During the 1800-1900s America was growing rapidly, the population, the income, immigration; especially the western expansion. There was one main issue, travel and transportation to the West was challenging which affected the lives of the American people. With the Louisiana Purchase deal in 1803, America nearly doubled in size and by 1840 almost 6 million Americans had migrated west with hopes of a better life and acres of land, this increased the need for a more connected United States through new transportation methods. Most rivers ran N-S not E-W; wagons were slow. In 1811 the U.S National government opened the first Federally paid road in Cumberland, Maryland to open up the West for settlers. This was controversial because it crossed many states; those that not support it, did not want to pay for it; this resulted in transportation being left up to individual states or to private investors or wealthy individuals. This new national road offered Americans a speedy more luxurious way to travel but did not solve the nation's transportation issues as this road was not suitable to transporting large amount of goods. …show more content…
Next Americans turned to water transportation to meet the needs of the developing industry and western immigrants.
During 1807 Robert Fulton had developed the first steam boat and named it the “clairmont”. This changed the transportation game because this allowed supplies to travel from the Ohio river to the Mississippi; things like travel time were minimized and shipping rates went down, which benefited the economy dramatically more than land transportation had previously. Additionally, canals were built to connect water bodies to allow for more trade through transportation. A major American canal was the Erie Canal which connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and then to the Atlantic Ocean. This canal opened October 25, 1825 and was paid for by the state of New York, this canal offered faster transport of goods at a lower
fee. Following steamboats and canals was the invention of the railroad and the steam powered locomotive. This was a turning point for the nation as now trains could travel anywhere that they could build tracks; transportation was no longer strictly limited to rivers and canals. Beginning around 1830, railroads were being built in the eastern part of the U.S and the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. Railroads changed the entire culture of the United States and made the country connected in a way that it had not been before. Before railroads, it could take months to travel across the United States. Places like east coast cities like New York and Boston seemed like a world away from west coast places like California. By the 1870s, people, goods and supplies could travel from Boston, New York to California in just a few days. The Transportation Revolution birthed new inventions like railroads and steamboats that revolutionized new methods of transportation and provided many new reliable, safe and cost effective ways to travel, ship goods; information to different parts of the nation, which included the new land in the West.
During the 1880's and 1890's, the United States focused on broadening their territory and expanding their country westward. During the early part of the decade, a vast amount of land was disappearing due to the fact that millions of people were moving west looking for gold mines and new farmland. The government was encouraging this move to happen in such ways as the Homestead Act of 1862 that gave 160-acre plots of land to settlers for an extremely low price. As people moved in that direction, more towns were built, leading to the need for railroads that spanned across the country. The very last spike of the transcontinental railroad was driven in during 1869, paving the way for easier travels across the country. There was a huge increase in commercial farming, which led to a market boom. This market increase caused an international market that was filled with competition. This international trading between a select few different nations was about the extent of the United States' foreign relations in the 1880's.
From the years 1800-1850 the nation was full of battles and prosperity. Territorial expansion was a cause in most of the battles, but also gained prosperity for the nation. There were many impacts on national unity between those time periods, but the main impact was territorial expansion. This is true because of the Louisiana Purchase, the purchase of Oregon territory, and the Mexican War.
Expansionism in the late 19th/ Early 20th century Expansionism in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century shared many similarities and differences to that of previous American expansionist ideals. In both cases of American expansionism, the Americans believed that we must expand our borders in order to keep the country running upright. Also, the Americans believed that the United States was the strongest of nations, and that they could take any land they pleased. This is shown in the "manifest destiny" of the 1840's and the "Darwinism" of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Apart from the similarities, there were also several differences that included the American attempt to stretch their empire across the seas and into other parts of the world.
Between 1800 and 1850 the United States of America was an evolving nation in almost all possible ways including national unity. Many factors effected the change in national unity but none quite as much as territorial expansion. During this time period the United States more then doubled in size and by the end of its expansion reached from atlantic coast all the way to the pacific. When the nation first started to expand it brought with it the “era of good feeling”. With new states being created, the rapid growth of white settlement, and the economy expanding a rising spirit of nationalism was was consuming the United States in the years after the war of 1812. However, too much of anything, even something positive like territorial expansion, can bring negative effects. The first time the negative effects of territorial expansion became evident was during the panic of 1819. One of the next major events that showed clear evidence of decreased nationalism was attributed to the large amount of immigration in to America that took place between 1820-1840, this brought with it an rise in nativism. Lastly, during this booming immigration period, the United States also under went the industrial revolution which
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...
Throughout most of the nineteenth century, the United States expanded its territory westward through purchase and annexation. At the end of the century, however, expansion became imperialism, as America acquired several territories overseas. This policy shift from expansionism to imperialism came about as a result of American's experience in the Spanish American War and the Congressional debates that followed the American victory.
Many other farming machines were also developed during this time period, they all made farming in the west much more popular, easier, and profitable. The Trans-continental railroad was started in 1862, even though other trains were already running in different parts of the U.S. The telegraph also went up along with the railroads, although the first time it was used was in 1844. All four of these major technological advancements have helped the United States really get going on their Manifest Destiny. The economy would also blossom during this expansion.
In 1845, a fellow named John C. Calhoun coined the term "Manifest Destiny." The term Manifest Destiny was a slogan for westward expansion during the 1840's. In the west there was plenty of land, national security, the spread of democracy, urbanization, but there was also poverty out west. People moved out west in search for a new life such as a new beginning. Moving out west, settlers from the east were taking a risk of a lot of things. The climate was different and there were more cultures that lived out west because of how much land was available.
The Homestead Act of 1862 was signed into order by our late president Abraham Lincoln. The Homestead Act transferred over 200 million acres of public land into private land for purchase. Anybody who wanted to move west just had to file for land usually it was like 160 acres and after five years of living there it was theirs for free or after 6 months they could purchase it for a dollar and sixty two cents an acre. Settlers would set out in search of gold and land. The land wash harsh and much more suitable for raising cattle as compared to farming. The ability to easily afford and get land along with the introduction of the Transcontinental Railroad led to a boom in western expansion. The transcontinental Railroad made moving west easier, although
The expansion of the west happened in a lot of places west of the Mississippi. One of the most important setting was the Louisiana Purchase which was bought in 1803, the 828,000 square miles of land nearly doubled the size of the U...
Roads, steamboats, canals, and railroads lowered the cost and shortened the time of travel. By making these improvements, products could be shipped into other areas for profit (Roark, 260). Steamboats set off a huge industry and by 1830, more than 700 steamboats were operating up and down the Ohio and Mississippi River (Roark, 261). Steamboats also had some flaws, due to the fact of deforesting the paths along the rivers. Wood was needed to refuel the power to the boat.
The Erie Canal created what was the first reliable transportation system, connecting the eastern seaboard (New York) and the western interior (Great Lakes) of the United States that did not require on land travel. Along with making water routes faster then travel on land it also cut costs of travel by 95 percent. The canal started a population surge in western New York, and opened regions farther west to settlement. This was the start of New York City becoming the chief U.S. port.
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.
As the United States grew in power, so did her ideas of expansion. The foreign powers were beginning to move out of their continents and seek land in other countries. The United States soon followed. They followed in their founder’s footsteps and tried to occupy lands in the far seas. However, in the beginning, this need for more land was called Manifest Destiny. This idea claimed that God was forcing them to occupy the new western lands. The expansionism that occurred in the late 1800’s was not a result of Manifest Destiny, and thus this "new" idea of expansionism was different from the expansionism ideas of early America. For the most part, the United States’ need for more land was primarily to keep other nations (mainly European powers) out of the western hemisphere. However the United States began to see reason behind change towards the "new" expansionistic ideas.
Canals, steamboats, and railroads allowed for faster travel of exports and the creation of bigger cities. The invention of the Pony Express, specialized regions, and infrastructure permitted Americans to keep in touch over long distances and the creation of market towns, which inspired a deep, national connection from all corners of the country. The giant leap made by the Transportation Revolution changed America greatly in ways of their economy and