How Did Railroads Changed America

Have you ever wondered how trains and railroads changed life in America? History argues over the impact of railroads. History claims that the contribution of railroads was crucial in American development. Others, such as Robert Fogel, maintain that the impact of railroad transportation was not as crucial in the development in America (Early American Railroads). The issue may be a controversial one, but the fact remains that train transportation, the building of trains, and the development of the railroad system changed America. The impact of the railroad changed jobs, towns, travel, lifestyles, as well as the physical face of the United States of America.
England developed the first trains and railroads. George Stephenson made the world’s first successful locomotive. (Early American Railroads) The United States were only fifty years old when they bought their first engines from the Stephenson Works in England. The trains were steam powered. Even most of the rails were imported from England till the start of the Civil War. Before trains, travel took great
Yet, during this time of division and conflict, railroads came of age. Trains, railways, depots, railway bridges, and rail systems supplies became a key resource in the Civil War. Trains transported solders, materials, food, non-military people, and raw materials, such as guns and ammunition, that kept the war going forward. As a key resource, the railway system also became a military target (Martin). The Union had a more advanced railway system with more miles of railroad tracks than the South (Railroads in the Civil War). This gave the North a great advantage. By giving the Union this advantage, the North was victorious and the United States was brought closer