 Benjamin became interested in strengthening trade connections between New Orleans and California , and promoted an infrastructure project to build a railroad across the Mexican isthmus near Oaxaca . This would speed passenger traffic and cargo shipments . According to The New York Times , in an 1852 speech to a railroad builders ' convention , Benjamin said this trade route " belongs to New Orleans . Its commerce makes empires of the countries to which it flows . " Benjamin lobbied fellow lawmakers about the project , gained funds from private New York bankers , and even helped organize construction crews . In private correspondence he warned backers of problems ; project workers suffered yellow fever , shipments of construction materials hit rough seas , and actions or inaction by both U.S. and Mexican officials caused delays and increases in construction costs . Backers had invested several hundred thousand dollars by the time the project died after the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 . 
