Real-Estate Investor And Land Speculators In The United States

Industrial and Transportation Revolution During the late 1800s, the United States economy changed due to new inventions, remarkably rapid growth, and new forms of communication and transportation. Different factories were being built, and manufacturers had begun to reorganize the way of work. Factories and workers were going from hand production to machinery. The Industrial Revolution marked a turning point.

At the onset of the late 19th century, the US experienced an influx of new industries, some of which were dominated by a single corporation. With the invention of the Bessemer process, the industries of steel, oil, and railroads boomed. These industries came to be dominated by the companies of industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, respectively. America’s Industrial Revolution also spurred on the invention of electricity and other items that enhanced transportation and communication, which ushered in a new era of change for the US. During the Gilded Age, industry affected the social, economic, and political atmospheres through the monopolization of industries, the rise of Social Darwinism, and the

While America was still in the Gilded Age, the industrial boom of America happened right alongside. The years between 1865 and 1900 saw many monumental changes, including the exponential expansion of America’s railroad system. With government incentives of land and money, railroad companies worked hard and laid miles and miles of new track down on America’s land. Most notable of these track was the Transcontinental Railroad. With the government giving the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad land and money grants, construction was finished with record speeds.

During the period of 1860-1900, there were many factors that helped to promote America’s industrial growth. With railroads increasing commerce, a large supply of necessary resources: coal, iron, and water, help from the supportive government, and a large wave of new immigrants it really was irresistible to not turn into a much more mechanized country. Once the 20th century was upon us, America was one of the greatest industrial nations in the World. Industrialization is what has led this country to be as successful as we know it today. As shown in Document 2, in 1860, there were less than 40,000 miles of railroad track.

The Second Industrial Revolution brought many great things to America such as advances in technology, new businesses, job opportunities, and "new" immigrants. America was truly the "City Upon a Hill." America, although booming after the Second Industrial Revolution, was problematic. The period after the Second Industrial Revolution is called the "Gilded Age" by Mark Twain because America at that time was glittering on the outside but corrupt on the inside.1 Alongside all the advances in the economy, technology, and society there are negative factors coinciding with the progress. The negative factors prove to be detrimental to America's society, politics, and economy.

6. The Homestead Act was passed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. It offered 160 acres of land to settle in the West to settlers; however, there was limited success due to the limited supply of arable land used for farming. Since most of the land was infertile, rocky, dry, and not agriculturally suited, many people competed for land that was near a water source to make farming possible. Many people did take the acres of land in response to land speculation and corruption but instead of living on it, they sold it for a higher cost to gain profit.

The Homestead Act was officially made a law in May 20, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. It made settlement possible in the western United States. By allowing all Americans, including freed slaves, to submit a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land. The Homestead Act of 1862 basically stated that any adult citizen who headed a family could be entitled to a grant of 160 acres of free public land by paying a small fee and living on that land for five years or if that settler would pay small installments, he could obtain that land after six months of residency. The deal was that dwellers were required to improve the land by cultivating and building a dwelling on this free land.

In the book “The Gilded Age and Progressive Era” William explained that the introduction of railroads brought about the expansion of the United States. The engine of the new industrialized economy, eased the fast transportation of raw materials and finished goods from one part of the country to the other. As the railroads grew in power, it increased the economy of the country. He further explained that the problem the economy was facing is that workers were maltreated. They were forced to work in bad weather conditions and were paid very

In a time when America was coming out of the bloodiest war that was ever fought, against themselves, The Civil War, and when America looked overseas for a new frontier with Imperialism. It is in this context that America started to grow westward with farm land and in industry with the million of workers, but America still felt growing pains. Two significant ways in which farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865-1900) were the formation of organizations to protect farmers, and the creation of labor unions and the use of strikes to protect the workers. One significant way in which farmers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865 - 1900) was the formation of organizations to protect farmers. During Westward Expansion farmers fell victims to the low pricing of the crops.

After the Civil War, the United States (U.S.) started industrializing in the early nineteenth century, bringing revolutionary revisions to America’s society and its industries. The abundance of natural resources, new inventions, and continuously immigrating workers, along with the creation of the free enterprise system and a spur of railroads, enabled the country to industrialize successfully. Soon America’s small towns were transformed into large cities filled with factories. In the late 1800s, a period known as the Gilded Age came about, suggesting that America’s industrialization and urbanization had two facets. On the surface, the U.S. showcased golden success and prosperity, while the interior aspect began to unveil the unsettling realities

The railroads encouraged modernization in the American iron industry because they needed to keep up with the demand for the railroad’s iron rails. There were problems of regularity because the railroads were only local and short and were not until the 1860s the railroads began reinforcement into more regional and larger railway systems. The transportation improvements increased the economy’s growth creating markets that were distant more attainable. And the transportation revolution emboldened optimism and more adventurousness in Americans that would further inspire innovation and

The Market Revolution generated a drastic change in the United States economy and altered gender barriers while at the same time accomplishing this in a provocative manner. This economic boom occurred around the first half of the 19th Century. The economic boom was achieved by inventions such as a transcontinental railroad system which resulted in a better transportation system which improved trade and the cotton gin which sped up the rate of removing seeds from cotton fiber. However like what the great Hugo said, “The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced”.

Late 19th century, the United States became the leading industrial nation in the world which transformed the national economy of the nation during the period called Gilded Age. The most influential development of this era were the new inventions of the inventors, who invented new ideas and new products which led to a rise of big business. The inventors mostly controlled the nationwide industries, factories and had much control over the government and people who owned small business. Because of these new inventions the American life was changed and there was a drastic growth in the urban areas, there were significant changes in the transportation, agriculture, communication, and there was a demand in the labor union because of the newly built factories and industries. The life of this era was seemed to be constantly in motion as big businesses were rising and the life of every American got busier and busier because of the newly invented products.

The time period from when the Second Industrial Revolution was beginning, up until President McKinley’s assassination in 1901, is known as the Gilded Age. After the Civil War, many people headed out West to pursue agriculture, and many immigrants moved to urban areas to acquire jobs in industrial factories. It is in this context that farmers and industrial workers had to respond to industrialization. Two significant ways farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age, were creating the Populist Party and the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

The Homestead Act is a special Act that promoted migration to the western part of US. Public lands were made easily accessible to settlers with a small filing fee in exchange for 160 acres of land to be used for farming. Homesteaders received ownership of the land after continuously residing on the land for five years. Homesteaders also had an alternative of acquiring the land from the government by paying a specified amount per acre, after six months of residency. The Homestead Act resulted in the distribution of million acres of public land (Library of Congress n.p).