The period from 1870 to 1900 was without a doubt one of the most important and influential chapters of American History characterized mostly by rapid industrial development. As large corporations grew during the late 19th century one grew faster and larger than the rest; railroads. The expansion of the American frontier required a means to better transport crops from isolated agrarian communities to larger cities and towns, as well as settle the western plains and the solution lay in railroads;…
In what ways did developments in transportation bring about economic and social change in the United States in the period 1820-1860?…
Railroads In the 1800s, the United States was becoming an industrial country and discovering the country around them. Immigrants and citizens were moving west. Inventors were creating new, easier, and more logical ways of doing things. With all the expansion going on, there needed to be a way for people to get around faster and transport goods.…
Between 1865 and 1890, many railroads were constructed, including the Union Pacific Railroad, the Central Pacific Railroad, and the Northern Pacific, Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific Railroads. These railroads combined became known as the Transcontinental Railroad. The construction of these railroads had a great impact on American society and the economy. America finally became united in a physical sense and the railroad lines created a large market for American raw materials and goods to travel around the country. This increased nationalism and benefited the American economy because Americans were able to become more dependent on goods made in their home country than those made outside of America. The flourishing economy in the late nineteenth century attracted many domestic and foreign investors and business people looking to become a part of the American dream. Most of all, the transcontinental railroad sparked industrialization in post-bellum America. New markets were now able to be reached and raw materials could be delivered to factories faster than ever before. The railroad stimulated mining and farming, allowing farmers to ride out to their land in the West to harvest their crops and then quickly and easily take their crops to market. Railways supported growth in cities and attracted European immigrants to America. Americans divided the country into time zones because of the railways; therefore, we now have an accurate and consistent way of…
In the time of the late nineteenth century, the telecommunication revolution, or globalization, was beginning to make its start in American history. Communication and transportation was becoming faster with the new advances in the technological world. This made large businesses grow, creating large fortunes from the new railroad business However, the farmers if America took a hard hit ti these advances. Food prices were decreasing, and farmers were producing more crops than the economy could consume. Because if the changes in economy, the farmers had grown in discontent with the government, and the fingers were being pointed at the large scale business leaders. In the late nineteenth century, the farmers had a valid reason that big businesses were decreasing away the profits of their work, and into the railroad companies and that banks were taking advantage of the farmers, causing the great agrarian discontent.…
During the mid 1800’s, several inventions and industrial improvements were made that would change life in the United States forever. One of the greatest improvements was that of the railroad. The first documented American railway, which was horse powered, began operating in the year 1810 (Wilson, Pg 20). However, with the invention of the steam engine applied to this concept, the railroad became the quickest and most efficient mode of transportation available. Still, the railroads were just short lines, “connecting city to city, or region to region” (History Alive). However, the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 made it possible to link the nation from sea to sea. The improvement of…
At the beginning of the Civil War the Union and Confederacy both had their own advantages and disadvantages. Neither the Union nor the Confederacy were prepared for war, however the North had a few advantages the South did not. The Union had more soldiers, more factories, and better railroads than the Confederacy. On the other hand, they were defending their homeland, the Confederacy had better morale and drive (Stewart). The higher levels of morale in the South, however, did not make up for their disadvantages in the beginning of the war.…
During the chapter it was mostly about the transportation revolution. The transportation revolution was between 1800 and 1840 and it was basically the time when roads and canals were built to transport different things like people or goods. Next came the Market Revolution this revolution it replaced the hand made products with different power machines that could do more. In the early 19th century the putting out system came about this is when raw goods were made in homes. During the Commercial Agriculture in the old northwest by the 1850 the northwest was the nation’s agriculture heartland.…
Railroads should be considered one of the most revolutionary economic developments of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Railroads needed to carry as much product as possible to make a profit. This lead to the construction of “feeder lines” that connected smaller cities to the main “trunk lines” that serviced the big cities. The growth of the railroads also increased steel production, coal mining, and technological breakthroughs like the air brake and Pullman sleeping car (Hawksworth, 2001).…
Fostering industrial growth was one of the most important targets in the 1800s. In 1820, Henry Clay attempted to do so with his American System with protective tariffs, improvements, and a national bank. The most important and fastest way of this plan was the canal system. Canals such as the Erie Canal paid for construction tolls by connecting the Mississippi River to the Eastern seaboard. Robert Fulton got rid of the need of ground transportation with the invention of the steamboat. The steamboat proved how quick it could travel by traveling from Albany to New York City in 32 hours or so, making American waterways more effective. Industrial shipping began to increase over rivers and cities like St. Louis and Cincinnati grew in population. However, the most significant factor of transportation in the 1800’s was the invention of the railroad. It made land transportation faster, more effective, and less expensive. The North began to also industrialize. These improvements made the North and Midwest the centers of American industry.…
efficient transportation of goods, the sharp economic upturn of the first half of the 19th…
"Developments in transportation, rather than in manufacturing and agriculture, sparked American economic growth in the first half of the nineteenth century." is not accurate. While development in transportation played a fundamental role in America's growth, if it were not for developments in manufacturing and agriculture the new technology in transportation could not have successfully been completed. Without the raw materials, and the products which came out of the early US iron and steel industry, (which were all ultimately determined by the United States agricultural market), the transportation revolution could not have been carried out. Also, with the rapid growth of the agricultural markets, American economic growth boomed. All three factors, (transportation, agriculture and manufacturing) played an equal role in sparking the American economic growth in the first half of the nineteenth century.…
The second half of the nineteenth century was times where factors changed the American city from rural to more of an urban. As immigrations increased, industries were growing with improvements in transportation of railroads and streetcars and these factors all contributed to the changes in the…
The nineteenth century was a time of great changes in politics, economics, and religion. Revolutions overthrew governments. Capitalism forever changed labor. Science took the monopoly of information away from the church. What was once thought of as impossible before became possible in the nineteenth century. The King of France was beheaded. Serfdom was abolished and replaced by wage labor. Science made believers question religious institutions. Almost all aspects of life drastically changed during the nineteenth century, and no aspects were fully safe from changes. To some, order became something to strive for. Radicals came to terms with the massive transformations of the nineteenth century by using the fantastic to imagine a world where…
During the industrial boom in the 1800’s, the main contributing factors to the growth of the country were the railroad, the discovery of oil and the immigration from other countries. Between 1860 and 1900 the urban population more than tripled in city areas. The most common immigrants were Chinese and Irish people. Through the discovery and rapid expansion of oil towns, the railroads and factories were working full pace to keep up with the demand for products. The railroad was also a large contributing factor in the extension of the American country.…