Railroad Expansion Essay

2247 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: 4 negatives of the transcontinental railroad

Expansion of The Railroad in America
Railroads made a huge contribution to the growth of the United States, they led to many advances throughout American History. There were numerous matters the railroads effected in American development and the framework of the country. The railroad had positive and negative effects on America as a whole through the growth of the industry, such as; encouraged western expansion, enhanced the economy, recognized railroad monopolies, assisted the Union in Civil War, helped keep the country together, and created a high expense cost for the nation. The railroad coexisted with Western Expansion, the railroad allowed for quicker travel and Western Expansion allowed for the railroad business to progress. The Transcontinental Railroad was a product of Western Expansion and the construction of more railroads. The Transcontinental Railroad began to be built after the Pacific Railroad Act passed in 1862, that promoted and aided the construction of this railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad was built to link the east to the west in the United States. The Central Pacific and The Union Pacific Railroad Companies were appointed the task of completing the railroad where they would race to finish first and reach the west coast. Before the …show more content…

This also attracted immigrants to move westward, the railroad owners sold off excess land to them for inflated prices. The new railroads also provided access to goods for their farm and/or house from other cities. The railroads provided great help to the homestead, they even delivered houses by the rails. There was great expansion with the mixture of the Homestead Act and the railroad, “over 1.6 million homestead applications were processed and more than 270 million acres—10 percent of all U.S. lands—passed into the hands of individuals” (National

Show More
Related

  • Chinese Labor Contribution to the Central Pacific Railroad

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Act of 1862 called for construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast. So on January 8, 1863, with a ground breaking ceremony in Sacramento, Central Pacific Railroad started work on the western end of the Transcontinental Railroad.

    Read More

  • The Affect of Railroads on Chicago

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The American West: A Land of Opportunity

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    The availability of inexpensive land in the American West provided opportunity for many Americans to fulfill the American dream of individualism, economic opportunity and personal freedom. Immigrants, former slaves and other settlers moved across the country to become western farmers and ranchers to make a new life. One of the reasons why the west was a land of opportunity for the farmers and ranchers was the large quantity of cheap available land. This allowed for many Americans, both rich and poor, to buy land for farming and raising cattle. The Homestead Act of 1862 aided the process. The Homestead Act gave title to 160 acres of federal land to farmers who staked a claim and lived on the land for five years. Alternatively, a farmer could buy the land after six months for $1.25 an acre. Many blacks and immigrants joined the westward expansion, looking for a better life. Immigrants saw the land as opportunity because many could not own land in the countries where they were born. For example, in Nebraska, a fourth of the population was foreign born. These immigrants transformed...

    Read More

  • Changes In Us Foreign Policy Between 1880 And 1910

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1880's and 1890's, the United States focused on broadening their territory and expanding their country westward. During the early part of the decade, a vast amount of land was disappearing due to the fact that millions of people were moving west looking for gold mines and new farmland. The government was encouraging this move to happen in such ways as the Homestead Act of 1862 that gave 160-acre plots of land to settlers for an extremely low price. As people moved in that direction, more towns were built, leading to the need for railroads that spanned across the country. The very last spike of the transcontinental railroad was driven in during 1869, paving the way for easier travels across the country. There was a huge increase in commercial farming, which led to a market boom. This market increase caused an international market that was filled with competition. This international trading between a select few different nations was about the extent of the United States' foreign relations in the 1880's.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Immigration on the Transcontinental Railroad

    1695 Words  | 4 Pages

    The transcontinental railroad was a 1,800 mile railroad linking Omaha, Missouri with Sacramento, California. This railroad was built through varying environmental conditions including grassy plains, desserts, and mountains such as the Sierra. The railroad revolutionized transportation in the nineteenth century (Galloway 4). The First Transcontinental Railroad was built in the 1860s in order to connect the Eastern and Western coasts of the United States. In the book The Railroads, statistical data describes that “In 1830, 23 miles of railroad track were being operated in the United States; by 1890 that figure had grown to 166,703 miles, as cities and villages were linked across the lan...

    Read More

  • Big Business In The Gilded Age

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although not a natural resource, railroads were considered one of the key factors in almost every widespread industry. It allowed companies to quickly send products across the entire nation without using expensive and time-consuming caravans or wagons. Cornelius Vanderbilt was a prominent leader in the railroad industry at this time. He was already in his later years by the time the Gilded Age rolled around and didn't even get to see the uprising of some of the greatest leaders of the time. The railroad companies took advantage of their necessity by constantly overcharging customers, especially farmers. This led to one of the first labor unio...

    Read More

  • Transcontinental Railroad Essay

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Importance of The Gilded Age and The Progressive Era To the Development of American Society

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most important achievements of the Gilded Age was the creation of a network of railroads including the transcontinental railroad, which connected the United States from New York to California, facilitating transportation across the continent. During the Gilded Age the length of all the railroads combined increased threefold ("Second Industrial Revolution"). This was significant not only because it decreased travel time from the eastern to western parts of the U.S and vice versa down from months to weeks and allowed people to settle the central United States, but also opened new areas for commercial farming and gave an economic boost to steel...

    Read More

  • The Effect of the Transcontinental Railroad

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the need of human transportation and various forms of cargo began to rise in the United States of America, a group of railroads with terminal connections along the way began to form across the land mass of this country, ending with the result of one of the most influential innovations in American history, allowing trade to flow easily from location to location, and a fast form of transportation, named the Transcontinental Railroad.

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny: Western Expansion of America

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many other farming machines were also developed during this time period, they all made farming in the west much more popular, easier, and profitable. The Trans-continental railroad was started in 1862, even though other trains were already running in different parts of the U.S. The telegraph also went up along with the railroads, although the first time it was used was in 1844. All four of these major technological advancements have helped the United States really get going on their Manifest Destiny. The economy would also blossom during this expansion.

    Read More

  • American Economy In The 19th Century

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • What Are The Effects Of The Homestead Act

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Homestead Act of 1862 was signed into order by our late president Abraham Lincoln. The Homestead Act transferred over 200 million acres of public land into private land for purchase. Anybody who wanted to move west just had to file for land usually it was like 160 acres and after five years of living there it was theirs for free or after 6 months they could purchase it for a dollar and sixty two cents an acre. Settlers would set out in search of gold and land. The land wash harsh and much more suitable for raising cattle as compared to farming. The ability to easily afford and get land along with the introduction of the Transcontinental Railroad led to a boom in western expansion. The transcontinental Railroad made moving west easier, although

    Read More

  • The American Transcontinental Railroad

    3285 Words  | 7 Pages

    After America acquired the West, the need for efficient transportation heightened. Ideas circulated about a railroad that would spread across the continent from East to West. Republican congresses ruled for the federal funding of railroad construction, however, all actions were halted for a few years on account of a war. Following the American Civil War of 1861-1865, the race to build transcontinental railroad began in 1866. Lincoln approved Pacific Railway Act of 1862, granting two railroad companies the right to build the first American transcontinental railroad, (Clark 432).

    Read More

  • Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in England, and What are the Inventions from this Era?

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Second, the railroad created hundreds of thousands of new jobs for both railroad workers and miners. Third, the railroads boosted England’s agricultural and fishing industries, which could transport their products to distant cities. Finally, by making travel easier, railroads encouraged people to take distant city jobs.

    Read More

  • Industrial Revolution Essay

    1755 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

More about Railroad Expansion Essay

Open Document