ipl-logo

How Did The Railroad Contribute To The Civil War

848 Words4 Pages

Even though the railroad existed before the great division between the north and the south and it mainly contributed in providing goods for both sides, the invention of the railroad greatly contributed to the civil war. The first railroad created in the US was in 1827 and their major role was to transport goods from the North to the South and back. As slaves became more abundant in the South and less present in the North a war began on the idea of slavery. The railroad caused this Civil War by bringing goods to only one side and keeping their advantage. It went from having different point of views to all out battles that started with starvation and isolation, but led to death and separation. 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. Wheat …show more content…

Even though the railroad was made before the separation between the north and the south and it’s main job was to provide supplies for both sides, the invention of the railroad greatly contributed to the civil war. During the war the railroad was used to provide supplies for the war. If this invention didn’t exist then both sides would rely on the mississippi river and other channels of water and both sides would be a little more similar when it comes to culture. If this invention didn’t cause the war it greatly contributed to it, similar to many other forms of technology created during the

Show More
Related
1748 Words | 7 Pages

After America had obtained the west, the need for a better transportation heightened. Many ideas were proposed to get from the east to the west shores, but the railroad was the best choice. The Republican Congress convened and ruled that federal funding on the railroad construction. The congress voted for the funding, but it was halted because of a war. The American Civil War of 1861 to 1865, the race to build the railroad began in 1866.

Read More
169 Words | 1 Pages

railroads played a vital role in the American Civil War. They allowed the North and South to move men and equipment vast distances to further their own war aims. Because of their strategic value to both sides, they also became focal points of each side 's war efforts. In other words, the North and South both engaged in battles with the design to secure different railroad hubs. For example, Corinth, Mississippi was a key railroad hub which was taken first by the Union a few months after the Battle of Shiloh in May, 1862.

Read More
195 Words | 1 Pages

Did you know that the train was an important invention during the Civil War? The trains used to rely on gravity and ropes to get it to move. Also, the person who created the train was Richard Trevithick. The train was an important invention because it helped transport soldiers faster, connect towns, and change the way we deliver things. The train was used in the Civil War in 1861-1865.

Read More
663 Words | 3 Pages

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was a huge part of the Civil War and helped set the roots of West Virginia in so many ways. This railway was the nation's first carrier railroad (American-Rails.com). The B & O railroad was a major transporter for the Civil War, it carried soldiers, weapons, and supplies from place to place. Because of the locomotive's railway, the eastern panhandle is shaped the way it is. Although the railway benefited America in so many ways, it also had its hardships, like attacks, and rail destruction.

Read More
1423 Words | 6 Pages

The Union Army believed that the railroads were a lifeline for the Confederate Army because the Confederate used the railroads to transport soldiers, weapons, food, and communicated all

Read More
484 Words | 2 Pages

Nick Baxter What caused the Civil War? DBQ The Civil War was caused by three main reasons are economic differences, interpretation of Constitution, and moral beliefs. The North and the South were very different economically.

Read More
646 Words | 3 Pages

April 12, 1861, the day that the Confederates and the Union squared off in a Civil War that ended with a disastrous number of 600,000 fatalities. Several Compromises failed to fulfill their purpose of slavery and the issue of tariffs began to deteriorate the United States economically. Popular sovereignty and representatives in Congress determined the states rights for themselves. The Civil War was caused by the state’s rights and their need to escape the Union, slavery which poised a great threat to the breakable United States, and the economic differences that identified the strength and weaknesses of the North and South.

Read More
909 Words | 4 Pages

The Civil War was a monumental bloodshed, which was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States, from 1861 to 1865. The primary cause of the war was the Southern states' desire to preserve the institution of slavery, which did not please the beliefs of the North. At the beginning of the Civil War, twenty-two million people lived in the North and 9 million people, which included four million of whom were slaves, lived in the South. The North, led by President Abraham Lincoln and his trusted generals, had more money, more factories, more horses, more railroads, and more food than the south. These advantages made the United States much more powerful than the Confederate States, which ultimately led to Northern victory.

Read More
1115 Words | 5 Pages

How did hope shed the light of those shackled by slavery, and change the course of history, one literal step at a time? This is the Underground Railroad, one of which remains one of the most remarkable chapters in American history, a symbol of resilience and bravery among those who fought against the injustice of slavery. The Underground Railroad, a secret network of people, safe houses, and routes used in the 19th century to aid escaped enslaved individuals from the South and seek freedom. This essay explores the combined actions of abolitionists, free African Americans, and allies in the fight against slavery and how they contributed to the success of the Underground Railroad’s operations. This essay will go into detail of aspects of the

Read More
1237 Words | 5 Pages

Right at the start of the war the use of the railroad was almost always military. For instance, a lot of the generals were even stationed at rail yards. The railroad was significant during the Civil War because it helped both sides transport supplies throughout the United States. The railroad was important long before the war started and is still important today. Before the railroad was built, the only way of travel was by wagon or on foot.

Read More
857 Words | 4 Pages

With the implementation of railroads, traveling westward also became easier, which attracted a lot of people. Without the Civil War, the progression of westward expansion would have been abundantly

Read More
558 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

To a greater extent, slavery was the greatest cause of the outbreak of the civil war in 1860. Disputes of slavery caused economic and political troubles between the northern and southern states leading up to the civil war. The fact the the northern and southern states were different in almost every way caused them to turn out like completely different territories, one of their greatest differences was the fact that most southern states economy relied on hard labour, agricultural jobs like tobacco in Maryland, and cotton in Virginia; this caused their economy to be more based on the labour of slaves than the more developed territories in the north (Harrold), who after this time was starting to not need the slave labour in their territories because after early 1800’s, the industrial revolution had been spreading to America, and the country developed very quickly. But in this expansion, only the north states were getting the effect of the industrial revolution, meaning the north would not need slave

Read More
821 Words | 4 Pages

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).

Read More
1289 Words | 6 Pages

Christopher Milam US History 3rd Harmony 1/21/23 The Cause of the Civil War In 1861, the Civil War began, causing a major conflict between two sides, the Union and the newly founded Confederacy; both had opposing ideals about Slavery. Using historical evidence, the Civil War was primarily fought over Slavery. This can be backed by the struggle against Slavery's acceptance, laws and bills directed toward the black population, and pro-slavery white governments. Slavery's attempted acceptance was for the entirety of the United States to allow slave-holding states but was denied, causing conflict.

Read More

More about How Did The Railroad Contribute To The Civil War

Open Document