Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, the United States economy changed dramatically as the country transformed from a rural agricultural nation to an urban industrial gian, becoming the leading manufacturing country in the world. The vast expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s’ changed the early American economy by tying the country together into one national market. The railroads provided tremendous economic growth because it provided a massive market for transporting goods such as steel, lumber, and oil. Although the first railroads were extremely successful, the attempt to finance new railroads originally failed. Perhaps the greatest physical feat late 19th century America was the creation of the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Company, starting in San Francisco, and the new competitor, Union Pacific, starting in Omaha. The two companies slaved away crossing mountains, digging tunnels, and laying track the entire way. Both railroads met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, and drove one last golden spike into the completed railway. Of course the expansion of railroads wasn’t the only change being made. Another change in the economy was immigration. After the depression of the 1890s, immigration skyrocketed from a low …show more content…
Some of these inventions such as the refrigerated railroad cars and the cigarette-rolling machine, formed a basis for new industries and fortunes. As the country expanded and industrialized, increasing emphasis was placed upon mass production and mass distribution. By speeding up production and increased the output of goods, and an industry could lower costs and maximize profits. As a result of mass production, factory owners often found themselves able to produce more goods than the market would absorb, therefore they needed to increase consumer
To urban middle-class Americans of the late 19th century, nothing symbolized the progress of the American civilization quite as much as the railroad. Not only had the great surge in railroad construction after the Civil War helped to create a modern market economy, but the iron horse itself seemed to embody the energy, force, and technology of the new order. In fact, the fanning out of railroads from urban centers was an integral part of the modernizing process, tying the natural and human resources of rural areas to the industrializing core.
Two railway companies competed in this venture: The Central Pacific company laid track eastward from Sacramento, California and at the same time The Union Pacific company began laying track westward from Omaha, Nebraska and when the two lines met, the transcontinental railway would be complete. Each company wanted to cover more ground than the other – not just out of pride and competitiveness, but ...
In Henry George’s article, What the Railroad Will Bring Us, it discusses the main social, political, and economic transformations that the trans-continental railroad would bring to the state of California. More importantly, he discusses not only the benefits, but also discusses the major drawbacks with the arrival of the railroad. Henry George stated the railroad would be the “greatest work of the age” (297). With a railroad stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, multiple benefits would be brought to the state of California. First, the railroad will not only create a new means of transportation across the United States, it additionally would also become “one of the greatest material prosperity” of its time (298). This means more people, more houses,
The end of the Civil War brought a whole new era of economy, political control, and Presidential intervention. The economy emerged from its agriculturally based economy into a flourishing big business dominated world and eventually in 1929 came crashing down. I agree only partially with the quote " The Civil War saw the beginning of an 80-year decline of real individual economic opportunity; nonetheless, the vast majority of Americans continued to profess their belief in individualism as evidenced by the Presidents they elected. Thus, between 1865 and 1939, the majority of Americans accepted big business dominance and rejected all forms of government interference and regulation contrary to individualism."
In early America between the years of 1825-1850, America was rapidly changing and reforming the way people lived. Societal problems and major discrepancies that had previously been overlooked began to rapidly gain awareness. The main idea of the reforms in the United States at this time was the relatively new sense of Democracy. Reform sought to maximize these benefits in light of Democracy and for this reason came up with many changes in which greater good can be found through freedom, justice, and equality of all people.
Taylor, George Rogers, and Irene D. Neu. The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1956. Print.
The growth of government from 1877 through 1920 was the worst example of “America the great exception” because every time the government took one step forward toward making America better, it would inevitably take 5 steps backward.
The Transcontinental Railroad was one of the most ambitious engineering projects, economic stimulants, and efficient methods of transportation in the early United States. If completed, the United States would be truly be united from east to west. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Transcontinental Railroad helped develop new opportunities for many aspects of American life.
All throughout Colorado there has been many developments and expansions. One of these developments is the railroad system. Railroads were and still are such an essential means of transportation for people as well for industries involving coal and fuel, and many other things. There are many key players and developers that took part in revitalizing Colorado in the 1870s. Some of these key players that contributed to the territory’s growth were William A.H. Loveland, Edward L. Berthoud, Henry M. Teller, and William Jackson Palmer.
Seavoy, Ronald E. "Railroads." An Economic History of the United States: From 1607 to the Present. New York: Routledge, 2006. 188-200. Print.
The railroad played a major role in forging the history of many countries including the United States of America. The railroad began to bring people to places that before then where only accessed by weeks of dangerous travel over harsh and deadly terrain. The industrial revolution had ushered in a completely new era. The new era was one of mass production, supply and demand, and new requirements of industry. The growth of industry had created new demands for transit, trade, and more robust supply lines. The railroad boom across the U.S. had spread and proceeded to grow the economy quickly therefore, many people began using the rail roads just as quickly. The rail market continued to grow and by the 1860’s all major cities within the United States were connected by rail.
"Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.)." Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2014.
The first railroad in the United States was built in 1764 in Lewiston, New York. It was a gravity railroad (works with a system of poles and doesn’t need a locomotive) that was used to transport products between the British troops. After 1829 when the first locomotive was incorporated in the country, the railroad industry experienced a great development and many businesses developed with it. The presence of railroads stimulated commerce . Many goods were transported from city to city. The most common ones were cotton (from south to north) and food. This food that was shipped was transported mostly from south to north. Other products like fuel and wood or building materials were transported from north to south. Also gold and fuel was transported from western US to eastern US.
Railroads can be referred to as the first big business, and the first industry to develop management bureaucracy (Ogburn 39). Railroads were a vital part of early American history during the 1800s-1860. The development of Railroads was one of the most important phenomena of the Industrial Revolution. Railroads brought social, economic, and political change to the country (Stover 26). In the United States a turnpike era and then a canal era had immediately preceded the coming of the railroads, which proved to be fast, direct, and reliable in all weather. After 1830 the railroads grew so quickly that within a decade their mileage surpassed that of the canals (Hollingsworth 28).
In the 19th century, America had a basic economy and small industry. It was also a new country, with few customs and traditions. It had not had time to acquire any, because it was still so new. America has grown a lot since then, and a lot of the steps we have taken to get to today's bustling economy and immense industry took place in the nineteenth century. Commerce and industry contributed to America's nineteenth century identity because it provided the framework for a larger economy in the future, helped drive western expansion and growth of cities, made an improved transportation system necessary, and forced many new inventions onto the market