The adoption of the rail system in the United States not only revolutionized the transportation of people, goods, and information but also revolutionized the transportation of pathogens. The rapid growth in transportation, the cramped living spaces, travel arrangements and poorly organized sanitation protocols exacerbated the rampant spread of disease. The lacking public health policies of the time showed that the United States was not ready for the silent killers that would accompany passengers as they rode the rails. The United States government was forced to find a way to deal with the spread of disease through out the nation’s railways. 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. The main diseases that showed the most virulence during the time were cholera, yellow fever and consumption now known as tuberculosis. The 9th census mortality data showed that 1 out 7 deaths from disease were caused by tuberculosis and 1 out of 24 disease deaths were resulting from cholera. . Until the 1870s... ... middle of paper ... ...f American Civilization. University of Chicago Press, 2008. United States. Surgeon-General's, Office, J. K. Barnes, J. M. Woodworth, E. McClellan, J. C. Peters, J. S. Billings, President United States, and Service United States. Public Health. The Cholera Epidemic of 1873 in the United States. 43d Cong., 2d Sess. House. Ex. Doc. 95. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1875. Walker, Francis Amasa, U. S. Congress. House, U. S. Census Office, and U. S. Department of the Interior. "Ninth Census -- Volume Ii. The Vital Statistics of the United States, Embracing the Tables of Deaths, Births, Sex, and Age, to Which Are Added the Statistics of the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb, the Insane, and the Idiotic, Compiled from the Original Returns of the Ninth Census (June 1, 1870) under the Direction of the Secretary of the Interior, by Francis A. Walker, Superintendent of Census." 1872.
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.
Taylor, George Rogers, and Irene D. Neu. The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1956. Print.
The growth of agriculture and railroads in Texas and in the United States helped form our economy today. Railroads today pass through a lot of Texas, and even in big cities like Houston or Dallas. Since there are so many farms and open farmland (especially in south and west Texas), railroads can carry the produce and livestock to their destination. James Watt invented the first steam engine in about 1769, and from then on, railroads were a must for transportation, since cars had yet to be invented. Railroads began to be built before the Civil War. It originally took about 6 months to get from the west of the US to the east, but now it only took 7 days. With railroads expanding all across the country, agriculture was affected in a mostly positive way. Now, crops and other goods could be transported by train anywhere in the US, and fast.
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.
Furman, Bess. A Profile of the United States Public Health Service 1798-1948. District of Columbia: National Institutes of Health, 1973. Print.
Smallpox according to Feen took its toll on American’s as well as those of the colonist and British soldiers. One other item of interest I found in the introduction was the map of how the virus moved itself across North America. The virus from what I can see only need a host to travel. After closer examination you can see that they virus followed the routes of the soldiers or that of other militia as they made their way through parts of North America and Canada. Once it started there seemed to be no stopping i...
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the invention of the automobile was still relatively new. Railways served as a primary means to transport commodities across America. However, before World War I and then again after, wealthy businessmen privately owned and controlled the operations of these railroads. The United States still recovering from the global conflict, noticed an upswing in the national economic markets, like the housing market, and needed to implement legislation to ensure railway service continued to increase commerce in America (Federal Railroad Administration, 2012). The Great Railway Strike of 1877 and the Pullman Strike of 1894 revealed nationally, the vulnerabilities of railroads systems due to stoppages relating to labor
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.
"Railroads were the first big business, the first magnet for the great financial markets, and the first industry to develop a large-scale management bureaucracy. The railroads opened the western half of the nation to economic development, connected raw materials to factories and retailers, and in so doing created an interconnected national market. At the same time the railroads were themselves gigantic consumers of iron, steel, lumber, and other capital goods". (Tindall, Shi)
Created by George Stephenson, the railroad was a specific type of road designed for trains. Like the name suggests, rails allow the train to not fall out in place and continue going in a steady and fast line. As trains developed, the railroad was more useful than ever. It was used to transport goods and people to locations. It was much more reliable than a boat and much faster. Many railroads were laid out in the western frontier of the US, this encouraged the westward movement. More goods were traveled faster which boosted the economy and people could effortlessly go from place to place. The rails were very cheap to make compared to the roads for cars making it a very efficient system. As the trains improved, the railroads only got more
Europeans were deemed poor candidates for slavery due to their higher mortality rates. In 17th century, the New World was going through Public Health crisis. European immigration to the New World influenced the transmission of unknown epidemic diseases in American colonies. Warm climate in American colonies also became det...
Rosenberg, C. E. (1987). The Cholera Years: The United States in 1832,1849, and 1866. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
With all of the passengers of one family packed into a wagon and the group sleeping near each other the diseases would spread quickly. Martha Freel went to Oregon in the 1850’s and wrote in a letter saying “you see we have lost 7 persons in a matter of a few short days, all died of Cholera”. Those “few short days” were only 13 days and they already lost 7 people. They would spared because everyone of a family was packed in one wagon, and at the in of the day they all sleep near each other. Then the diseases were not very easy to cure with their lack of medical advances. With the medical kits they did have didn’t consisted of a lot of medicine, but items that would make you think you’re feeling better called a placebo. They would consist of peppermint oils, rum, whisky, morphine and citric
Hoff, Brent, Carter Smith, and Charles H. Calisher. Mapping Epidemics: A Historical Atlas of Disease. New York: Franklin Watts, 2000. Print.
Many people think that the increased travel and trade between the world’s nations improved people’s lives. Although this increase had a positive effect, travel and trade also brought disasters. Foreign travelers and traders contributed to the wide spread of infectious diseases like cholera. A look at the general information, sources of infection and risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention and control will give a further insight on cholera.