I'd say because he was trying to convince people that slavery was wrong. He was steering the ship and the ship is the people, he was steering them in the right direction about slavery.
They were mostly from china, building the railroad was the easiest way for them to settle in America and make a living.
After the crash, thousands of American banks closed, because they B) could not return depositors' money.
They didn't have any choice but to close down, given that there was no money left to return to anyone.
