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Us history essay on railroads
Us history essay on railroads
Transcontinental railroad impact on social progress
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The transcontinental railroad system developed after the Civil War in 1869; this was at the time of the Gilded Age. The reason why the railroads were industrialized, was to revolutionize and expanded the economic growth throughout the United States. Thus, allowing commercial goods to be delivered for a lower rate, as well as, transporting people across the country from coast to coast. During this era, Jay Gould became a railroad mogul, by monopolizing the railroads. As stated in the textbook, 'He operated in the stock market like a shark".
People always say that the best inventions ever are phones or computers, but there is one that people take for granted. This invention changed the way we look at shipping forever. The Transcontinental railroad changed the United States economically more than socially or politically because, it allowed western states export their goods easier, increased the amount of goods exported, and made it cheaper for states to export their products. The U.S was changed more economically, because it helped transport the western states goods to the east so it could be transported. Lovelock Nevada was a city that mined silver.
American businessmen, of the 1800’s, built America to be one of the greatest superpowers in the world. To start, businessmen of the 1800s consisted of men like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie. Some of these men were split by how they got their money; Captains of Industry and Robber Barons. Captains of Industry were business leaders that helped the nation in a positive way. On the other hand, Robber Barons were men that shrewd capitalists, swindled the poor and benefitted for themselves.
Cornelius Vanderbilt was a smart business man which caught people’s attention. He used low fares which made people use his company. Using low fares made his company sky rock threw the roof and just after 5 years he made over 25 millions dollars just from the railroad company (Gale 1). After his success he expanded the rails to the west. This was a big turning point for the railroad company, not only will it bring in more money to the company it will also have people travel farther instead of having short railroads, where they won't bring in more money and he created system spanning several states lowered costs, which increased efficiency, and sped up travel and shipment of goods (Gale 1).
After the end of the American Civil War, there was a long period of republican dominated politics. These republican politicians heavily favored industry, and as a result the United States quickly became an industrial powerhouse in the world. Many entrepreneurs, some of which include John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, staked their claim in American industry and shaped the post-war nation. The growth of American industry led to major shifts in the structure of American economics, disagreements over the role of the American government, and changes in American lifestyle. The growth of big business resulted in major shifts in the structure of American economics.
The United States went through substantial changes during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Industries grew, and the way people lived and worked changed a lot. During this time, an important thing that happened was that the industry grew extremely fast. This made people like Andrew Carnegie and John D. extraordinarily rich and powerful. In previous years, Rockefeller was a wealthy and influential individual.
James Madison was in some of the most influential government position during some of the most decisive times of American history with in turn had a lasting effect on the future of America. James Madison grew up in Virginia and attended Princeton University with a degree in law, government, and history. He was a political person who wrote the constitution, was secretary of state, and was later president. James Madison is most well know for his work on the Constitution, but was also the secretary of state and the president in times that had the most impact of America as we know it.
Industrialists such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, had made major impacts during the Gilded Age. They changed the way we do things like transport things, and the rules of business. They made mass production of items, and paved the way for improving working conditions. John D. Rockefeller would become one of the most powerful, and the richest men in the history of the United States due to him owning 90% of all the oil refineries. With the railroad business taking advantage of all his oil profits he made the idea to transport some of his oil through the system of using pipelines.
The Civil War had concluded and America was on the path to rebuilding itself as a single nation. America experienced many changes such as large amounts of urbanization and industrialization, while also taking their own chance at imperialism. America’s urbanization and industrialization was a result of the Civil War. Many individuals began transitioning from rural areas to urban areas by the beginning of the twentieth century. These urban areas began to experience new inventions such as the automobile, highways, and entertainment such as sports and film.
Economic Change in America Change is relevant within every time period, however, very substantial changes took place in the Americas following the War of 1812. Future success of the American society was to be dictated by the support the federal government supplied to domestic manufacturing and infrastructure to make drastic improvements economically. The imposition of high tariffs, advancements in transportation and the development of the cotton gin are among the most important changes made in the United States during this time.
The impact it had on the gilded age was the number of jobs it provided to the fresh-in immigrants. Vanderbilt knew that he could hire immigrants and they would work for not that much money and with these new railroads america will be shrunk for easier expansion of the immigrants.
Industrialization and Industrialists had many important impacts on America. The era of industrialization known as the " Gilded Age" opened up many new doors for the American people. The industrialist Andrew Carnegie had one of the biggest impacts on America by far. Carnegie was responsible for the production of steel.
James M. Buchanan revolutionized not only politics, but America as a whole. As a magnifier of the public choice theory, he brought to attention errors in the thinking of an entire nation. He wrote books, taught at colleges, and won a Nobel prize for his ideas and actions in sharing them. "Public choice is summarized as the extension and application of the tools and methods of economics to the subject matter of political science," (James Buchanan neh.gov). What he says here explains his theory perfectly, looking at politics as a market.
With the advent of the railroad, many of these issues disappeared. Railroads had a major impact on advancing the American economy, transforming America into a modern society, and improving an antiquated transportation system. The building of railroads created rapid economic growth in America. Railroad companies employed more than one million workers to build and maintain railroads. At the same time, coal, timber, and steel industries employed thousands of workers to provide the supplies necessary to build railroads (Chapter 12 Industrialization).
Was Cornelius Vanderbilt a Robber Baron or Captain of Industry? A cruel businessman or an industrious leader? Henry J. Raymond believed that Vanderbilt was “a monopolist that crushed other competitors”(T.J Stiles). While he is also deemed one of America’s leading businessmen, and is also credited for helping shape the United States. His fortunes were made unfairly in some cases but his million dollar contribution to the Navy was very generous.
