This graph of the early forms of transportation in the United States fascinates me because it gives a timeline as to when transportation entered the economy, while also showing the efficiency of price dropping within transportation during these times. Specialization provokes revolutions in markets and transport. The westward push along with land sales, are making the country larger. New forms of transportation are needed to reach these new parts. Specialization and trade are what promote growth. External trade widens the market and makes possible greater division of labor and specialization. Internal trade widens the market and makes possible a greater division of labor and specialization. Early on, canals are better. “Will the “Nation” hold? One nation indivisible?” needs efficient …show more content…
Guesstimating, Measuring the Impact of the Railroads (Fogel, Fishlow, Chandler)Impact on Productivity: rrs advance, even though it slowed over time = 2% annually. paving the way for the creation of a NATIONAL MARKET. Many Linkages and a Variety of Impacts: commercial flows, agriculture, industry, labor, finance, conceptions of time, notions of progress, regulation, but by no means “indispensable” to growth. Population growth. Unevenness of patterns and geographical spread Fishlow: cost of moving freight and passengers carried by rail in 1859 estimated as if rrs vanished and shippers relied on wagons; found that higher costs figured to be about 4% GNP in 1859. railroads had 846 miles of tracks, and 26 different types of bonds payable in British pounds, U.S.dollars, and gold. responsibility for 14 different bonds of leased companies, in addition to 6 mortgage bonds and equipment certificates. Investment banks and investment bankers: make loans by creating securities (e.g. bond issues) and selling the loan as a contract in the market place. Commercial banks: loan assets that they
Virtually almost every railroad corporation owner(s) went bankrupt, some multiple times. Regardless of this these owners still managed to acquire a fortune with the help of corruption and government subsidies as the back-bone
2. In what ways did development in transportation bring about economic and social change in the United States in the period 1810-1840? Thesis: The developments in transportation in the early 19th century brought about the completion of new canals and roads, these developments linked the east to the west an example of this on page 161 in amsco is “The completion of the Erie canal in New York state in 1825 was a major event in linking the economies of western farms and eastern cities” This is showing that transportation simulates an economic dependency of the cities on the farms in which they are receiving goods from.
The railroad turned the city into a mining agriculture and a retail center (Doc D). This shows that the Transcontinental Railroad
In the 1840s, the steamboat was a very common mode of transportation along the rivers of south-central states. This, of course, resulted in increased business on and around the rivers that run through America. Another transportation mode that was boosted by the expansion was the railway system, as significant numbers of Americans desired to move West. As the century progressed, the railroad system began to expand to help transport both people and large amounts of agriculture goods from place to place. Not only did the expansion of the agricultural industry boost America’s economy, the continuous Westward expansion attracted more Americans to travel and settle Westward; this resulted in further economic growth due to the nation’s expanding transportation networks, the building of new infrastructure, and the settlement of new towns and communities which relied on goods and services to
Money has always been a big issue, even in today’s society. When a problem emerges we turn to money to try and help us dig our way out. This was the same case for railroads. Due to their expensiveness, investments through the connectedness of the banks and government needed to be issued. “In late 1890 the Interstate-Commerce Railway Association died at the hands of the corporations that formed it…
The differences in these tracks made the it very complicated for the trains to get from one place to another. Often a train would have to be unloaded only to be loaded right back into a different train on a different gauge of rail. About half of all the railroads were using the gauge of 4ft 8 ½ inches following the Civil War and the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad the usage of the gauge of 4foot 8 ½ inches as the standard gauge would become common in almost the entire country. This standard gauge allowed for trains to have an easier time going from place to place. This railway network lowered the cost of shipping long distances along with increasing the speed of
During this time period there were great technological advancements. One of these advancements was railroads. Railroads were a positive change because it helped transport people and goods across the country. Businesses depended greatly upon transportation in order to transport their goods. Despite the positives of railroads, there were negatives.
Transcontinental railroad. In C. L. Clark (Ed.), The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abcamerecon/transcontinental_railroad/0?institutionId=8703 Railroads and Westward Expansion. (2011).
Throughout American History, revolutions in transportation have affected the American society politically, socially and economically. Soon after the war of 1812, American nationalism increased which leads to a greater emphasis on national issues, the increase in power and prevalence of the national government and a growing sense of the American Identity. Railways, canals, and Turnpikes began to increase making many people employed. The era of 1830-1860 represents a shift from agrarianism to industrialism. Overall, during the transportation revolution, construction of turnpikes, roads, canals, and railroads led to the market economy expansion, an increased population in America and alternations of the physical landscape of America.
In turn, railroad companies spent large sums of money purchasing railroad supplies. The cycle of employing large numbers of workers, building the railroads, and spending large sums of money stimulated extraordinary growth in the economy. In addition, railroads caused the remarkable growth of nationwide marketing in America in the late 19th century. Railroads allowed mail-order
According to the article The Railway Journey, modern transportation “created a definite spatial distance between the places of production and the place of consumption did the goods become uprooted commodities” (40 Railroad Journey). Basically, this means that since the railroad allowed goods to be shipped to further distances at faster rates which resulted in mass productions and shipments of goods which resulted in a stable economy for the United
The industrialization of transportation included that building of canals, bridges, and railroads. All of these made travel so much easier in America. Between 1820 and 1860 the industrialization of transportation helped with urbanization in westward expansion. The population in urbanized areas doubled between these years due to easier, cheaper, and faster travel. Not only was it easier for people to travel, but also goods could travel up to ninety percent faster than before letting people out west send their goods to the major towns for profit.
One major industry during this time period was found in the railroad. The of course was also considered the center of national or both financial and political corruption (White, 21). While transcontinental railroads were essential developments for the growth of the United
The first way that the economy was impacted was that with the ease and efficiency of the railroads, they created a large demand for goods and labor because they needed a lot of people to help build the railroads and also needed a large quantity of steel for the rails and wood for the railroad ties. Secondly the railroads created a huge national market because of the simplicity of delivering goods from place to place. The railroads helped the people in even the most rural place prosper with the cost efficient transportation of the trains. From 1830 to 1861, the United States laid aproximately 30,000 miles of railroad track, which led to an increase in demand for coal which was used to produce iron for the
The building of roads, canals and railroads played a large role in the United States during the 1800s. They served the purpose of connecting towns and settlements so that goods could be transported quickly and more efficiently. These goods could be transported fast, cheap and in safe way through the Erie Canal that was built to connect the Great Lakes to New York. Railroads were important during Civil War as well, because it helped in the transportation of goods, supplies and weapons when necessary. These new forms of transportation shaped the United States into the place that it is today.