Transportation System

1132 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Big effect of the civil war on society

The growth of our nation, the United States, during the 19th century was in large part due to the advancements and improvements in the transportation system. These advancements began to flourish during the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Acts (“Abraham Lincoln: A life in the Brief”). These Acts promoted the construction of an Intercontinental railroad system, which marked the first step towards a modernized and improved society. The transportation improvements created not only the railroad system but also the steamboat system, which allowed for transportation of goods along the rivers to increase (“The Transportation Revolution). This transportation network of railroads and steamboats that emerged during the Civil War until the beginning of World War I was the basis that created a well-integrated national economy. This system became one of the most important factors of the national economy during the 1800’s because they increased the transportation of goods, transportation of people to the west, and the developing systems generated jobs for the population. To begin with, improvements in the transportation system of railroads and steamboats were increasingly important to the national economy during the 1800’s because it increased the transportation of goods, which ultimately increased the money flow of the U.S. The railroad systems expansion allowed for there to be year around transportation of goods to the ports in the eastern side of the United States, “Farmers and manufacturers alike shipped products directly and quickly to major markets. Virtually overnight” (Ewald). This expansion allowed for new markets throughout the United States to form because goods were able to reach other parts of... ... middle of paper ... ...Entrepreneurial Leadership Among the "Robber Barons": A Trial Balance." The Journal of Economic History 6 May (1946): 28-49. Ewald, Richard J. "Technology and Transportation: 1790-1870." Flow of History. Connecticut River Joint Commissions, 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2011. Mak, James, and Gary M. Walton. "Steamboats and the Great Productivity Surge In River Transportation." The Journal of Economic History 33.3 Sept. (1972): 619-40. McVey, Frank L. Railroad transportation: some phases of its history, operation and regulation. Ann Arbor Michigan: Cree publishing company, 1910. Temin, Peter. "Steam and Waterpower in the Early Nineteenth Century." The Journal of Economic History 26.2 June (1966): 187-205. "The Transportation Revolution." A.P Study Notes. Study Notes , 2008. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • The Effects of Technology, Government Policy, and Economic Conditions on American Agriculture During 1865-1900

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Farmers began to cultivate vast areas of needed crops such as wheat, cotton, and even corn. Document D shows a picture of The Wheat Harvest in 1880, with men on earlier tractors and over 20-30 horses pulling the tractor along the long and wide fields of wheat. As farmers started to accumilate their goods, they needed to be able to transfer the goods across states, maybe from Illinios to Kansas, or Cheyenne to Ohmaha. Some farmers chose to use cattle trails to transport their goods. Document B demonstrates a good mapping of the major railroads in 1870 and 1890. Although cattle trails weren't used in 1890, this document shows the existent of several cattle trails leading into Chyenne, San Antonio, Kansas City and other towns nearby the named ones in 1870. So, farmers began to transport their goods by railroads, which were publically used in Germany by 1550 and migrated to the United States with the help of Colonel John Stevens in 1826. In 1890, railroads expanded not only from California, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada, but up along to Washington, Montana, Michigan, down to New Mexico and Arizona as well. Eastern States such as New Jersey, Tennesse, Virginia and many others were filled with existing railroads prior to 1870, as Colonel John Stevens started out his railroad revolutionzing movement in New Jersey in 1815.

    Read More

  • Nothing Like It in the World by Stephen E. Ambrose

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ambrose, Stephen. Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Print.

    Read More

  • Life in Appalachia from a Pre and Post-Civil War Perspective

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Immigration on the Transcontinental Railroad

    1695 Words  | 4 Pages

    Taylor, George Rogers, and Irene D. Neu. The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1956. Print.

    Read More

  • Railroads and Their Rising Impact on the 19th Century American Society

    2238 Words  | 5 Pages

    The nineteenth century America was a period of history following a number of long lasting wars and also a whole new start to new changes in society. With the collapse of multiple nations that were in contact towards the United States, it paved the way for the growing influence and development for the United States, spurring military imperialism and conflicts, and advances in scientific exploration and technologies. Because of the ideas and resources that were began to spread, develop and flourish in areas of the western hemisphere, the nineteenth century also saw opportunities in construction, communication, and in particular the transportation systems. But as different aspects of society began to improve and that more and more freedom were in the hands of the citizens and government, the competitive market not only expanded in profit and wealth, but simultaneously faced minor conflicts due to the abuse of their rights and property. Because of the rise of new technological advancements and resources, railroads in the 19th century American society quickly boomed cities and came across as the most dominant source of transportation, as it predominantly played a role in the expansion of industry across the United States. Also, it was a movement most efficient in creating their own monopoly and was quickly adopted by many other countries that sought influence.

    Read More

  • Railroads In Texas Essay

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Transcontinental Railroad Essay

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1800’s, America was going through a time of invention and discovery known as the Industrial Revolution. America was in its first century of being an independent nation and was beginning to make the transition from a “home producing” nation to a technological one. The biggest contribution to this major technological advancement was the establishment of the Transcontinental Railroad because it provided a faster way to transport goods, which ultimately boosted the economy and catapulted America to the Super Power it is today.

    Read More

  • How Transportation Changed The American Economy Essay

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    The developments in transportation changed the American economy and society from 1820 to 1860 in ways of an increased land value, faster traded goods, new cities, and a deeper sense of nationalism. Before these changes came about, the US economy and society was based on an agrarian setting. After this time frame, American Society turned into a capitalist marketplace. In the northern US, there were few changes in terms of industry because they were involved in an industrial revolution. However, the new Transportation Revolution blasted the West into an agricultural empire that provided consumable exports to the other parts of the country.

    Read More

  • The Effect of the Transcontinental Railroad

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Debo Galloway, The First Transcontinental Railroad: Central Pacific, Union Pacific (New York: Simmons-Boardman, 1950), 141, http://www.questiaschool.com/read/14065867.

    Read More

  • The Differences and Similarities of the Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe

    2130 Words  | 5 Pages

    Szostak, R. 1991. Role of transportation in the industrial revolution : A comparison of england and france. Montreal, QC, CAN: McGill-Queen's University Press.

    Read More

  • Impact Of The Market Revolution In 1800

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Railroads opened new areas as settlement and stimulated the mining and manufacture. At the same time, the telegraph appeared. It brought uniform price of the country. Because of these improvements, many people migrated to west. The market revolution and westward expansion heightened the nation’s sectional divisions. The most dynamic feature of the American economy in the beginning of the nineteenth century was the rise of the Cotton Kingdom. But the increasing demand of cotton lead to larger number of slaves. For white people, westward expansion was a chance to get more freedom, but for black people, it means that they would have less freedom and their families will be broken. In the north, Market Revolution turned it to commercial system. Farmers focus on producing crops and livestocks. In some industries, the factory superseded traditional craft production. Both men and women could earn money by taking jobs from factories. Market Revolution changed the time concept of Americans. In cities, time of work and relax is divided clearly. Early New England textile mills largely relied on female and child labor.

    Read More

  • Neil Postman's Technopoly

    3243 Words  | 7 Pages

    Lubar, Steven." Engines of Change: The American Industrial Revolution 1790-1860." Smithsonian Institution. http://www.si.sgi.com/organiza/museums/nmah/homepage/docs/engin10.htm ( 1986).

    Read More

  • The American Transcontinental Railroad

    3285 Words  | 7 Pages

    The transcontinental railroad would eventually become a symbol of much-needed unity, repairing the sectionalism that had once divided the nation during the Civil War. The construction of the transcontinental railroad was also an extension of the transportation revolution. Once commodities such as gold were found in the western half of America, many individuals decided to move themselves and their families out west in search of opportunity. Not only did the railroad help to transport people, but it also it allowed for goods to be delivered from companies in the east. In the end, the American transcontinental railroad created a national market, enabling mass production, and stimulated industry, while greatly impacting American society through stimulated immigration and urbanization.

    Read More

  • The Market Revolution

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the late 1700’s, the United States was no longer a possession of Britain, instead it was a market for industrial goods and the world’s major source for tobacco, cotton, and other agricultural products. A labor revolution started to occur in the United States throughout the early 1800’s. There was a shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial market system. After the War of 1812, the domestic marketplace changed due to the strong pressure of social and economic forces. Major innovations in transportation allowed the movement of information, people, and merchandise.

    Read More

  • The Erie Canal

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    Travel by land and water was both tedious and expensive. Transporting one ton of goods across states would cost around 100 dollars or 1,265 dollars in today’s money. In the 1790s, land routes connecting the east coast and the farther western regions of the United States were undeveloped. Along with this, when weather conditions were poor land routes could not support any sort of dependable shipping by wagon, or even travel by horseback. Natural waterways provided the most dependable method of transport west of Albany. Even travel by waterway in this time period was inconvenient because these water routes were unreliable due to shallow water and raging rapids.

    Read More

More about Transportation System

Open Document