How and why did transportation developments spark economic growth during the period from 1860 to 1900 in the United States? The period from 1860 to 1900 was marked by significant economic growth in the United States, fueled in large part by the development of transportation infrastructure. This essay will examine how and why transportation developments sparked economic growth during this period, exploring the impact of railroads, canals, and steamships on the American economy.
The American economy was greatly influenced by advancement in the 1800’s, which caused many changes in society and regional identities. Some of these advancements were in the areas of technology, agriculture and commerce. In this period we saw inventions such as the sewing machine, the waltham-lowell factory system, and railroads sweep the nation, and drastically alter the United States economy. The first advancement that impacted the nation was the sewing machine.
As Wallis points out, “Manufacturing concentrated in the northeast. Agriculture spread through the rest of country….Economic growth built on advances in transportation and finance. Promotion of economic growth required investments in banks and canals, later railroads.” [4] Additionally, the federal government provided a stable and unbiased legal environment for the economic growth.
In 1860 through 1900 America experienced a huge period of industrial growth. This was due to 3 reasons. The first was that there was a huge tide of immigrants coming to America, second is that there was a lot of new inventions, and third being that the Civil War stimulated mass production techniques. Immigrants provided big companies with cheap labor, and lots of it. From 1880 to 1921, 23 million immigrants came to the U.S looking for work and opportunity.
The United States were growing very fast; technology made job conditions easier to work with. With the new technological advancements, the country was getting easier to access. The railroads were replacing old methods of transportation. From 1870 to 1890, the number of railroads grew immensely with the major land grants (Document B). With technological innovations such as steel plows and mechanical reapers, it made agriculture easier.
“(When) plants such as (the) textile factory appeared, soon the production of exports outpaced import of goods” (Document 3). Factories resulted in business owners receiving a greater profit because of an increase in trade due to goods being produced faster and sold cheaper. Therefore a cycle was set that benefitted consumers, workers, and business owners and contributed to the capital increase in the economy. Railroads also lead to economic growth, and “during the 1800s the amount of railroad track increased dramatically in Britain, the Continental Europe, and the United States” (Document 5). The railroad system was highly valued by business owners because it expanded the amount of customers they were able to deliver to, goods could be shipped faster, and the payload increased significantly.
Between 1800 and 1900, the United States experienced great economic growth. Two factors that contributed to this growth were government policies and technological developments. America at the time was experiencing cultural and industrial revolutions at a rate that most other new nations, even today, could ever dream of. Government policies and technological developments had a huge influence on the American economy and shaped its character to an extent that defined for the future magnitude of success that it would see throughout the century. Policies such as the National Road and the tariff tax, and technological developments such as the cotton gin and the production of railroads, all contributed to the economic growth of the United States.
Railroads also played a big role in the growth of cities and the expansion of trade. They opened up new areas for settlement and helped connect rural areas to urban centers. This helped spur economic growth and create new job opportunities. Plus, railroads created a demand for things like steel, coal, and timber, which boosted the mining and manufacturing sectors. They also brought people together, making it easier for ideas and innovations to spread across the country.
The period from 1865 to 1898 was a time of rapid technological advancement and significant economic transformation in the United States. The country was moving from an agricultural economy to an industrial one, and technology played a crucial role in this transition. The growth of cities and the rise of large corporations created new opportunities for work and business. The concentration of workers in cities allowed for the specialization of labor and the growth of new industries in transportation, communication, and manufacturing. People with specialized work and trades became unwanted because machines began doing jobs and people worked the machines.
This allowed for growth and income for the state, which is one way the railways boosted the economy. Farming and agriculture was one way the economy grew and flourished, because it provided people with jobs. Businesses also were able to form from the new invention of refrigerated boxcars. The newly found knowledge of pasteurization permitted beer to flow west, which motivated the Northwest to produce more hops, which provided extra jobs. (Artifact P)
One of them was the invention of the Steam Engine which was invented by Robert Fulton. The Steam Engine was first launched on the Hudson River in New York. It was the first line of steamboats invented. Another huge invention which increased our transportation was the railroads. Which also relied on a steam engine to power the trains.
To start with, there was an abundant measure of provisions like coal, iron, and crude materials, for example, fleece and cotton. Second, as populace expanded, there was higher interest for supply, and urban areas developed. Furthermore, banks were growing and boosted people to take dangerous investment chances. Technological changes, transportation improvement, and communication advancement also occurred, helping the start of the Industrial Revolution. Improved methods of transportation also influenced global trade, spreading the use of new
Between the year of 1865 and the year of 1920, the United States moved towards becoming a more industrialized and developing society. With this change taking place, resulted in improvement with how people live with family and earned money differently. The three major aspects of industrialization during the 1865 and 1920 that influenced the politics, economy and society of the United States are: entrepreneurship, technology, as well as transport and communication network. Entrepreneurship: the period after the Civil War from 1865 to 1920 was characterized by fast economic growth in the country.
The industrial growth had began in the united states in the early 1800s and continued through the civil war, after the civil war american industry changed dramatically. Machines had replaced hand labour, inventors developed new products that the public wanted, and bankers supplied large amounts of money that business leaders needed to expand their operations. A new nationwide network of railways distributed goods far and wide. Industrialization had a positive impact/effect. industrialization led to urbanization, urbanization was the movement of people in the city and city building.
The steam engine operated numerous different sorts of machinery, which then sparked the urge to make structures, machines, better developments and better items. A great example are the streets that we drive on today. They are the product of high energy machines and street rollers, which were altogether based on the steam engine. The steam engine likewise led the development of various strategies for transportation. Steam engines brought upon the production of steam trains, which brought about better methods for transportation, for example, planes, automobiles and buses.
