How Did Railroads Affect The Economy

Firstly, the transcontinental railroad helped our trade and economy. The western economy was largely based on farming and mining which could have played a large factor in the American economy (Pohn Pei). There was just one problem, there was no way

Railroads were faster and cheaper than canals to construct, and they did not freeze over in the winter. Steamboats played a vital role in the United States economy as well. They stimulated the agricultural economy of the west by providing better access to markets at a lower cost. Farmers quickly bought land near navigable rivers, because they could ship their products out to other countries. Due to the foreign trade it helped strengthen the trade relationship between New England and the Northwest. The transportation development had many positive economic changes in the United States.

New advancements made an influential impact on the U.S. economy and led to its initial success. The rail business expanded greatly after the Civil War. Transcontinental lines linked the East and West and by 1870, railroads could carry goods and passengers from coast to coast. Railroads served as a cheaper way to transport goods and

These new railroads glued the country together thus creating a massive new market and loads of jobs contributing to the industrialisation of the US. Said industrialisation helped along mining and agriculture and brought supplies to the people that worked in said industries

Among the many positive effects of the transcontinental railroad are the following improvements: faster and safer transportation from coast to coast, boosts in international and intercontinental trade, faster spreading of ideas and expansion of the United States into areas not previously settled. Negative effects existed as well. More intrusion on Native Americans took place, and there was a rise in racial tensions in the nation. As the transcontinental railroad began operation, changes came fast and furious in America.

In his work “Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America” looks at the effect the building of the railroads throughout the United States. White looks back at what caused the massive boom in the railroad industry and, also what ended up killing the progress that the railroad industry was making. This book is a detailed look into what went into the rise of transcontinentals and the competition between the companies who were trying to build them. White used both primary and secondary sources in the writing of this book, using the primary sources to get perspective on the times and using secondary sources by looking at what sources have found. This would be a good book for a person to read if they are interested in learning in large detail about the economic development of the United States during the end of the nineteenth century due to the railroad industry.

After the Civil War railroads began to grow immensely, especially economically. The railroads were a large factor in the success of the United States, this can be proven in Making America by Carol Berkin. The railroads ultimately helped the settlement and development of the Western part of the United States by creating a nationwide market, economic development, and a large demand for products.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, "It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things." This was a theme in business in the late 1800's. The early American economy was made up of small markets, centered around big cities. The immense expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s changed this, tying the country together into one national market, where products could be shipped across the country. Railroads also provided a massive development in economic growth because they provided such a massive market for goods and opportunity for distribution for products such as steel, lumber, and other vital goods. With the help of railroads, the United States developed a rapid expansion of the

The invention of railroads was an important development that aided in the industrial revolution. It aided greatly in the industrialization of nations, with its ease of transportation. To this day, we still use the railroads as a method of transit and as a mode of transportation for goods and supplies. In addition to that, it also had significant impacts to wars. In the Civil War, railroads played a direct and an important role in the outcome of the war. The railroads allowed for a faster and easier method of transportation of supplies and troops, than any other types of transportation. Another way it had an impact was by helping both sides of the war with logistical support. Lastly, it had a significant effect on the war by serving as a mean

36 The railroad transformed both urban and rural America because it connected people and made items, previously luxuries, accessible to many people. Coal was unsustainable from its beginning, but it made an immense impact on technological and economic advances.

The railroad industry offered employment and was one of the largest sources of opportunity for the people. Aside from regular railroad employees who felt overworked similar to the way our middle class feels today, railroads also pushed the new idea of management. Management was a necessary concept due to the variety of people that railroad work attracted. They were there to enforce and be sure things were getting done. This also allowed smaller businesses to thrive as management was also needed for smaller businesses. Thad new job opportunities available for management in the communication and planning for their stock transportation with railroads. Restocking was important and beneficial because as more income opportunity was available it allowed people to do more spending rather than

Railroads had the most impact on the nineteenth century. It was viewed to be one of the most important inventions. Railroads allowed for economic growth, and effectively added to the transportation network. They served as a link between far away cities allowing people to come together, purchase outside goods, have greater independence and promote economic specialization. Railroads would later have the ability to produce items in large

Many things affected the extent to which opportunity and progress existed in the United States throughout the first half of the 19th century. One of these things was the transportation revolution. The transportation revolution lasted between

Railroad expansion was the single most important force for change in the nation during the post-Reconstruction through the Gilded

After the Civil War, Cornelius Vanderbilt brought about the conversion of iron tracks to steel, which allowed them to lay more tracks for only a fraction of the cost. Thus, by 1900, the United States improved almost a quarter of a million miles of railroad tracks. Andrew Carnegie profited from the increased demand for steel and responded by producing more. As the strengthening and innovation streamlined costs, it became cheaper and faster to ship raw materials, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, and oil through railways than by steamships. Railroads also transported people, and contributed more than any other means of transportation and led to the development of the West. Railways made it physically and economically convenient for many Americans