Editing First transcontinental railroad (section)

===Possible routes===
The U.S. Congress was strongly divided on where the eastern terminus of the railroad should be—in a southern or northern city.<ref>Zelizer, Julian E. (Ed) "The American Congress: The Building of Democracy". Kerr, K. Austin, Chapter 17: ''Railroad Policy'' (pp. 286–297). New York: Houghton Mifflin Co. (2004). p. 288</ref> Three routes were considered:
* A northern route roughly along the Missouri River through present-day northern [[Montana]] to [[Oregon Territory]]. This was considered impractical because of the rough terrain and extensive winter snows.<ref group=N>Later, the [[Northern Pacific Railway]] (NP) found and built a better route across the northern tier of the western United States from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly {{convert|40|e6acre|km2|abbr=unit}} of land grants, which it used to raise money in Europe. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the [[Great Lakes]] to the [[Pacific Ocean]] on September 8, 1883.</ref>
* A central route following the [[Platte River]] in [[Nebraska]] through to the [[South Pass (Wyoming)|South Pass]] in [[Wyoming]], following most of the [[Oregon Trail]]. Snow on this route remained a concern.
* A southern route across [[Texas]], [[New Mexico Territory]], the [[Sonora desert]], connecting to [[Los Angeles]], California. Surveyors found during an 1848 survey that the best route lay south of the border between the United States and Mexico. This was resolved by the [[Gadsden Purchase]] in 1853.<ref>[https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/gadsden-purchase Gadsden Purchase, 1853–1854] U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian.</ref><ref group=N>The southern route was constructed in 1880 when the Southern Pacific Railroad crossed Arizona territory.</ref>

Once the central route was chosen, it was immediately obvious that the western terminus should be Sacramento. But there was considerable difference of opinion about the eastern terminus. Three locations along {{convert|250|mi|km}} of Missouri River were considered:
* [[St. Joseph, Missouri]], accessed via the [[Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad]].
* [[Kansas City, Kansas]] / [[Leavenworth, Kansas]], accessed via the [[Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad]], controlled by [[Thomas Ewing Jr.]] and later by [[John C. Frémont]].
* [[Council Bluffs, Iowa]] / [[Omaha, Nebraska]], accessed via an extension of Union Pacific financier [[Thomas C. Durant]]'s proposed [[Mississippi and Missouri Railroad]] and the new [[Union Pacific Railroad]], also controlled by Durant.

Council Bluffs had several advantages: It was well north of the Civil War fighting in Missouri; it was the shortest route to South Pass in the Rockies in Wyoming; and it would follow a fertile river that would encourage settlement. Durant had hired the future president [[Abraham Lincoln]] in 1857 when he was an attorney to represent him in a business matter about a bridge over the Missouri. Now Lincoln was responsible for choosing the eastern terminus, and he relied on Durant's counsel.{{cn|date=March 2025}}
[[File:Eastern Terminus.jpg|thumb|The Golden Spike monument located in Council Bluffs, Iowa at the Eastern Terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad.]]
[[File:Golden Spike Monument Plaque.jpg|thumb|Plaque fixed to the Golden Spike monument.]]