The Impact Of Westward Expansion On Developing The United States

Westward expansion and the industrialization period positively impacted developing the United States. Westward expansion created a space that allowed so many important figures in the history of the industrial revolution in America to prosper. The country after expanding west had the space to create things like railroads and large factories. This period of time was an essential part of the development of this country. Anyone could participate in this era; some were the brains behind these inventions and others were funding these projects. There was also a large group of people who contributed to this period by working in the factories or building the railroads. Most importantly the country learned the power of factories and mass production

By Americans moving away from the east then into the west a need for better technology in transportation and telegraphs. In America before the country decided to expand west there wasn't a transcontenital railroad that would connect the east to the west. This development came in 1863 after expanding west, without this it would've taken Americans months to get from east to west making it less efficient and harder to transport goods from one side of the country to another. In the text it states “ The building of the transcontinental railroad opened up the American West to more rapid development. With the completion of the track, the travel time for making the 3,000-mile journey across the United States was cut from a matter of months to under a

There was a group of people who were essentially the brains behind this period, who for years filled themselves with knowledge and spent time developing new technologies. For example James Watt, after working hard and long on his invention his steam engine pushed the industrialization period forward in big ways. In the text it states “With further improvements in the 1780s, Watt’s engine became a primary power source in paper mills, flour mills, cotton mills, iron mills, distilleries, canals, and waterworks, making Watt a wealthy man”. With his brains he was able to contribute to the country and leave a legacy for his family as well. Then undeniably there was the group of workers and builders that worked in the factories. These people were able to get work in the cities and provide for their families. In the text it states “As industrialization progressed, more and more rural folk flocked to the cities in search of better pay in the factories”. Workers also had to learn more specialized tasks, then compared to working on a farm for instance. It also states in the text “As the factories grew and workers became more specialized, additional teachers and trainers were needed to pass on specialized