According to Joseph Adamczyk, “That year the country was in the fourth year of a prolonged economic depression after the panic of 1873” (Adamczyk). The invention of the railroad changed everything. It was the beginning of a new era. The railroad was a new way to transport goods, materials, and people.
There have been steam engine trains trailing the United States in the early 1800’s. Many of the early ones ran only a few dozen miles. When the railways ran longer distances, the cost to build and later ride them were be extremely high. However, long distances were what Minnesota needed to keep up with the competitive and growing nation around it. “Construction began on the first track in 1861 in St. Paul and was completed in 1862.”
Key events from 1860 to 1920 played an important fundamental role in the development and modernization of our country. The United States underwent many reforms during this time, such as economic, social and political changes. The building of the railroad led to more convenient travel and distribution across the country. In 10 years of completion the railroad approximately shipped at least 50 million dollars worth of freight.
It was even considered as one of the best means of transportation in the world because of its efficiency and low rates. As stated in the text, “The policy which has been pursued has given us the most efficient railway service and the lowest rates known in the world,” (Doc 7). The further advancement of the railroads brought it to a state where it could be compared with the rest of the world and still come out on top. This would only lead to newer and better technologies to be created and have transportation become even faster than it was during this
This new idea brought joy and independence to people and made traveling easier. They sold more cars because of their
The major decline in railroad transportation during the 1950’s was primarily due to the vast construction of interstate highway by the government. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 authorized the vast construction of 41,000 miles of roadway with a steep price of 25 billion dollars that would come from taxpayer money. With the increase in air and road travel, the need to travel by rail, in a less direct route, seemed unnecessary. This would ultimately leave railroad companies to believe traveling by rail was in a permanent decline. On February 18, 1947, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) formally announced that they were operating at a loss.
In 1830 the Baltimore and Ohio railroad tested a steam powered train this lead to Americans developing their own railroads.(pg. 256) Railroads helped transport goods and people move across the country faster than ever before. Railroads were used for many other things including transporting mail from one place to another. This helped people communicate with one another faster. By 1810 and 1820’s the number of letters delivered sent out went up by five million annually and cut the time in half to reach between cities and states.
During the time period of 1860 to 1918, numerous new inventions and innovations were introduced into the modern world. Inventions such as typewriters, telephones, electric light bulbs, and radios became essential to the lives of people throughout the industrial world. Additional inventions in the transportation sector, including cars, airplanes, and trains, were developing quickly. Trains especially were viewed as exceedingly influential because they provided useful advantages for present and future generations, notwithstanding the fact that many people were opposed to the formation of such railroads. People were able to appreciate the immediate benefits railroads had to offer along with the long-term advantages for future generations.
The 19th century saw significant changes in transportation technology, which had a profound impact on Iowa and the United States as a whole. This period saw the introduction and rapid expansion of railroads, steamships, and the widespread adoption of the internal combustion engine. Railroads were the most significant form of transportation in the 19th century. The introduction of railroads to the state of Iowa allowed Iowans to transport people and goods across state lines at speeds that were unachievable with earlier technology.
The building and growth of railroads from 1865 to 1900 played a very crucial role in American society which cannot be underemphasized. Railroads brought about many important happenings that that helped in the development of America and its people, its growth commenced the transportation of goods from one place to another thus it help people carry out business transaction in a quick and reliable way as opposed to what they were accustomed to before the railroads growth which was harder to move goods from one state to another and this caused many inconveniences that resulted to the wastage of time, capital and resources. Furthermore the growth of railroads brought about new dwelling places as people wanted to settle down in places that are connected to the railroads and that made it simpler for people to commute from place to place without wasting much time and this also brought about urbanization as people became many and this contributed to the growth of the economy and develop the country at large because people where now more than ever ready to engage in dealing with each other because
Before railroads, transportation was slow and relied on things like wagons and canals. But railroads are way faster and more efficient. They could carry a lot more stuff and go way farther in a shorter time. This made it possible to transport raw materials, like coal and iron, to factories where they were needed. It also makes it easier to ship finished products to markets across the country.
As America matured during the 1800’s it had some help from the dramatic evolution in transportation. The railroad system was improved dramatically, for example, the transcontinental railroad. Before the transcontinental railroad, traveling coast to coast took so long but the railroad gave people fast transportation from coast to coast. According to GTG Technology Group “Before the railroad, it took almost six months and cost $1000 to travel between California and New York. After the transcontinental railroad was completed, it cost $150 and took one week.”
Primary Source Knowledge Through the late 1800s and early 1900s, Americans began to see many changes in transportation. In the 1800s, most Americans lived near the shoreline in order to travel by boat, as this was the quickest form of transportation and there were limited forms of land transportation. Families could travel by horse drawn carriage, but the roads were rough and difficult to travel on.
Two different generations that even though they seem very different, they can be similar in some aspects and some of the main themes that compare both times are transportation, media and entertainment. How is transportation compared in both times? Transportation in the 1920s was mainly by trolley and train. But when the first car was invented, it created a revolution and the car became so popular at the time. It was much its popularity, that it became a need.
The Tremendous Impact of Railroads on America In the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous.
