Technology's Impact On Western Expansion

In this paper I will explain how the railroads changed American society, politics, and its economy during this era. Secondly, I’ll talk about the 1896 election and how that impacted America and changed American Politics and elections form that point on. Lastly, I will identify the 4 themes of the Gilded Age and explain the causes of these themes and the consequences it had on American politics, economy, and its society. When railroads were invented in America, and first started being used commercially and for businesses, it was a major technological leap. They created a huge demand for goods.

In the late 19th century there was a spike in Railroad Construction in the United States. The growth began as a result of congress passing the Pacific Railroad Bill in 1862 which began the construction of the Transcontinental Railroads. In the near future the Transcontinental Railroads would connect both sides of the United States, therefore they would eventually lead up to the settling of the west. Railroads in the late 19th century would affect the settling of the west by allowing people to travel to find work in an efficient manner, by allowing faster and more efficient methods to transport goods to consumers, and improving the economy overall. Starting off Railroads greatly impacted travel time from one place to another.

The Erie Canal played an enormous part in the economic growth in the United States. The Canal helped to cause an increase in industry along the Hudson River. Now, commercial vessels could travel all the way from the Hudson River to Lake Erie (Doc. 1A). This meant that they could bring goods to the people that couldn’t normally get them, because they were too expensive, or they had no way to get to them. Thousands of settlers began to utilize the Erie Canal to move west (OI).

The railroad completely changed the way trade worked. Before the railroad people had to deliver goods by wagon, and that would cause a lot of problems because of the rough terrain and long delivery times, but with the railroad it made things 100 times easier for the single conductor, and the buyers who would get their product much faster than before. Railroads not only helped the economy, but it helped people as well, unlike most things that happened in the U.S. economy, there was little to nothing negative about the creation of railroads which was ideal because it is still being used today. Preceding the railroads there were steamboats, the steamboats were a big hassle because of the dangers, such as indian attacks or boiler explosions, but the Framers were not going to back down until they found the perfect way of trade, hence the railroad. Another way America increased trade was when the cotton gin was created.

The railroads were soon followed by our most modern form of transportation, the automobile. This innovative design was created for the normal person to get around places easier, it was insanely beneficial and with the mass popularity of the assembly line we were able to mass produce these wonderful machines at avery high rate. Not everyone was able to afford a car during the gilded age, but those who were understood the mass efficiency that came with it. The ability for quick transportation and relatively low fuel consumption (compared to the train) combined to create a vehicle that skyrocketed in popularity and once again created a need for jobs and people to work on the assembly line to crete these innovative machines. Cars are used much more nowadays then trains for just normal travel, but trains ares till useful when wanting to support a large amount of supplies over a long distance.

It allowed for the transportation of larger quantities of goods over longer distance. Without the railroad the economy of the West would have had a very hard time expanding. Because of those things you can say that the railroad allowed the West

During this time period there were great technological advancements. One of these advancements was railroads. Railroads were a positive change because it helped transport people and goods across the country. Businesses depended greatly upon transportation in order to transport their goods. Despite the positives of railroads, there were negatives.

Transcontinental Railroad Tera Richardson, 4336787 History 102 B008 Sum 17 Professor Traci Sumner American Military University July 22, 2017 Abstract The transcontinental railroad was one of the biggest advocates for the industrial economy and westward expansion. The railroads could transfer goods and people across the country with ease, and quickly. While some bad came from this miraculous progression, such as the panic of 1873 and a yellow fever epidemic, the good outweighed the bad as it enabled the United States to fulfill its Manifest Destiny through westward expansion.

The expansion of the railroads enhanced the lives of Americans in many ways, this includes supplying materials across the country. The railroads aloud for items to be moved across the country very fast. Although the expansion of railroads did enhance the lives of Americans, some building the railroads were not so lucky to see its benefits. Building the railroads came with many hazards from the climate to explosions. Not only was the railroad dangerous, it also caused other problems.

The railroad shaped Western economic development in many ways, especially by allowing the growth of Western lands. The railroads played a very important part to connect different types of railroad networks together, for example; industrial growth went up because of easy communication by railroad networks. In addition, farming growth rose up, by the expansion Western lands. One of the biggest was transportation, in which gives the consumer the ability to go to different places comfortably. The Transcontinental railroad opened up the Western lands, in which mining and ranching were popular and people took advantage of jobs.

As American factories and farms started to produce more goods businessmen and legislators began to create a faster and cheaper way to get goods distributed to consumers. Around 1820, Americans began to build canals and steamboats, railroad, and extend roads linking the Atlantic Coast with new states in the Trans Appalachian west. Canals and Steamboats shrunk the distance of carrying goods from one place to another and could haul the most cargo for transportation. A well-known waterway called the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes region to the Atlantic Ocean and cost 7 million dollars.

With the advent of the railroad, many of these issues disappeared. Railroads had a major impact on advancing the American economy, transforming America into a modern society, and improving an antiquated transportation system. The building of railroads created rapid economic growth in America. Railroad companies employed more than one million workers to build and maintain railroads. At the same time, coal, timber, and steel industries employed thousands of workers to provide the supplies necessary to build railroads (Chapter 12 Industrialization).

According to the article The Railway Journey, modern transportation “created a definite spatial distance between the places of production and the place of consumption did the goods become uprooted commodities” (40 Railroad Journey). Basically, this means that since the railroad allowed goods to be shipped to further distances at faster rates which resulted in mass productions and shipments of goods which resulted in a stable economy for the United

Business owners made lots of money from the railroads because they were able to transport goods farther and faster with ease. Although the railroads tremendously impacted businesses and therefore the economy, the native americans were negatively impacted because the railroads were being laid on “their” land. This caused distrust between the settlers and the natives because of the “disrespect” for the land. Because of the new ways of transportation, the industrial revolution took place causing skilled artisans to be replaced by unskilled workers that used large complex machines.

The building of roads, canals and railroads played a large role in the United States during the 1800s. They served the purpose of connecting towns and settlements so that goods could be transported quickly and more efficiently. These goods could be transported fast, cheap and in safe way through the Erie Canal that was built to connect the Great Lakes to New York. Railroads were important during Civil War as well, because it helped in the transportation of goods, supplies and weapons when necessary. These new forms of transportation shaped the United States into the place that it is today.