How Did The Transportation Revolution Affect American Society

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.

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.

The US went through revolutionary advancements in transportation from 1800 to 1840. The transportation improvements had substantial effects on the economy and also individual development. People could now buy goods that were made in places faraway because access was easier to towns and cities and people’s experiences grew as they were able to be more mobile (309). The roads were inadequate in 1800, so the federal government funded the National Road in 1808 to establish its dedication to improve the roads in the nation and so then by 1839 the East and West would be tied together (309). Commerce was still inadequate even with the National Road funded which improved transportation. Transportation that was waterborne was cheaper and remained

The 1800s was a very eventful time for American history, consisting of the Industrial Revolution, Civil War, and arguably the biggest change in our society, the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. This extraordinary invention and design allowed for a lot of change in the U.S. This railroad truly paved the way for America’s future, and it instilled a strong sense of pride in the nation. The Transcontinental Railroad was a positive invention because it allowed for longer distance travel, and unified the nation; yet it could be seen as a negative invention because of the disaster it created for the Native Americans and the extermination of buffalo.

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

Throughout history, people have been inventing things to make their lives easier. That drive has produced huge changes in the American life several times over. In the 1700’s, life in America was very difficult. Transportation infrastructure was lacking, which pushed the delivery of goods to be almost exclusively down rivers. Military technology was roughly unchanged since America began, leaving the country open to attack from other nations. And industry was totally undeveloped, forcing households to act as miniature factories, producing almost everything they would need. In the 1800’s though, the lives of nearly all Americans was changed.

In the 19th century, a major way of transportation was crafted. This was called the Erie Canal. This Canal led to great economic growth throughout the United States. For example, the Canal brought in many people through the seaports in New York which made it more busy than it already was (Doc. 1a). This made New York City grow tremendously between 1830 and 1860 (Doc. 1a). The Documents say, “Prior to the construction of the Canal, New York City was the nation’s fifth largest seaport, behind Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New Orleans.” So, before the building of the Canal the port wasn’t very popular. After the building, New York City was the busiest port in America after 15 years of the opening of the Canal (Doc. 1b). Comparing to the

The late 1800s marked the start of the Industrial Revolution for the United States. Prior to the rapid industrialization, people lived in rural communities and manufacturing was done largely by local craftsmen. After the Civil War, certain needs were emphasized such as the need for faster production, transportation, and better communication. All of these needs were met by the Industrial Revolution due to technological advancements. These advancements had great effects on the structure of cities at the time. Around the time of these advancements, immigrants from all over Europe and Asia decided to attempt to make lives for themselves in America. This increase in population also led to changes in the cities, making them more urban. Ultimately, many factors including technological advancements, immigration, and the new laissez-faire government led to fairly extreme changes in American cities in the late 1800s.

Alexander Hamilton’s innovative vision has remained relevant throughout the development of the United States’ financial system. The First Bank of the United States, championed by Hamilton, serves as the first model for the American financial system and banking structure. Remnants of Hamilton’s framework endure to this day. After nearly eight decades without a central bank, Congress revived Hamilton’s “notion of a centralized, quasi-governmental bank” in 1914, when the Federal Reserve System was created (Davies). Even so, Hamilton’s vision never fully disappeared. In the nineteenth century, bank lending “spurred business growth, planting the seeds for the nation’s flowering into an economic power after the Civil War” (Davies). Hamilton’s vision

Modern day America is an economic superpower. However, one and a half centuries ago, this was not the case. In the late 1800’s there was a large boom in terms of population and industrialization in the United States. From this stemmed many new technological innovations, innovations which could be applied to the creation of alluring products for the masses. This led to the rise of a prominent American consumer culture, which was a driving force in the great economic growth of the Gilded Age.

The time period from when the Second Industrial Revolution was beginning, up until President McKinley’s assassination in 1901, is known as the Gilded Age. After the Civil War, many people headed out West to pursue agriculture, and many immigrants moved to urban areas to acquire jobs in industrial factories. It is in this context that farmers and industrial workers had to respond to industrialization. Two significant ways farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age, were creating the Populist Party and the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

In 1694, Thomas Savery invented what would revolutionize the united states indefinitely, he called it the steam engine. This invention lead to the first steam engine locomotive which many would say was a beneficial turning point in the industrialization of america’s economy,allowing the steam engine to be used on the railways. Although the railroads did impact the United States and certain groups in positive ways,there were also negative effects that occurred.

During the first American Revolution the American population especially in the cities grew to new heights. Many of those cities grew to the those sizes because of their the location near ports, the changes in transportation methods and immigrants looking for jobs in the factories. The most notable of all the cities in America,was the city of New York. With the city's location on the Atlantic ocean helped the city directly to trade with foreign nations. New York city was first affected by the development of canals that were being built.The Erie canal that connected to the Hudson river and down to New York city, helped connect the middle of the country to New England through that one port. The major growth of the city helped attract

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.

Great Britain was the first state to have an Industrial Revolution after 1750. One of the main reasons was due to the farming growth in Great Britain. There were many changes that were happening to the farming industry and livestock that led to the rise of food production (Spielvogel 597). The British were able to feed their citizens for a cheaper cost than most of Europe. The British did not have to spend most of their income in purchasing groceries.