Railroad Development

The federal government gave land and made loans to the railroad companies. Why was the government so eager to promote the growth of railroads?

The government was so eager to promote the growth of railroads for many reasons including:the settling of the west and the development of the country. The railroads allowed settlers and the people to move to the west and begin anew or prosper. Many people like the idea of settling west and starting their lives over. With many people settling in the west it helped develop the country by their profits and expansion, or making the country bigger. Also, the railroads helped develop the country. After the railroads were built many towns began to build up making the population and country bigger. The railroads also enabled the country to sell, or market many products from all over the country; in short it made the country profit. With the profits and growing population the country began to prosper and develop. In summary, the government was so eager to promote the growth of railroads because it let the settlers and people know that there was fantastic land to settle into, or it made expansion of the west increase in population, and the promotions of the railroad helped develop the country by making it profit and prosper.