Telegraph Dbq

Business growth on both sides of the country was expedited by a new form of cheap distribution into profitable, expanding markets. Easy transportation facilitated the concept of business travel and expansion on an unprecedented scale. However, some of the largest impacts of the Transcontinental Railroad can be seen through the cross­country exchange of ideas. Before the railroad existed, the only fast exchange of information was written through the pony express. The Transcontinental Railroad created an outlet of communicating new ideas and information in person. A smooth and swift cross­country exchange of people and ideas not only made America more infrastructurally sophisticated ­­ it acted as a foundation for the Western United States to grow from very little to the political, social, economic, and technological center that it is today.

By the 1860’s railways were being hailed as an answer to economic problems. Those people in the Maritimes who supported Confederation argued that a transcontinental railway would improve among the colonies and would also help to unify the country. Goods could be moved much

Transcontinental railroad building costed a lot and was very risky to require government subsidies. Construction of the railway systems promised that it would create greater unity among the nation and increase economic growth. In the second half of the nineteenth century The screeching iron horse stimulated mining and agriculture especially in the West. The railroads took farmers to their land, took the fruits of their toil to the markets, brought manufactured necessities. Iron monsters could carry enormous amounts of food to people and ensure a livelihood by providing raw materials and markets. Railroad companies would seek settlers to their land that could be sold at a profit so they stimulated immigration. Even the land was impacted because

The Transcontinental Railroad was a huge part of the 1860's, it was like the Internet for them. It was a vital link for transportation and trading. People would be able to go to the east or west coast on the railroad, it was a lot faster then it used to be. Information was transferred along the transcontinental railroad as long with goods. Information would be able to reach the other side of the United States in about 5 days, weather permitting. People that lived in the other side of the United States, brought goods so many people were able to try many new

To start, I will explain the purpose of the Transcontinental railroad. In Source #1”Full Steam Ahead The Transcontinental Railroad”, it says “People had been asking for coast-to-coast rail travel for decades. Since the invention of the locomotive in 1825, companies had built many rail lines. These railroads connected eastern cities and seaports,splashing travel times and helping these areas grow. Crossing the country, however was much more difficult. People and trade goods traveled by horse, stagecoach, or wagon train. The trip took months. Not many made the journey.” So the government during the time thought that building a railroad, would help businesses “ sprout up like corn.” According to Source #1 it also says “ Two companies immediately got to work. Railroads already existed that stretched from the East of Omaha, Nebraska. Now, the Union Pacific Railroad began extending the tracks from Omaha out to the West. The Central Pacific Railroad began in Sacramento,California and laid tracks out East. Eventually, the two companies would meet in Promontory, Utah. So, basically the purpose of the railroad was to get people and goods from coast-to-coast.

The telegraph quickly became popular between people that wanted to send messages over long distances easier and faster than ever before. The telegraph also improved ways of communicating across continents. The first telegraph line was laid across the Atlantic Ocean in 1866; later in 1940 40 lines were laid across the Atlantic Ocean. History.com also states that:

Contrary to an average American's belief on how Americans actually came to be, they did not do it completely on their own or the perfect American way. In fact, it all started around the seven years war when Great Britain beat France in the war for world empire. By doing this they also opened the lands west of the Appalachian Mountain for settlement. In order to win this war the british had to rack up a great amount of debt and mortality. They were able to do all of this without the slightest of help from the colonies and afterwards most british people were unhappy with colonists because of their lack of sympathy and support. The colonists simply stopped focusing on Great Britain in general and more on expanding their own territory to the newly opened lands. Almost everyone in the colonies now thought themselves as no longer British and started creating their own American identity.

Document B is a journal entry written by, Charles Mackay in 1859. It is about some of the rights and restrictions that free blacks had in the North. According to Doc. B, “He shall be free to live, and to thrive, if he can, and to pay taxes and perform duties…”. Document B shows that black men in the North were given the freedom to have a thriving life, pay taxes and have an occupation.

“Before the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, it cost nearly $1,000 dollars to travel across the country. After the railroad was completed, the price dropped to $150 dollars.”(History.com Staff). Prior to the railroad the average citizen of America could not afford to travel across the country cheaply. America waited for a means of transportation which would connect them from the Western to Eastern states. The responsibility of creating the railroads were left up to construction companies. Once this invention was created, traveling became quick, easy and affordable. The Transcontinental Railroad could be defined as the most significant change in America, during the 19th Century.

From 1880s-1930s mechanization has increased in both Japan and India. More machines had started to be used than using one’s hands which produced more cotton than hand spinning would have. Female workers were overworked in the cotton factories that favored using machines instead of hand spinning to increase the production of cloth and yarn.

In the early nineteenth century, the United States experienced a huge overhaul. Though the reformations and Jacksonian democracy were also important, the Market Revolution managed to transform the United States on a massive scale due to the expansion of transportation, the creation of new jobs, and the newfound prevalence of slavery. Prior to the Market Revolution, transportation was an issue. Whether it was the transportation of goods, the transportation of people, or the transportation of ideas, Americans, particularly those in the North, thought the transportation was too slow and came up with ways to combat the grueling speeds. From 1800 to 1830, a road stretching from Maryland to the Mississippi River was built.

It is a natural tendency for people to assume that they are smarter than people that are younger than they are. It is widely thought that with age, comes more knowledge, and a better understanding of the world. However, this thinking can't be used as a broad statement for entire generations of people. While there certainly are older people that are much wiser than younger people, this fact doesn't mean that younger generations as a whole are dumb. With the knowledge and discoveries made by previous generations at the disposal of younger generation's, the young people of today are smarter than ever.

This made it very hard for the individual states to come up with the money. Usually private investors took care of this issue (Roark, 260). Canals were another way for an increase in transportation. They would connect cities, such as the Erie Canal, which covered the area between Albany and Buffalo and connecting New York City to the area of the Great Lakes (Roark, 261). Railroads also came into the picture with the first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio in 1829 (Roark, 262).

The Transcontinental Railroad was one of the most ambitious engineering projects, economic stimulants, and efficient methods of transportation in the early United States. If completed, the United States would be truly be united from east to west. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Transcontinental Railroad helped develop new opportunities for many aspects of American life.

At the peak of expansion in the 1800’s, communication between the east and west was at the forefront of importance. A document from the State of Pennsylvania regarding railways in 1825 remarked that there is extreme “importance and necessity of effecting a communication between the eastern and western divisions of the commonwealth” (Wade, 5). The appearance of the railroads in the early 19th century decreased and nearly diminished the communication gap as it provided a reliable and speedy method of communication. As the railroads became more prominent across the United States, the western states naturally became linked to the Midwestern and eastern states through the Union Pacific Railroad. This railroad running from the east coast to the west coast opened up new doors in trans-continental communication. Businesses between the east and the west were able to communicate more effectively, and thus, trans-continental trade became more defined throughout the United States. The mail services began using railroads as well, which was a large factor in improving communication across the US. Trans-continental communication was broadened simply by the increased number of people traveling across the country. And, even when the railroads seemed an impractical method of transportation, “they might make possible long