met at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869, completing the first continuous line across the United States. The Central Pacific Railroad carried out the western portion, relying heavily on Chinese labor, while the Union Pacific Railroad carried out the eastern portion with Irish workers and Civil War veterans. This huge project was funded by the Pacific Railway Acts, which provided land grants and government bonds to support construction. That combination—Central Pacific from the west and Union Pacific from the east—is why those two names are the answer. The other options involve a canal or companies that did not participate in building the transcontinental crossing.