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Contributions of the transcontinental railroad
Contributions of the transcontinental railroad
Contributions of the transcontinental railroad
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Recommended: Contributions of the transcontinental railroad
American History Terms
1. Government role in RR building- Congress was impressed by arguments supporting military and postal needs and began to advance liberal money loans to two favored cross- continent companies in 1862 and added enormous donations of land and tracks. Within the routes the RR’s were allowed to choose alternate mile- square sections in checkerboard fashion
2. Significance of Transcontinental RR- A magnificent engineering feat- most impressive peacetime undertakings. Welded West Coast firmly to the Union. Facilitated flourishing trade with Asia. Stimulated growth with the West. Architectural feat- increased nationalism. Huge fortunes, jobs.
3. Stock watering - favorite device of the moguls of manipulation. Originally meant the practice of making cattle thirsty by feeding them salt and then having them bloat themselves with water before they weighed in for sale. Using a variation of this, RR stock promoters grossly inflated their claims about a given line’s assets and profitability and sold stocks and bonds far in excess of the RR’s actual value.
4. Secret Rebates – kickbacks given to powerful shippers in return for steady and assured traffic- not given to everyone. Often slashed prices on competing lines, but more often mad up the difference on noncompeting ones
5. Wabash Case - 1886 Supreme Court ruled that said individual states had NO power to regulate interstate commerce. This would be done by the federal gov’t
6. Interstate Commerce Act - Prohibited rebates and pools and required the railroads to publish their rates openly. Forbade discrimination against shippers and outlawed charging more for a short haul than for a long one over the same line. Created Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to enforce and administer the new legislation. It did not really beat corporate wealth, but it did provide a forum where businesses could resolve their conflicts peaceably.
7. Vertical and Horizontal integration - vertical integration was combining into one organization all phases of manufacturing from obtaining raw materials to marketing. It made supplies more reliable, controlled the quality of product at all states of production, and cut out middlemen’s fees and was perfected by Carnegie. Horizontal integration was consolidating with competitors to monopolize a given market, used a lot by Rockefeller.
8. Trust’s benefits – Gave consumers a superior product at a relatively cheap price. The efficient use of expensive machinery called large-scale production and consolidation proved more profitable than ruinous price wars.
9. Sherman Anti-Trust Act – 1890 – forbade combinations in restraint of trade, without any distinction between “good” and “bad” trusts.
Did the Constitution implicitly prohibit or exclude states from passing laws that have to do with commerce? Is the ability to regulate interstate commerce a concurrent power of the state, or only reserved to the federal
Regulating commerce between nations could not exclude laws concerning navigation because this would mean no regulation on boats traveling into and out of states, which the states had been exercising since the “commencement of the government.” The Court argued Article I, section 9 discussing port preferences and paying taxes directly related to navigation and this was proof the Constitution itself discussed navigation in relation to commerce. Chief Justice Marshall also argued the power of commerce was not just with foreign countries, but also within the United States itself. This meant Congress could use their power within the states to regulate commerce. Congress’ power to regulate was plenary and had no limitations other than those the Constitution defined. Therefore, Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce. The Supremacy Clause made the act of congress superior to the New York statute, invalidating the New York
What were the benefits and drawbacks of having a railroad run through your city in the 1800s?
The Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914 has 26 sections describing laws which “protects trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies” (63rd Cong.,Sess. II, 1914). The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division are bodies that enforce the federal antitrust laws which are deeply rooted in the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 and the Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914.
The Pacific Railroad bill of 1862 launched the transcontinental railroad construction project. The Pacific Railroad bill granted 6,400 acres of public lands and government loans ranging from $16,000 to $48,000 per mile of track completed to the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad companies. (Pacific Railroad Bill) Following the Pacific Railroad bill a series of federal and state acts between 1862 and 1871 granted more than 130 million acres of public land and supplied additional monetary loans of approximately $150 million dollars to the expansion of the railroads. (Gillon p.652)
restricting competitors of having an equal opportunity of the free market. This is all because
Industrialization through the late 1800 took the nation by storm, with increases to industry, manufacturing, transportation and banking. These advancements transformed the American way of life and led to establishing the United States as a global commerce player. Many people can clearly see the physical transformation that occurred, but miss the effects that this industrialization had on the business structure. As corporations continued to grow in size, to match the demand, fundamental changes in their structure and the day to day operations were forced to change with it. The concepts of vertical and horizontal integration are two concepts that were implemented to continue the profitability of these corporations. Both of these concepts
Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act in 1862, which marked the beginning of the first transcontinental railroad (Duran). The 1860s is a difficult decade in the American history. The Civil War between the North and the South causes many hardships within the country. The nation is at war with itself, quickly exhausting the government’s funds while thousands of men are dying. Consequently, the nation has fewer men to build cities and railroads, less money to pay off debts, and the citizens have less trust in their political leaders. Despite the current issues the country faces, the Transcontinental Railroad is still being worked on tirelessly. The use of Chinese laborers is necessary to replace the diminishing availability of American workers. Chinese railroad workers also demand smaller wages, which in turn save the companies money (the book). The railroads are a dangerous place for any worker to be. Countless workers die as a result of the weather, lack of enough food and water, and the use of dynamite to make paths through the mountains. Due to the Civil War, the government’s financial resources are slowly diminishing. Therefore, the Congress pays the railroad companies with federal land to settle their debts. Although the country seems divided because of the war, it is soon reunited with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.
The commerce clause gives power to the government over the states. This was established in the Gibbons v. Ogden case in 1824. Gibbons and Ogden both were running their steamboats along the same route, on the Hudson River, which was between New Jersey and New York. Ogden received an injunction through a New York state court. This injunction concluded that Ogden had exclusive rights by the state to operate that route.
One of America’s oldest railroads, known as the first common-carrier railroad, was chartered on February 28th 1827, by a group of Baltimore businessmen. The main objective of the railway was to ensure traffic would not be lost to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, which was proposed and ground broken the same time as the railroad. The new railroad was a big invention, which allowed people and freight to travel by train. This was a huge improvement for the United States, since everything was becoming more advanced in other countries. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company is the great railroad that owns up to the big title of “The First Common Carrier.” The B&O railroad has a rich history dealing with its background, building, competition, growth tactics, numerous raids, and involvement in the Civil War.
As developments were made in the transportation industry people’s lives changed rapidly. States tried to improve their roads to make traveling on them much safer and more comfortable. The federal government funded a National Road in 1808 which cost them $7 million (Faragher 386). It connected the country from east to west and allowed for easier travel across the country. This showed the nation’s commitment to developing the country and helped develop a feeling of nationalism among the people. People also moved more freely across the country. They expanded their horizons and learned more about life in different parts of the country.
According to a North American dictionary entry vertical integration is defined as “merging of companies in supply chain: the merging of companies that are in the chain of companies handling a single item from raw material production to retail sale” (“Vertical Integration,” 2009). Though the definition of vertical integration is quite simple the concept is much more complicated than one may think. There are four strategic factors that must be established by business leaders before the implementation of vertical integration can take place that must be well-thought-out in order to achieve any level of success. The factors that influence vertical integration are economic, market, operational, and strategic.
Following the civil war, railroad construction took off at a fast pace. In the twenty-five years between 1865 and 1890, the miles of railroad track in the United States went from 35,000 to 200,000. The enormous increase in track produced an increase in America's economy.
...iling industry and the expansion of the west. The railroads helped these industries expand their territories which not only brought wealth to the large companies but, it also helped create jobs for many people. The railroad industry became an important gateway for immigrants because it introduced them to different opportunities of work and living. The railroad industry also helped to pour money into America’s economy. The railroad industry helped raise economic standards and change the way from an economy based on agriculture to an agriculture base on machinery. The railroads united America as a whole. It was the driving force of the industrial revolution that brought America together as a unity. The industrial revolution wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for the railroad industry that changed not only the people but, the country as a whole for the next fifty years.
Vertical integration is the process in which several steps in the production and/or distribution of a product or service are controlled by a single company or entity, in order to increase that company’s or entity’s power in the marketplace. Vertical integration differs across industries, firms within the same industry, and transactions within the firm. A company may expands its operations backward into industries that produces inputs to its products or forward into industries that utilize, distribute or sell it products.