Economy After The Civil War Essay

In the years following the Civil War, the United States experienced an economic boom due to the widespread industrial growth in the North. There was an enormous leap forward in the field of technology, which included the development of noteworthy inventions such as the electric light bulb and the telephone. According to the Library of Congress, steel manufacturing and petroleum refining were two new industries that emerged while older and more established industries continued to flourish. Furthermore, these growing industries had been aided by westward expansion, which opened up more areas for Americans to do business and enabled economic development. By 1900, the country’s commercial success skyrocketed its industries to the top of the global

Transportation in the North was readily available; plenty of railroads were able to transport supplies and troops. Contrary to the North, the South remained an agriculturally-centered society for the most part. The South also lacked a formidable industrial presence like the North since most Southerners did not think there was any need to industrialize. In the article “The North and the South,” the author reports that “[o]nly 35% of the nation's train tracks were located in the South. Waterways proved useful to Southern port and river cities, but an overwhelming amount of inland transportation was underdeveloped in the South,” reinforcing the idea that Southerners did not take industrialization seriously. The Pacific Railway Act had not been passed due to competition between Northern and Southern members of the Senate. Thus, when the South seceded in 1861, they left the Union with a Republican-led government. So, without Southern opposition, President Lincoln passed the Pacific Railway Act, and the North forged ahead with creating a new industrialized

It is also worth mentioning that President Lincoln passed the act because he knew how helpful the expansion of railroads would be in the war effort. However, even after the war, railroads continued to play a major role in shaping America’s economic landscape. Railroads made the transportation of goods much more efficient, which stimulated industries like steel and iron production. It was also much cheaper to use railroads compared to other alternatives like canals. They also made it quicker for people to travel, resulting in better communication between towns and cities. The Pacific Railway Act also increased the number of Americans traveling and settling in the West. In the book America: A Narrative History, David Shi writes about railroads: “Within ten years, railroads had brought a burgeoning tourist business to the nation’s first national park in remote northwest Wyoming, then a territory” (769). Economic development in the West can arguably be chalked up to railroads alone; without them, western states may have remained sparsely populated and economically closed off from the rest of the country for much longer than they were. Had the South stayed in the Senate, it could have taken several more years for the Pacific Railway Act to go into effect, delaying America’s rise to the top of the global commerce