How Did Trains And Railroads Change Life In America?

1420 Words6 Pages

How Did Trains and Railroads Change Life in America? Before the advent of trains, people would travel by horseback, riverboat, and coach. This mode of transportation was slow and cumbersome and limited the number of goods and people that could be moved. The introduction of railroads revolutionized transportation and communication, allowing for the efficient and timely movement of goods and people across North America. It also facilitated the development of industries such as manufacturing and lumber, which in turn helped the nation's economic growth. Trains and railroads reshaped life in America by encouraging rapid immigration and travel, paving the way for western modernization and settlement, as well as economically expanding the country …show more content…

Trains and railroads encouraged movement and travel across America for immigrants, and to expand away from the cities in north-eastern and southern cities in America to escape its complications. An exhibition, Building the First Transcontinental Railroad, says, “For immigrants to the United States, the Transcontinental Railroad presented an opportunity to seek their fortunes… they found more opportunity than the port cities of the East Coast, where discrimination kept immigrants living in urban squalor.” Trains and railroads provided quick migration and expansion in America, which was vital in the progression of the country’s growth as immigrants used trains to travel across the country to start a new life for themselves. The immigrant population would play a big role in the country's progression, contributing to America’s economic growth. However, it did not only change life then but also has changed life now. Immigrants created the "melting pot" of America, where people from various ethnic backgrounds can come …show more content…

Trains and railroads established a new wave of economic growth that hadn’t been seen before in the United States. Wages were now higher, goods were and still are produced better and more efficiently, and new markets are now open. Now in the modern day, there is a variety of job opportunities and career choices to choose from that have sprouted from the use of railroads. Especially with the transportation of goods now, businesses can now be quicker without a time restraint limit like there was before. Trains and railroads also pioneered the economy which is now seen as one of America’s successes. Thomas Curtis Clarke writes at the end of his excerpt in The American Railway, bar 43, “The number of persons employed in constructing, equipping, and operating our railways is about two million. -The combined armies and navies of the world, while on peace footing, will draw from gainful occupations 3,455,000 men. -Those create wealth—these destroy it. Is it any wonder that America is the richest country in the