To what extent was the 1862 Pacific Railway Act responsible for westward migration? ATFP (Address the full prompt) and defend yoir amswer with at least one specific piece of evidence.

The Pacific Railway Act and its amendments were a series of congressional acts supporting the construction of a transcontinental railway line across the United States, allowing the issuance of government bonds and the granting of land for the benefit of the railways. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 was the original act. It was later amended and expanded in 1863, 1864, 1865 and 1866.

With the enactment of this law and its modifications, the railroad line of the United States was expanded throughout the center and west of the country. In this way, cities were created on the side of the roads, both by those who worked in the construction of the railway line and by those who obtained land through the Homestead Act.

The Pacific Railway Act was an act that authorized the building of the railroad from Omaha to Sacramento. This provided new avenues of migration and also immigration into the American interior.

People saw an opportunity there, with new technology in agriculture, they could transport their goods in the new railways and get more money for it.

With the Homestead Act (1862) the West developed quickly, 160 acres of land was offered for anyone who would pay 10$, live in the land for five years cultivating and improving it. All of this encouraged Americans and foreigners to move and develop those lands.