The civil war was a bloody destructive war fought between the United States and the confederate states of America. Following the war, the United States was faced with economic consequences that largely impacted American civilization and benefitted Robber barons. Although some may say that agriculture and labor were the primary economic consequences of the civil war, I argue that it was industrialization and transportation because they both affected Americans’ quality of life and created income inequalities.
The industrial revolution had a drastic impact on American society because of its rapid economic growth. Americans once heavily relied on agriculture but all that changed when slaves were emancipated and planters could no longer rely on
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The pacific railroad act of 1862 finalized the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. This railroad alongside many others made transportation much more efficient and increased westward expansion. It allowed for the mass distribution of raw materials and manufactured goods to travel to Asia and Europe allowing the United States to establish a national market for goods and services. The railroad industries eventually became monopolies plagued with corruption and farmers became their victims who had to suffer the consequences. For example, favored shippers were offered rebates whereas small farmers would be forced to pay much higher rates to move their produce. Due to the interest rates being too high, farmers fell into deep debt. As a result, the farmers arranged the granger movement which advocated for government regulation. The government was unsure of whether it should intervene or follow the political philosophy of laissez-faire. Nonetheless, the government decided to take action with the interstate commerce act which was intended to regulate businesses by banning pooling, rebates, and rate fixing; However, the interstate commerce act was not very effective because it was contradictory in many aspects and its laws could only extend so