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What Role Did Railroad Play In The Development Of America

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Railroads played a massive role in the development of United States. Railroads were important as an industry in themselves. Throughout the years the railway mileage exceeded 74, 000. The prominence in railroad construction was on organizing integrated system, after 1865. The railroads had incredible advantages compared to the steamboats, canals and other transportation medium. Firstly, railroads could be built anywhere and it could be build fast. The rise of steam-powered railroads transformed America’s social life and economics by altering transportation, agriculture, and industries. Without the railroads most of America’s resources would not be touched, industries would not be successful and civilization would had been slow. By 1890, railroads connected the major wheat markets and corn markets to the industrial cities in Ohio and Pennsylvania and the urban region. Railroads were used to move goods and people at a great distance in a rapid pace. This created a transportation network for goods and people from the rural area of America; where the resources are obtained to the industrial cities. Railroads impacted America’s social life by providing a faster spread of communication and drastically cutting down the time for travelling. New jobs were created for the people to help build and operate the railroads. …show more content…

Railroads made it possible for people to move throughout the country and settle in new places. The presence of railroads made travelling and manufacturing possible in winter. It allowed those previously unable to transport farm products, cotton and raw materials to the manufacturing centers and growing cities of the Northeast and Midwest to enter the market. During the nineteenth century, railroads were used to move iron ore and coal to Pittsburgh to produce steel, which was a big industrial product at that time. Steel was also transported to the rest of the country through

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