Give Me Liberty Analysis

The Transcontinental Railroad and the Interstate Highway System were not only the two biggest contributions in the history of transportation in the United States but are tremendously similar to each other in how they were built. Both systems were built in times of extremely desperate need of a way of transportation across the country which made them such big advantages to American society. The two systems have been majorly significant tools in the history the United States as well as modern day life.

In the late 1700s, America went through major changes that greatly impacted the way people lived. This was a period of time where new businesses were emerging, technologies were advancing and the cities were becoming more prominent- this period of time from 1750 to 1914 was known as the Industrial Revolution. During this revolution, America went through major changes and the people had to learn to adapt to their new surroundings expeditiously. These advances include different working conditions, living conditions, the urbanization, public health and life expectancy, child labor, working class families and the role of women, the emerging middle class and wealth and income. Some of the mentioned developments were harsh and unacceptable at the time, but all led the way to the modern day America. Industrialization greatly impacted the way Americans lived in the eighteenth and nineteenth century and immensely changed the course of modern day history. Without the

“Although many Americans welcomed the market revolution, others experienced it as a loss of freedom. Especially in the growing cities of the Northeast, economic growth was accompanied by a significant wondering of the gap between wealthy merchants and industrialists, on the one hand, and impoverished factory workers, unskilled dock workers, and seamstresses laboring at home, on the other. (189)."

The period after the civil war saw the United States of America economy transform to become a national economy and an industrial giant. The already existing industries quickly expanded and new ones emerged including steel manufacturing, electrical power, and petroleum refining. This period saw the rapid expansion of the railroad network which would subsequently connect even the remote parts of the country into the national economic grid essentially transforming the regional markets into a national economy. Following the economic expansion, the American society was greatly transformed creating a new crop of wealthy individuals and a dynamic middle class. Additionally, there was a vast expansion of blue collar job opportunities which quickly

To say the time period following the Civil War in the United States involved a lot of change would be a understatement. Between the years 1870 and 1900 the people of the United States lived through a period of great change. Not only did they witness technological advances that would change their daily lives, they also saw new laws and organizations formed. All of this was done in hopes of improving the country. Many of these changes came about because of the type of businesses that were formed. In the post-Civil War United States corporations grew significantly in number, size and influence. Big business had a major impact on the economy and politics in America resulting in changes for many American citizens.

The North and South were both different and similar in how they operated. They were mostly based on the categories of transportation, agriculture, geography/climate, labor/industry, and society during the early 1800’s. These categories decided how much the North and South would progress as the country continued to grow.

The Erie Canal played an enormous part in the economic growth in the United States. The Canal helped to cause an increase in industry along the Hudson River. Now, commercial vessels could travel all the way from the Hudson River to Lake Erie (Doc. 1A). This meant that they could bring goods to the people that couldn’t normally get them, because they were too expensive, or they had no way to get to them. Thousands of settlers began to utilize the Erie Canal to move west (OI). Also, the Canal led to New York having the busiest port in America (Doc. 1B). The New York State Canal Corporation states that “Within 15 years of its opening, New York was the busiest port in America, moving tonnages greater than Boston, Baltimore, and New Orleans combined”

Technology may not seem like it made a huge impact on Western Expansion, but it in fact did. Without the creation and development of railroads, canals and bridges, expansion would have progressed a lot slower and not nearly as efficiently. Railroads allowed farmers to trade crops into the valley and passed the Appalachian’s which were previously off limits due to distance and terrain. Canals are water pathways connecting two bodies of water through a large piece of land. They allowed trade ships to have a shortcut for easier travel on trade voyages. Bridges did the exact opposite of canals, allowing land travel over two bodies of water. This gave traders the opportunity to cross over lakes and large bodies of water, instead of taking the extra

Before the 1800s, there were two early roads, Forbes and Wilderness Road. In 1811, the National Road known as Cumberland Road was built to reach Western settlements, because they needed a road to ship farm products that connect East and West. The National Road passed thousand of wagons and coaches. John F. Stover states in American Railroads, “The rich agricultural production of the country, the small but expanding factories of eastern cities, and the largely untapped natural resources of the nation-all of these called for improvements in transport.”(Stover1) Stover said that transportation was important because of getting goods

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.

The Market Revolution generated a drastic change in the United States economy and altered gender barriers while at the same time accomplishing this in a provocative manner. This economic boom occurred around the first half of the 19th Century. The economic boom was achieved by inventions such as a transcontinental railroad system which resulted in a better transportation system which improved trade and the cotton gin which sped up the rate of removing seeds from cotton fiber. However like what the great Hugo said, “The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced”. That is exactly what happened with this revolution in fact and the progress

Early industrial revolution is using mechanized mass production to instead of hand-crafted works in the development of capitalism. In 1760s, it took place in Britain for the first time. In the middle 19th century, France, Germany, and the United States had completed Industrial revolution. It’s not only a revolution in production technology but also a revolution in the relationship of production. The main content of the following essay will show the reason American industrial revolution happen, three main important progress of American industrial revolution, the influence which caused by American Industrial revolution.

The North and South emerged as two differences because they had various differences.These differences included the geography,the economy,societal,and differences in the transportation systems.

The innovation of railroads, in particular, “helped to create new economic methods and institutions that were essential in guiding and shaping the American drive to industrialism” (Chandler 1965, 5). Chandler describes the railroads’ important impact on the “the expansion of wheat and cattle production, the coming of new commercial routes, and the adoption of mass-production methods in the manufacture of iron and consumer durables” (Chandler 1965, 23). These impacts all aided in the Westward movement. As Chandler recounts, “The railroad brought as significant changes to America’s industries as it did to its agriculture and commerce” (Chandler 1965, 22). The railroad revolutionized the transport of supplies that were necessary to industrial growth. By making the travel process easier, the railroads “lowered the final cost of manufactured goods in a number of industries and so increased the demand for their products” (Chandler 1965, 22). The railroad not only affected the West, but also impacted the Northeast, an already successful area financially. Regardless, “this sudden growth of a new transportation system stimulated the swift settlement of the Old Northwest,” an area previously unfamiliar to the effects of financial success (Chandler 1965, 21). The railroad had a profound impact on the financial development of the West, as it opened up new routes and encouraged the settlement of an area new to the effects of

The Market Revolution was a big turning point for the United States in Economic developments for many reasons. The shift from agriculture to more factory life was a huge part in which women were now being sent into the labor force. As well as the idea that people now shifted from the idea of self employment to a boss telling the workers what to do. The South however was more reliant on farming due to the fact that they were slave owning states so their shift to industrialization was not as strong as the North. They did still however receive new and more efficient tools to help with farming such as the metal plow and the cotton gin. The building of canals such as the erie canal helped speed up trade by connecting lakes and ocean helping to lower