Railroads During The Second Industrial Revolution

During the second industrial revolution the American economy had an explosion of growth, many historians attribute this growth to the construction of the railroads. This attribution is due to the many benefits that arose during the construction and development of railroads. The railroads allowed widespread migration from east to west that allowed for greater exploitation of western pastures. Railroads also allowed for industrial innovations through the use of technical knowhow developed during construction. There has been a challenge the assertion that railroads played a great importance in American economic development.

Fogel attempts to use statistical analysis to determine the true importance of the railroad to the American