Question

The federal government helped with the building of the transcontinental railroad by _____________________.

• A. providing the railroad companies with free iron and steel.
• B. organizing a publicly owned railroad company.
• C. raising the tariff to fund the project.
• D. providing the railroad companies with land grants.
• E. setting up the Interstate Commerce Commission to oversee the project.

Answer 1

The correct option is D providing the railroad companies with land grants.

The federal government helped with the building of the transcontinental railroad by providing the railroad companies with land grants. The federal government passed the Pacific Railroad Act that provided land grants to railroads. This provided public lands to railroad companies in exchange for building tracks in specific locations.