<P> In February 1860 , Iowa Representative Samuel Curtis introduced a bill to fund the railroad . It passed the House but died when it could not be reconciled with the Senate version due to opposition from southern states who wanted a southern route near the 42nd parallel . Curtis tried and failed again in 1861 . After the southern states seceded from the Union , the House of Representatives approved the bill on May 6 , 1862 , and the Senate on June 20 . Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 into law on July 1 . It authorized creation of two companies , the Central Pacific in the west and the Union Pacific in the mid-west , to build the railroad . The legislation called for building and operating a new railroad from the Missouri River at Council Bluffs , Iowa , west to Sacramento , California , and on to San Francisco Bay . A second law to supplement the first was passed in 1864 . </P>
<P> In February 1860 , Iowa Representative Samuel Curtis introduced a bill to fund the railroad . It passed the House but died when it could not be reconciled with the Senate version due to opposition from southern states who wanted a southern route near the 42nd parallel . Curtis tried and failed again in 1861 . After the southern states seceded from the Union , the House of Representatives approved the bill on May 6 , 1862 , and the Senate on June 20 . Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 into law on July 1 . It authorized creation of two companies , the Central Pacific in the west and the Union Pacific in the mid-west , to build the railroad . The legislation called for building and operating a new railroad from the Missouri River at Council Bluffs , Iowa , west to Sacramento , California , and on to San Francisco Bay . A second law to supplement the first was passed in 1864 . </P>
who signed the order to build the transcontinental railroad
who signed the order to build the transcontinental railroad
Lincoln
Lincoln