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The Face Of Our Nation

Decent Essays

The latter half of the 19th century ushered in growth and change that we still live with in the 21st century. We became an industrial powerhouse in an era of unbridled capitalism. The face of our nation was transformed from an economic culture steeped in agriculture to an economic culture steeped in industry and technology. We were connected coast to coast via railroad and were able to communicate by telegraph and new inventions included the telephone. Travel and communication were accelerated; manufacturing and retail provided new jobs, and lands became accessible that eventually became sprawling communities. Economic forces fed off of each, other causing growth to spiral upward. Some benefitted more than others and there were winners and there were losers.
In 1607 the first settlers dreams and visions of a new world came to fruition in the latter 19th century. With our country being connected coast-to-coast via railroad and telegraph, what once took up to six months now took six days and messages could be sent in minutes because of electricity. Our first factory, a spinning mill, built in Lowell, Massachusetts, sparked the Industrial Revolution. Around 1870 Andrew Carnegie launched the industrial revolution in steel, by successfully using the Bessemer process to create steel (Hughes & Cain 2011, p. 209). Steel was used for the miles of railroad track crisscrossing through the country and allowed for high-rise building. Each industry feeding off another and creating

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