Role Of The Railroads Shifted Over Time

Since the beginning of recorded history, mankind has been caught in the middle of being

Railroads were a huge step in innovations for the United States. The transcontinental Railroad was

Cornelius Vanderbilt was the the leader of steamboats and railroads who built important infrastructures in the 1800s that helped the American economy to thrive. According to Charles R. Geisst in his article Vanderbilt, Cornelius, before Vanderbilt entered the steamship industry, he already owned a shipping business, but due to its unprofitable future because of the competition with the newly introduced steamboats, he decided to sell all of his current ships and decided to enter the steamship industry business.

Its social and economic impacts dwell greatly in the 1800’s to the era of 2000’s as trains have always turned America into something greater in those times where travel and transport were at its hardest, but in 1862 congress passed a bill in which it would forge new history all together with the Pacific Railroad Bill and several grants that allowed financial support for Railroad companies primarily Central Pacific

By the middle of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution was changing the face and culture of the United States. Demand for raw materials and new inventions was increasing. From 1800-1850, territories claimed by the United States had grown to stretch from the East Coast to the West Coast. The spirit of “Manifest Destiny”, the California Gold Rush, and the promise of rich new land, ripe with raw materials and opportunity drew settlers ever westward. Following the invention of the steam engine, trains were becoming very important to the expansion of civilization and its infrastructure. Trains and the railroads they ran on soon became the lifeblood of industrialized economic development across the country. Public and private partnerships were formed with railroad companies to provide them with vast amounts of investment funding. Within a few decades, the railroad companies and their transcontinental railroads ushered in the Gilded Age and changed American society forever.

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

Some historians believe the Transcontinental Railroad was one of the greatest achievements of the nineteenth century. Looking at the railroad from an outsider’s view, the outcomes that emerged from this great innovation were overwhelmingly positive. At last, the East and West could unite through one easy method of transportation. Trade could flourish and be delivered faster than ever thought possible. Small towns and communities clustered around these train stations. The railroad caused the creation of time zones, caused coal factories to become metaphorical gold mines and the American economy exploded as a result of this great feat. Despite its ability to unify the East and West coasts, however the First Transcontinental Railroad actually was not a blessing for all people living in the United States; the immigrants involved in the construction and the natives living in the area that it passed through were dramatically and negatively affected. The railroad may have brought together the continent geographically, but its construction was marked by immorality, racism, and segregation, which pitted the immigrant workers against the American people. The Native Americans were treated as obstacles, as their land was disregarded and the railroad workers were granted permission to remove or take anything from their land. The Chinese immigrants throughout the West were not welcomed there and were not treated with respect, even after their hard work on the railroad. Similar working

Railroad construction contributed much of the robber barons’ wealth at this time and made them into what is known and taught today. The railroads also created millionaire estates owned by the very wealthy. Farms and factories spread across the lands that the railroad touched and brought people to places they never could a thought of going to. Many cities and towns sprung up along the routes and a boom in job employment followed. The men who created and controlled these railroads are Leland Stanford, Jay Gould, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Charles Francis Adams Jr., and other big business tycoons. The boldness of these Entrepreneurs had a huge impact on the landscape of America at the time and of today. Many of these Robber Barons took

Imagine yourself sleeping soundly and you awake suddenly to the sounds chuggachuggachuggachugga CHOO CHOO! You realize it was only the train passing by, and you roll over to sleep longer. You have done this many times without even the thought of where trains originated. The train was first invented in 1830, but it did not truly flourish until the Gilded Age. Prior to the Gilded Age, only approximately 45,000 miles of track had been laid, and between 1871 and 1900 170,000 miles were added. This was all done with the help of Congress . In 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act, which authorized the construction of a transcontinental railroad. The first transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. Four additional transcontinental

Before the civil war, railroads served local markets, but after some consolidation and the standardization of gauges. They could now serve a national economy. People could now transport goods over longer distances faster. This allowed goods to be sold all across the United States creating a national market, which allowed companies to reach demographics that were previously unavailable. For example, the four trunk lines that connected the Midwest to New England like the Pennsylvania Railroad merged the two markets, which was much faster than the Mississippi. In addition, the transcontinental railroads like the Union Pacific connected the eastern market to the western markets. Now businesses would not have to rely on local populations for profits, which permits those who produce the best goods to sell to the national demand causing prices to go down and revenue to go up. In conclusion, the railroad contributed to the end of economic isolationism within the US and, brought a age of economic

Railroads became extremely popular in America in the 1800’s. The railroad industry itself began to boom; it was supported by its reputation for speed and efficiency. But, along with the booming industry of railroads came the strong debate that

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

Initially railroads were founded by the government. They were responsible for the successful expansion of society towards the western part of the united states. Railroads were the backbone of the primary economic priorities of businesses such as finance, supply, transportation and management which helped build our country into the logistical success it is today.

Transportation was one challenge the railroad fixed. People could now travel and discover the frontier faster. Trade was also increased once the tracks were finished. Many could now take their items to new areas to make trades. Another nuisance that the transcontinental railroad corrected was the communication gap. Settlers were often isolated, so when the railroad was completed other settlers would meet up to chat and help one another out. The last major impact the completion of the transcontinental railroad created was the opportunity for new jobs. Silver mining in Comstock Lode, Nevada and gold mining in the Black Hills created many jobs for settlers. Railroad companies may have helped the United States, but they would capitalize off of the government. These companies did so through the Pacific Railway Acts. The Pacific Railway Acts provided loans and land grants to railroad companies in order to help the companies raise money for the construction of new railroads. In return the government would get discounted rates to send troops and mail. By the end of these acts, “Congress and granted over 131 million acres of land to railroad companies.” (Holt McDougal, 590). The transcontinental railroad had improved many things, but that’s not all this railroad

Cornelius Vanderbilt was the most powerful railroad baron. He earned a fortune for himself in the steamship line. He also combined the New York and Harlem and New York and Hudson estate ferry boat operations. He established a connection between New York and Albany to make Lake Shore and Michigan Southern link Buffalo with Chicago. When he died he owned and operated nearly 4500 miles of track between New York City and most of the important cities in the Midwest. He left his fortune to his son, unlike the others he did not donate to many organizations. The only contribution he gave was to support the, now, Vanderbilt College.