Historian Talks Transcontinental Railroads | Presidio

Submitted by the Event Organizer

The Presidio Trust proudly inaugurates a new lecture series featuring nationally known historians.

The Transcontinental Railroads and Wars Better Left Unfought: This talk examines the motivations and effects of the transcontinental railroads. Among the justifications for federal funding of the railroads was the need to save California for the Union, but by the time real construction got underway the Civil War was over and California was safe. Promoters then changed their rationale to subduing Indian peoples, but if the railroads had not been built there would have been no need for most of the Indian wars that followed. The railroads were built ahead of demand, floundered in bankruptcy, and created political and economic problems that plagued the West for a generation.

About the Speaker: Richard White, Stanford University

the Margaret Byrne Professor at Stanford University, he is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an Andrew Mellon Distinguished Achievement Award. His books have won numerous prizes. His latest book is Railroaded.

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