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. Before the 1800s, there were two early roads, Forbes and Wilderness Road. In 1811, the National Road known as Cumberland Road was built to reach Western settlements, because they needed a road to ship farm products that connect East and West. The National Road passed thousand of wagons and coaches. John F. Stover states in American Railroads, “The rich agricultural production of the country, the small but expanding factories of eastern cities, and the largely untapped natural resources of the nation-all of these called for improvements in transport.”(Stover1) Stover said that transportation was important because of getting goods …show more content…
Railroads served to support the armies by defending soldiers from attacks of enemies. According to John Elwood Clark in the article Railroads in the Civil War states, “Soldiers before the Civil War thought of interior lines in terms of space, or distance, although geography sometimes conferred an additional advantage. The Civil War began to modify the concept, increasingly framing the advantage in terms of time, as railroads and steamboats improved travel speed and freight loads; today’s soldiers call it ‘‘superior lateral communications.’’(Clark 28) Railroads improved war efforts significantly by conveniencing soldiers
Railroads aided heavily in advancing the transport of goods and supplies to the front lines, where they were needed the most. The only “disadvantage of this was the railroads became a prime target for attacks” (Civil War
There were 3 main ways to travel - roads, water, and railroads. The first road was built 1802 and was named the National Road. Roads took a long time to build, were expensive, and crowded with wagons and stagecoaches but they helped the settlers move west. Automobiles eventually replaced wagons. The first successful gas-powered automobile was invented by Elwood Haynes.
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.”
The railroad was first designed by George Stephenson whose original idea was to use steam to run the train and make transportation faster. When the US started using railroads and trains they purchased them from the Stephen Works company from Britain. “In the 1850s a boom in railroad development across the North was changing business organization and management and reducing freight costs. Railroads were influencing a rise in real estate values, increasing regional concentrations of industry, the size of business units and stimulating growth in investment banking and agriculture.
Unsurprisingly, it was very useful during the civil war because of its ability to transport resources of use in a very short time compared to traveling on foot. Since the railroads were so impactful, the North and South had to find ways to counteract the use of rails. One of which was when bridges were destroyed or left extremely damaged so when a train went over, it would fall (Orr 21). Railroads shut down and left many troops without the resources to fight in the war. Another method of preventing trains from using the railroads was when troops left heavy and large tracks in the hope of damaging and possibly derailing an enemy train (Bates).
The Transcontinental Railroad The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad was an important event in the United States history. There were many challenges in building it, but after it was finished, it connected the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. The railroad took three whole years to build, with the help of two railroad companies and thousands of other hired workers.
Transcontinential Railroad had a huge impact on the Native Ameriacans, Society and the Environment. Here is one example of how the Native Americans were impacted: Some of the hardships they faced were very little food, only ate once during their working hours. They worked long hours for very little money, and they had ages 10 and up working. Transcontinential Railroad helped the society grow with the transportation it provided. It replaced wagon trains of previous decades which became usless.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first railroad to chart freight and passengers in 1828. (“Railroads”). Very soon after railroads were invented they transported passengers in addition. “ Railroads proliferated so quickly that within 40 years, they extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific and into every settled corner of the land” (“Transportation”). Railroads made cities near where the stops were, and with the mass amount of railroad tracks being built at the time, many new cities were built.
Transcontinental Railroad Travel predating the late 1860’s was a complicated and expensive opportunity. With the California gold rush of 1848 the push for a more universal mode of transportation was increasingly sought after. Men and families alike would either have to travel across the country westward by foot and wagon, or they would need to take a ship that would take them around much of South America before going back up north to California. The problem was not only did it cost in the thousands of dollars range, but the time in which it took was rather inefficient.
The development of railroads was perhaps the most significant transportation development of the period. Prior to the Civil War, there were only around 30,000 miles of railroad track in the United States, but by 1900 that number had grown to over 200,000 miles (White,
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
Innovative ideas and technologies in transportation significantly impacted the America during, and after the Civil War. The Civil War was also drastically changed due to the amazing discoveries and innovations in transportation. Railroads were what was mainly used to supply America with munitions, troops, food, and etc. during the Civil War. America benefited from the invention of the railroad due to the ease of use for every American.
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.
One very massive achievement with the steamboat was that it could go up rivers with ease and it did not rely on wind power. Travel to Pittsburgh from New Orleans was cut down from five weeks to two. In doing so people and goods could be shipped faster. In closing, shipbuilding was very important for the development of travel in the