Railroads The first railroads were made in the 1550s, they first started off with wooden tracks with carts on them with a horse or horses pulling (About, inventors). They had the tracks because it was easier to move on the rails instead of the dirt roads. The railroads were called wagonways back in the 1550s (About, inventors). In 1776 the wooden rails were replaced by iron rails and the wooden wheels were replaced with iron wheels to make the railroad more smooth(About, inventors). In 1789 the iron wheels were replaced with flanged wheels, The flanged wheels were iron wheels that grip the track better (About.com,inventors). In 1800s the steam engine was invented for the railroad (Pacific Southwest railway museum association,history timeline). The Civil War was the first war that railroads were a major feature. The armies usually would hang around the railroads during the war because the trains had all of the supplies. They would shoot at the enemy trains because if they destroyed the enemy trains the enemy would be in big trouble, they would not be able to reload their weapons. So the armies would make a big iron shield to protect the trains. The armies would often trick the enemy by going back and forth with the train so the enemy would chase the train to block their supply lines. As the armies and trains move on they have to keep rebuilding the tracks because the enemy has destroys them. They would also start a locomotive down the track to ram the enemy train. They also had armie ready trains where the troops pile out with weapons ready. Some of the army trains would have bags of sand to protect the army's troops because a bullet can't go through the sand bag. There would be small slits on the sides of the trains that th... ... middle of paper ... ...5, 2014, from http://sdrm.org/history/timeline/ Railroads of the Confederacy (2013). In Civil War Trust. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-and-logistics/logistics/railroads.html Railroad towns (1994). In American History. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/essays/1801-1900/the-iron-horse/railroad-towns.php TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD (2014). In History Channel. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/transcontinental-railroad History: 1800's (n.d.). In History of Railroad Unions in the U.S.. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from https://sites.google.com/site/historyofrrunions/home/early-history-1800-1899 Westward Expansion (n.d.). In Ducksters. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://www.ducksters.com/history/westward_expansion/first_transcontinental_railroad.php
The Civil War was unlike any other war ever fought in America and had many effects on the home front for both the North and the South. It is stated to be the first ever total war, which is a war against not only the civilians but also the armies. The Civil War is also considered the first modern war fought by the U.S. troops. Lincoln asked volunteers to sign up for only three months. Many people thought the war wouldn’t last long. However, the war continued on for four years. The Union armies had around 2,500,000 to 2,750,000 men and the Confederate army had approximately 750,000 to 1,250,000 men. The entire North and South society was affected by the war and desired for many social and economic assets. The Civil war brought new military techniques which caused the armaments to be more destructive. Ironclad ships and railroads were sufficiently used within the war. The north had a motive; they wanted to weaken the South’s longing to victory. The North tried to achieve this last motive by inflicting wholesale destruction upon the South (Janda, 1995). More than a hundred people seemed to be spies or secessionists in Maryland. In time, they were arrested due to not being faithful to the union and their state. Pro-secessionist newspapers were shut down, and telegrams and mail were censored (Perret, 2004).
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.
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,
There is one reason Chicago is as big as it is today and that is the fact that it is the largest rail city in the world. The railroad made Chicago what it is today, and although the canal was very important in the history of Chicago the railroads importance out weighs it by far. The canal was important because it was the vision of the first settlers of Chicago to have an all water trade route that would go through Chicago. What those first explorers saw was a way to make a canal so that they could transport goods from the St Lawrence River all the way to the Gulf of Mexico with less cost and with more efficiency. The canal was the reason Chicago was settled in the first place if not for it there might very well not be a city called Chicago. You could argue that the canal was the most important thing in Chicago's history but I think the railroads were much more important. The railroads enabled Chicago to become one of the biggest cities in the world by bringing in different business and all types of goods. Chicago is a very key location to have a railroad-shipping hub. This is because it is centrally located in the United States so goods can be shipped in almost any direction and received in a shorter amount of time. William Butler Ogden was the one who pushed for Chicago to adopt a large rail system and he should be known as the one who made this city boom. St. Louis or another centrally located city could have very well adopted the rail system and they would have reaped all the benefits.
Taylor, George Rogers, and Irene D. Neu. The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1956. Print.
The amount of track in the North completely overpowered the Souths length of track. At the beginning of the war the North had already built about 22,000 miles of track while the South had only built about 9,000 miles. Not only did the North have more track but it had been more strategically placed, so this meant that most of the Northern railroads were connected with other track systems. This meant that if the South took out part of the Norths track the North could still quickly get to their destination.
WriteWork. "The 19th Century 'Railroad Boom.'" WriteWork . N.p., 1 May 2003. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.
The Civil War had many large technological advancements that would greatly evolve warfare. The war introduced the first ironclad ships, the first repeating rifles and carbines, and the first metallic rifle and pistol cartridges. The military didn't solely rely on this new technology, however. Older weapons and other tools were still trusted, such as paper cartridges and smoothbore muskets.
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
Union affiliation was first seen in the 1600’s when the roots of the United States were just being planted with skilled trade groups such as artisans, laborers, goldsmiths and printers. Over the next two hundred years, unions developed their desires for higher wages through the use of strikes and protests. The nation’s progress spurred the need for more labor and so began the Industrial Revolution. During the Revolution, many union members began to witness the power that employers had and as a result decided to make use of the concept of power in numbers. The National Labor Union formed in 1866 and worked to persuade congress to set a Federal eight-hour workday, which applied to government employees (Miller). Many large unions formed following in the NLU’s footsteps and uni...
Seavoy, Ronald E. "Railroads." An Economic History of the United States: From 1607 to the Present. New York: Routledge, 2006. 188-200. Print.
The Transcontinental railroad could be defined as the most monumental change in America in the 19th century. The railroad played a significant role in westward expansion and on the growth and development of the American economy (Gillon p.653). However, the construction of the transcontinental railroad may not have occurred if not for the generous support of the federal government. The federal government provided land grants and financial subsidies to railroad companies to ensure the construction. The transcontinental railroad contributed to the formation of industry and the market economy in America and forever altered the American lifestyle.
“Neither the soldiers nor their officers were prepared for the way technology had transformed warfare.” The civil war was the first major conflict in which the railroad transported troops. This provides the instance for a railroad junction. Civil war should be considered the first modern war because until Abraham Lincoln, presidents didn't get involved as much. Lincoln proclaimed a naval blockade on the South.
White, Richard. “Strike.” Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011. N. pag. Print.
Transportation improved from the market revolution through many new inventions, railroads, steamboats, and canals. Pressure for improvements in transportation came at least as much from cities eager to buy as from farmers seeking to sell. The first railroad built was in 1792, it started a spread throughout the states. Cumberland which began to be built in 1811 and finished in 1852, known to be called the national road stretched over five hundred miles from Cumberland to Illinois. By 1821, there were four thousand miles of turnpike in the United States. Turnpikes were not economical to ship bulky goods by land across long distance across America, so another invention came about. Robert Fulton created steam boats in 1807; he named his first one ‘Clermont.’ These steam boats allowed quick travel upriver against the currents, they were also faster and cheaper. The steamboats became a huge innovation with the time travel of five miles per hour. It also stimulated agricultural economy of west by providing better access to markets at lower cost. While steamboats were conquering the western rivers, canals were being constructed in the northeastern states. The firs...