After the Civil War, the United States began to expand Westward. Much of this expansion was due to the transportation revolution. Railroads were spreading; roads, canals, and steamboats were improving. Allowing for more ways to travel West. As the country entered the Industrial Revolution, not only were people migrating within the country but immigrants began to emigrate to America. Immigrants soon became the workforce of many factory owners as their labor save money for companies. The railroads allowed for settlement in the West to occur rapidly after the Civil War. Before the railroads, Americans who wished to travel to Oregon and California had to endure a 6 to 8-month trip in ox-drawn wagons. These very long and difficult trips made areas in the West unreachable. In 1870, the invention of the railroad made these trip attainable and the West accessible. Since the West was now more easily accessible, Americans were able to use the newly attained land to farm and transport goods back to the East. As a result, innovation and advances in farm equipment occurred, which boosted production. Therefore, the railroads changed how goods were transferred and made them more accessible to everyone. Without the railroads, development and settling of the West would not have been possible. Although the railroads achieved in …show more content…
They used pull factors, such as good wages and the broad range of jobs to lure them in. Apart from the pull factors, immigrants were driven to the United States due to problems in their homelands. Many of these immigrants came from places that faced problems, such as, overpopulation, violence, religious persecution, crop failure, famine, or industrial depression. The influx of immigrants consisted mainly of young, single men who were trying to earn enough money with the hopes of someday returning home. Others decided to stay in the United States and save money to have their family shipped