How Did The Railroads Affect The Economy

The Transcontinental Railroad had a drastic effects on many aspects of life during the 1860s, including society, the economy, and the Native Americans’ way of life. These are just a few of the ways the Transcontinental Railroad changed the world. Native Americans were forced to relocate, society had a new outlook on life, and the economy had been boosted almost incalculably.

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 the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous. With the advent of the railroad, many of these issues disappeared. Railroads had a major impact on advancing the American economy, transforming America into a modern society, and improving an antiquated transportation system.

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

Just as the railroad created economic growth it also brought a lot of corruption with it. The railroad companies were given government bonds that were funded by the taxpayers and they were also given enormous amounts of land to build on. There was little incentive to function efficiently or responsibly. ‘Stocks were manipulated, as bosses bought struggling eastern rail companies, spread rumors that the railroad line would link to these companies.’ (Coffey, W, Corruption and the Transcontinental Railroad, http://waltercoffey.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/corruption-and-the-transcontinental-railroad/).

Industrialization had a positively impact on U.S because Automobiles, Captain Of Industry , and light bulb and Electricity. The industrialization happened in the 1800’s. There was a lot of events that happened in this time period.

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.

When railroads were invented in America, and first started being used commercially and for businesses, it was a major technological leap. They created a huge demand for goods. They also needed a lot of steel to make the rails and trains, which benefited Carnegie a lot. Prior to the building of railroads in the USA, starting in the 1830’a with the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, things like clothes, food, letters, livestock could take months, and in some cases, even a year to get form the East coast to the West coast or vice versa. However, after people

Even though the railroad existed before the great division between the north and the south and it mainly contributed in providing goods for both sides, the invention of the railroad greatly contributed to the civil war. The first railroad created in the US was in 1827 and their major role was to transport goods from the North to the South and back. As slaves became more abundant in the South and less present in the North a war began on the idea of slavery. The railroad caused this Civil War by bringing goods to only one side and keeping their advantage. It went from having different point of views to all out battles that started with starvation and isolation, but led to death and separation.

The late nineteenth century dealt with the railroads. They were important to economic expansion. The railroad was first made in Britain. A man named George Stephenson was able to successfully use the steam technology of the time to create the first locomotive. Americans came to England to see this, and they were impressed because railroads dropped the cost of carriage by 60-70 percent.

There were many groups living in the United States between 1860 and 1900 and most of the groups we can categorize people into had very different viewpoints. The main groups that most can be categorized into are the wealthy, the common people, the Indians and the Chinese. Starting with the wealthy they looked at the west as a big fat paycheck, the wealth folks went out west and bought up lots of land and production and monopolized, while the common people competed with these big companies for free and cheap land because they were the poor back east and came out west with hopes of finding gold while mining or getting rich off abundant crop land or maybe it was some common women who came out west because they were allowed to purchase land out west. The Indians were native to the west and after immigration started some of the bigger tribes fought back but most tribes were too small and were forced by the American

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

Amid the invention and introductions to the world in the 1800’s especially in the United States, there was a demand for railroads to make traversing the Country easier. They needed a fast way to transport people and goods all around the country, especially between major cities, a great example of this being accomplished is the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. On account of the demand of railroads, there was also a demand for people to work on and build the railroads throughout the country. Railroad work opened up an abundant amount of jobs all around the country which was positive for the nation, but for the people working it was a very physically intensive job and low paying.

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.

Imagine a world where the fastest means of transportation is riding horseback. Without the steam locomotive, that's how life would be. The steam locomotive is a steam train that revolutionized transportation on railways. Despite originating in Britain, railways made a lasting impact in America. The steam locomotive was a major part in the American industrial revolution making transportation easier, cheaper, and faster.