Railroad In The Early 19th Century

The Transcontinental Railroad transformed the United States socially by allowing people to travel across the country, bringing people together, and beginning discrimination against the Chinese. The first way that the Transcontinental Railroad transformed the United States is by allowing people to travel across the country. Many ads invited “tourists and pleasure seekers” to use the Transcontinental Railroad to see mountains, valley, lakes, and more attractions (Doc G). Before the Transcontinental Railroad, it was difficult and dangerous to travel away from home, but the railroads made it easy, safe, and convenient to explore the country.

There have been steam engine trains trailing the United States in the early 1800’s. Many of the early ones ran only a few dozen miles. When the railways ran longer distances, the cost to build and later ride them were be extremely high. However, long distances were what Minnesota needed to keep up with the competitive and growing nation around it. “Construction began on the first track in 1861 in St. Paul and was completed in 1862.”

Paired with inexperienced workers this led to disaster and more deaths than expected. Indian Wars. The railroad was a big threat for indians so when they were faced with this they took up arms and bows. Many attacks and battles where had until military protection was granted leading to the death of an uncountable amount of people and to add the the fear rituals would be taken out where everyone could see making this a truly justified

He examined miles of track laid to population, land area, and capital invested per mile on a state by state, region by region basis. This book is an interesting account of the American Railroads of the 1850s and is filled with photographs, maps, and tables which are almost as useful for understanding the topic as the text

Like farmers, mining and logging companies needed a way to transport their products to industrial centers and found their need met by trains.” Any areas that grew crops, mined, logged, etc. would have benefited from railroads, because they would have been able to transport their products to sell. Railroads reduced the travel time required to deliver things like mail. The Library of Congress states, “After nearly 4,000 years of delivery by foot, horse, or boat, in the early 19th century the speed of mail delivery was greatly improved with the use of steamships and railroads.” Areas across the nation would have benefited from railroads because they increased the speed of mail, and this meant news would spread faster.

During this time period there were great technological advancements. One of these advancements was railroads. Railroads were a positive change because it helped transport people and goods across the country. Businesses depended greatly upon transportation in order to transport their goods. Despite the positives of railroads, there were negatives.

The rail system allowed people and manufactured goods to be transported quickly and for long distances. This was significant for who had migrated due to the discovery of resources such as iron and gold (Railroads and Westward Expansion,

Because of the rapid settlement of the western land in the 1850s, Congress wanted to enforce a transcontinental railroad to replace America’s current weak transportation system—horse-drawn carriages were still used and soldiers often had to walk. But due to the constant competition between the Northern members and the Southern

This was to let steamboats, a new form of transportation, to deliver goods to the states bordering the rivers and lakes they travelled on. Rails was also one of the largest forms of transportation in the North. Steam-powered trains were used to carry passengers and goods to anywhere that track was

Throughout American History, revolutions in transportation have affected the American society politically, socially and economically. Soon after the war of 1812, American nationalism increased which leads to a greater emphasis on national issues, the increase in power and prevalence of the national government and a growing sense of the American Identity. Railways, canals, and Turnpikes began to increase making many people employed. The era of 1830-1860 represents a shift from agrarianism to industrialism. Overall, during the transportation revolution, construction of turnpikes, roads, canals, and railroads led to the market economy expansion, an increased population in America and alternations of the physical landscape of America.

The Tremendous Impact of Railroads on America In the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous.

According to the article The Railway Journey, modern transportation “created a definite spatial distance between the places of production and the place of consumption did the goods become uprooted commodities” (40 Railroad Journey). Basically, this means that since the railroad allowed goods to be shipped to further distances at faster rates which resulted in mass productions and shipments of goods which resulted in a stable economy for the United

In 1694, Thomas Savery invented what would revolutionize the united states indefinitely, he called it the steam engine. This invention lead to the first steam engine locomotive which many would say was a beneficial turning point in the industrialization of america’s economy,allowing the steam engine to be used on the railways. Although the railroads did impact the United States and certain groups in positive ways,there were also negative effects that occurred. During this time period, there were many chinese immigrants that entered the United States who made up most of the workers that built the tracks.

The building of roads, canals and railroads played a large role in the United States during the 1800s. They served the purpose of connecting towns and settlements so that goods could be transported quickly and more efficiently. These goods could be transported fast, cheap and in safe way through the Erie Canal that was built to connect the Great Lakes to New York. Railroads were important during Civil War as well, because it helped in the transportation of goods, supplies and weapons when necessary. These new forms of transportation shaped the United States into the place that it is today.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like without transportation? In the 1890’s the railroad system, the main source of transportation at that time, came to a halt after a strike called the Pullman Strike. A severe depression had hit the United States in 1893. This hit a railroad manufacturing company called the Pullman company hard.