Industrialization In The United Statess
The Growth of Industrialization in the Late 1800’s
In the late 1800’s the United States underwent a major transformation as a country, in becoming the world’s leaders in industrialization. During the early 1800’s the industrial growth was steady but slow and most American companies were still relatively small. It wasn’t until after the Civil War that the United States experienced a huge growth in big business due to innovative new technologies and services most importantly the Transcontinental Railroad and the first electric power grids. These innovations gave way to other new inventions, business entrepreneurs, and business strategies. The Transcontinental Railroad was the missing piece to the puzzle that upon completion caused a chain reaction that led to the growth of the United States economy during that time.
Prior to the Civil War the railroad system stretched between northeastern and southeastern United States. In the early 1863 an ambitious project was started called the Intercontinental Railroad that was to span from the eastern United States all the way to the pacific, but unfortunately the differences between the north and the south caused the progress of the project to slow. Things changed though after the Civil War, with the country working in union the intercontinental railroad went into heavy development. This stimulated the economy creating new job positions in many different fields. The operation required blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, and cooks to name a few job roles apart from the track layers. A work force was formed of approximately 10,000 people, but the majority were Chinese immigrants mostly due to the fact that they were paid much less than other people, due to their immigration status. The work conditions were poor and dangerous and an estimated 2,000 people were said to die in the process. The railroad system took almost ten years to finish but was finally done in 1869, the completion was celebrated with a golden spike set in as the
In the late 1800’s the United States underwent a major transformation as a country, in becoming the world’s leaders in industrialization. During the early 1800’s the industrial growth was steady but slow and most American companies were still relatively small. It wasn’t until after the Civil War that the United States experienced a huge growth in big business due to innovative new technologies and services most importantly the Transcontinental Railroad and the first electric power grids. These innovations gave way to other new inventions, business entrepreneurs, and business strategies. The Transcontinental Railroad was the missing piece to the puzzle that upon completion caused a chain reaction that led to the growth of the United States economy during that time.
Prior to the Civil War the railroad system stretched between northeastern and southeastern United States. In the early 1863 an ambitious project was started called the Intercontinental Railroad that was to span from the eastern United States all the way to the pacific, but unfortunately the differences between the north and the south caused the progress of the project to slow. Things changed though after the Civil War, with the country working in union the intercontinental railroad went into heavy development. This stimulated the economy creating new job positions in many different fields. The operation required blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, and cooks to name a few job roles apart from the track layers. A work force was formed of approximately 10,000 people, but the majority were Chinese immigrants mostly due to the fact that they were paid much less than other people, due to their immigration status. The work conditions were poor and dangerous and an estimated 2,000 people were said to die in the process. The railroad system took almost ten years to finish but was finally done in 1869, the completion was celebrated with a golden spike set in as the