The Industrial Revolution was a prosperous time for the western civilizations beginning in 1760 and ending between 1840 and 1860. The invention of railroads began in England, but was brought to the United States in the early 1800’s. In 1815, Colonel John Stevens got the first railroad charter with New Jersey Railroad Company, although a single train track was not laid until 1832 (www.american-rails.com/railroad-history.html). Therefore, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company built the first railroad in 1827. The machine was purchased from the Stephenson Works in England.
The railroad was first designed by George Stephenson whose original idea was to use steam to run the train and make transportation faster. When the US started using railroads and trains they purchased them from the Stephen Works company from Britain. “In the 1850s a boom in railroad development across the North was changing business organization and management and reducing freight costs. Railroads were influencing a rise in real estate values, increasing regional concentrations of industry, the size of business units and stimulating growth in investment banking and agriculture.
The Second Industrial Revolution affected the North, South, West, and Midwest in several ways. New unions and laws were introduced. More issues regarding differences in culture and social classes arose. Economies developed greatly with efficient farming technologies and manufacturing industries. Populations had major changes with increased amounts of people in urban areas around cities, and increased amounts of immigrants.
During the Gilded Age, many fortunes were made by the railroad system. The increased construction of railroads provided the transportation of people, supplies, and trading goods. The movement of people from the east to the west allowed for increased populations and the spread of their culture. The railroad system provided a service that could quickly and cheaply move supplies across America. The Manifest Destiny was also fueled by the railroad system in the sense that Americans felt it was their duty to spread the knowledge and teach other races.
The rail system allowed people and manufactured goods to be transported quickly and for long distances. This was significant for who had migrated due to the discovery of resources such as iron and gold (Railroads and Westward Expansion,
The industrialization period was regarded as an amazing period of growth in America. The population was growing at a rapid rate. The building of railroads contributed largely to the Industrialization, expansion from about 30,000 miles of track before the Civil War to nearly 270,000 miles in 1900. The abundance of natural resources: coal, iron, timber, petroleum and waterpower contributed to this remarkable growth. Labor was in high demand to run these new factories.
The building and development of the railroad in all parts of the country were one of the most remarkable developments of the Industrial Revolution. With its creation and active operation, they brought significant change to the economy, society and the political world. The first railroads were built in Great Britain. America got the idea to construct them at home when they visited England and saw the impressive drop of shipping costs when it was done by railroads instead of by carriage, nearly a 60%-70% decrease. The first railroads in America were extremely successful.
With more railroads being built, it helped to establish the United States, and industries in the West used the railroads to connect industry to retail markets in Eastern United States. Without railroads, it would have been hard for the Western States to expand.
3. Despite the initial sentiment of economic historians, the railroad was not an integral part of American economic development after 1860. Even though the railroads were not crucial to economic growth does not negate the fact that the railroads were the first big business in the United States. The railroads benefited from economies of scale, increases in technology and pro-railroad legislation. The miles of track line increased exponentially from 30,000 miles of main line track in 1860 to 254,037 miles by 1916.
The two primary reasons for the railroads was civilian transport and
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 building of railroads created rapid economic growth in America. Railroad companies employed more than one million workers to build and maintain railroads. At the same time, coal, timber, and steel industries employed thousands of workers to provide the supplies necessary to build railroads (Chapter 12 Industrialization).
The company had trouble finding reliable labor, many men would use them for a free ride into the mountains and then would quit the project in hopes to find gold in the mountains. “Sometimes construction was sabotaged by Native Americans who were angry with the United Sates Government. The Native Americans lived on the land the railroad companies were now building through-land
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
Steam Locomotive Impact on American Industrial Revolution 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.
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.
