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Railroads in the late 1800s
Railroads in the late 1800s
How railroads changed america thesis and introduction
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Following the American Civil War, the use of railroads for trade was booming. The Detroit, Michigan and Windsor Ontario border, separated by the Detroit River, was a center for railroads at the time with the Michigan Central and Great Western railroads operating on their respective sides of the border. In the early 20th century, the railroads used ferries to transport shipments across the river. As production and population grew, so did the shipments of goods, specifically grain. An increasing delay in the supply and demand of agricultural products was hurting the economy for both farmers and consumers. In 1909, a tunnel was constructed to transport trains under the Detroit River but the need for a bridge with mass transportation abilities was still needed. This led to the construction of the Ambassador Bridge in 1929, funded by financier Joseph Bower and engineered and constructed by the heralded Pittsburgh McClintic-Marshall Company. No one could have ever foreseen the societal and economical impact the decision to engineer a bridge would have. At the time of its construction in 1929, the Ambassador Bridge was the largest spanned suspension bridge at 564 meters until the George Washington Bridge was built. It was an engineering masterpiece at the time. The total bridge length is 2,286 meters and rises to 118 meters above the river. Suspension cables support the main span of the Ambassador Bridge and the main pillars under the bridge are supported by steel in a cantilever truss structure. In total, the McClintic-Marshall masterpiece is comprised of 21,000 tons of steel. The immense socio-economical impact that the Ambassador Bridge has on transportation and trade is imperative for daily interaction between the Un... ... middle of paper ... ... Another bridge would only decrease the profits of the Ambassador Bridge. Although Matty Moroun has tried to sue the governments of Michigan and Ontario over the past decade, a permit to start construction on a new bridge was passed and announced to the public on April 15th, 2014. The new bridge is to be called the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) or the New International Trade Crossing (NITC). The new bridge is expected to create thousands of new jobs and continue the economic prosperity of the two countries in that region. Mark Butler, the Senior Communications Advisor for Windsor Gateway Project with Transport Canada was quoted saying, “The Windsor-Detroit corridor is Canada’s most important trade artery and the busiest commercial land border crossing in North America.” The bridge is to be 6 lanes wide and expected to be operational in 2022.
Gregory Wigmore’s article Before the Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom in the Canadian-American Borderland covers the main theme of local history during the 19th century in Detroit and Windsor. In particular, Wigmore looks at how the Detroit River served as an escape route between the transnational borders for slaves living on both sides of the river. Wigmore explores how the border was the godsend for the slaves because a simple cross across the river would allow them their freedom. Wigmore’s main focus is the many factors and laws that happened between the 1810’s and the 1820’s that played an important role in this freedom.
Bering Land Bridge- during it’s time of existence the bridge was a major factor in migration from Asia to North America; made travel easier because it was on land instead of having to travel by boat
A privately owned company constructed the current Peace Bridge in 1927. It became a link between Fort Erie, Canada and Buffalo, New York. The bridge is over one mile long, 5,800 feet, and holds three lanes of traffic. The center lane may go north or south depending on the volume of traffic. In 1934, the Great Depression caused a change. The Peace Bridge became publicly owned. As a result there were no taxes to be paid, and financing for projects could be obtained by issuing bonds at a low interest rate. The publicly owned bridge instituted a board of governors called the Peace Bridge Authority, PBA. The board, which made all decisions, was made up of six Americans and three Canadians. Fr...
Ever since Joliet first crossed the portage between the Chicago River and the Des Plaines River in 1673, explorers, investors, politicians, and farmers alike all agreed that constructing a canal across the continental divide could benefit them greatly. The canal would connect the two largest water systems in the United States, creating a continuous waterway between New York and New Orleans, but more importantly, place Chicago on perhaps the most valuable piece of real estate in North America and in the position to become an international city almost overnight.
The Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway (GLGFG) Project is an initiative that seeks to transform the Southeastern Michigan and Southwestern Ontario region into a multimodal transshipment hub. This hub will be where goods are moved through the Port of Halifax, loaded on the new Maersk Triple-E container ships, and shipped to worldwide markets. The Port of Halifax is currently the only deep-water port that can accommodate these post-panamax container ships. These Triple-E ships can move up to 18,000 containers and, due to the economies of scale, reduce the shipping cost per container; thereby reducing cost to manufactures (GLFGr4, pg. 4). Detroit is currently the best-situated city for repositioning its main economic engine to transcontinental shipping. The location on an international border and the system of rail lines and roadways in the region, are the assets that make this opportunity possible. That is the broad view of the project, but many people want to know a more narrow scope of the project. They want to know the local impact of the project. This essay will address the local angle by illustrating how the decline of the automobile industry has placed this region in a position for revival as a transshipment hub. Also, this essay will illustrate how economic activity from The Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway Project can regenerate local real estate markets.
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
During a fast growing economic time, The Chesapeake & Ohio Northern Railway Company, or C&O Railroad for short, had the bridge constructed to expand their railroad even more. The C&O Railroad has a unique and somewhat confusing history that can be traced back to 1836 when the railroad went by the name of Louisa Railroad. Based out of Louisa County, Virginia the rail was a small company that owned a set of tracks from Richmond to Charlottesville. After the company had another change in name to the Virginia Central Railroad in 1850, the Civil War broke out. Virginia Central decided to support the Confederate Army by shipping supplies for battle and in some cases even transporting Troops straight into battle. This caused the Virginia Central lines to be targets of the north where much of the rail was
The Transcontinental railroad could be defined as the most monumental change in America in the 19th century. The railroad played a significant role in westward expansion and on the growth and development of the American economy (Gillon p.653). However, the construction of the transcontinental railroad may not have occurred if not for the generous support of the federal government. The federal government provided land grants and financial subsidies to railroad companies to ensure the construction. The transcontinental railroad contributed to the formation of industry and the market economy in America and forever altered the American lifestyle.
(Pg 22). The United States of America, which was considered young at that time, was faced with problems of economical growth and development. The country had no major canal connecting the coastal areas to the west and transportation of agricultural and manufactured products was a big challenge to the people. In addition to that, the primitive style of transportation was not just out of date; it was also an impediment on economic growth. For instance, the cost of transporting commodities by wagon over the rough roads from Buffalo to Albany, New York, often involved sums equal to five or six times the values of the goods themselves.(pg-99). Not many were willing to embark on long distance travel over rough roads and paths. To solve this problem, America would have to surmount the Appalachian mountain which posed a big barrier between the coastal states and enormous lands at the opposite side. The then president of the United States, President George Washington, who happened to be the first among the visionaries of a sort of waterway project, feared the danger of losing these vast lands to some European countries unless a form of communication is established between the two ends. In his effort to forestall the threatening breakup of the union as a result of the barrier, President Washington had to come up with a contemporary solution which eventually became a platform for the construction of the Erie
The first and most challenging problem associated with building the Mackinac Bridge arrived long before the bridge was even designed. Financing such an enormous project was no easy feat. In 1928, the idea of connecting the upper and lower peninsulas was proposed to Congress for the first time (Brown 4). At the time, the suspected bridge project was very much under government scrutiny and control. In fact, the initial boost in interest in pursuing the construction of a bridge came about due to the depression. The Public Works Administration (PWA) had been created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal economic plan which would fund certain construction projects with th...
The current size, inherent values, and economic status of the United States owes greatly to the paramount figures and events that took place during the Early National Period of the country. However, while there is no doubt that such events- and the figures behind them- were of great importance and have molded the country into the pristine product that it is today, the various construction projects of that time have gone largely unnoticed. Canals, being one of the most prominent advances in transportation, are prime examples of forgotten catalysts of the American nation. The construction of canals- particularly the Erie Canal- during the 19th century played a key role in the geographic, economic, and cultural development of the country by allowing an easier and faster mode of transport, and contributing greatly to the preservation of the Union during the Civil War.
Entrepreneurs realized the need for more ways to move resources and goods. A new form of transportation overtook both roads and canals: The Railroad. It has been said by many economic historians that railroads were “the most important single factor in promoting European economic progress in the 1830s and 1840s.” (Spielvogel 608) The railroad proved to be faster, more reliable, and cheaper than canals (Kennedy 313).
The Capilano Suspension Bridge was built in 1889 across the Capilano River by a Scottish engineer named George Grant Mackay in the city of Vancouver. The bridge was initially constructed from hemp ropes and cedar planks, which were later replaced with more durable steel cables in 1903. Over time, the bridge has exchanged ownership several times and has undergone a series of renovations. This is a paper on the Capilano Bridge. Special focus is given to its history, construction, and impact in its locality.
Burj khalifa is known to be the world’s tallest building in the world. The development and the construction of the Burj Khalifa project began in the year 2004 and the external part was completed in the year 2009. The building is generally made up of concrete because it is a strong and lasting material that can withstand all types of weather conditions. The building is established in city of Dubai and was opened in the year 2010 and renowned as Downtown Dubai. The project was purposely developed by the government so that they could expand their investment and diversify its efforts on oil producing economy. The government of Dubai decided to formulate this project so that it would make Dubai recognized by the world. The project developed