Home > Work > Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-69
1 " Leigh Freeman moved his printing press to Laramie and set about publishing the Frontier Index there. In its first issue, May 5 [1868], the paper predicted that Laramie would soon rival Chicago. When it was only two weeks old, the Index boasted, “Laramie already contains a population of two thousand inhabitants. "
― Stephen E. Ambrose , Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-69
2 " But a choice made is made, it cannot be changed. Things happened as they happened. It is possible to imagine all kinds of different routes across the continent, or a better way for the government to help private industry, or maybe to have the government build and own it. But those things didn’t happen, and what did take place is grand. So we admire those who did it—even if they were far from perfect—for what they were and what they accomplished and how much each of us owes them. "
3 " The Indian, in truth, no longer has a country. He is reduced to starvation or to warring to the death. The Indian´s first demand is that the white man shall not drive off his game and dispossesses him of his lands. How can we promise this unless we prohibit emigration and settlement...The end is sure and dreadful to contemplate.General John Pope "
4 " The businessmen spoke little and did much, while the politicians did as little as possible and spoke much. "
