When the signal from the spike came through, the cannons fired. The world was put on notice: the transcontinental railroad was completed and America was moving to the forefront of the world's stage.

Harper's Weekly reported on the progress of the transcontinental railroad throughout its construction. These excerpts, organized chronologically, report on conflicts with Native Americans ...

More than 1,500 laborers, at least 1,000 of whom were Chinese, under the direction of former Central Pacific Railroad worker ...