Cooper on Jefferson Davis:
[Davis] "also continued his vigorous support for a transcontinental railroad, built with federal assistance.
As before, he struggled against his strict-constructionist associates, who did not think the federal government should aid railroads.
Again, Davis based his contention on requirments for defense and federal ownership fo the territories.
To avoid the problems of selecting a route, he suggested authorizing private companies to present plans..."
There were three main proposed routes, northern, central and southern, of which, of course Davis supported the southern route, and stood to benefit hugely from its passing by his plantation just south of Vicksburg.
Some have argued, seriously, that the really, really real reason for secession & civil war was the transcontinental railroad route.
All the North had to do was agree to Jefferson Davis' Southern route and all those other problems (slavery) would melt away.
A little hard to make out, this is the actual 1855 map prepared for Secretary of War Jefferson Davis showing various possible routes for the transcontinental railroad.
Naturally, Davis favored the Southern route through Vicksburg which passed near his family's Brierfield plantation.
This map shows the actual 1861 railroads running north-south and east-west near Vicksburg.
