The end of the American Civil war in 1865, marked a growth in the United States. There was huge increase in industry, agriculture and population which gave way to a need to expand settlements across the continent. The population more than doubled in the late 19th century. The Northeast was seen as the core of the nation with 85 percent of the nation’s manufacturing, processing raw materials from the West. The growth of the Northern and Midwestern populations brought about the need for railroad system expansion. The need grew greater to connect the farm and grazing areas of the Plains states with the industrial northeast. In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act authorizing the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. …show more content…
As the Transcontinental Railroad got under way, it brought about a great need for iron and steel. These industries benefited greatly and by 1874 was second to Great Britain in iron production. Steel production increased from 19,643 long tons in 1867 to 1,588,314 in 1881. The great expansion begin in which the railroad mileage doubled between 1865 and 1873.
The United States saw a 50 percent more increase between 1873 and 1881. The transported freight increased to 7.48 billion ton/mile in 1873 from only 2.16 in 1865. It had more than doubled by 1881 with 16.06 billion ton/mile being transported across the United States. Westward Expansion from 1860-1890 depending greatly on the railway infrastructure. The growth of industry and the expansion of the railroad brought about an increase need for skilled workers. In early 1865 the Central Pacific had work enough for 4,000 men. Yet contractor Charles Crocker barely managed to hold onto 800 laborers at any given time. Many of the early railroad workers were Irish immigrants. The Central Pacific realized it needed to figure out how attract and retain a dependable workforce. Crocker suggested that the Central Pacific should rethink the process of hiring Chinese workers. One of Crockers’ foremen James Strobridge didn’t like the idea. However, Strobridge was facing a problem with the Irishmen who were upset about their wages. However, once the Irishmen got word that the Central Pacific was hiring Chinese, they abandoned their dispute. Strobridge seen that the fear of competition would motivate the Irish to work, he hired more Chinese. The Central Pacific was impressed with the work ethic of Chinese and continued to hire the immigrants by the
thousands. . Between 1850-1871, the United States federal government offered more than 170 million acres if western land to railroads in exchange for opening of new routes between California and the Midwest. The CP started construction to build eastward from San Francisco and the UP started construction expanding westward from Omaha to Nebraska. The Northern Pacific Railway at the same time was working on a northerly route between Lake Superior in Minnesota to Seattle, Washington. It would take the Northern Pacific Railway 20 years to build through the remote regions of western Montana, northern Idaho and Washington State. There were two major technology that came about to help the railroad expansion between 1860 and 1870 but it would take the industry until 1890s to take full advantage. George Westinghouse invented an automatic air brake in 1869 and Eli Janney patented an automatic coupler in 1873. Transcontinental Railroad completion in 1869 was a huge success and a major milestone in our history. Now the country was connected from coast to coast
And so thousands of Chinese flocked from China to America, in search for work in the gold mines. After the profits from gold mining decreased because most of the easily obtainable gold had been found, an estimated 10,000 Chinese left the mines and were in search of jobs. From independent miners who had worked for themselves, many Chinese immigrants now became wage earners who worked for bosses. A growing number of Chinese were working in businesses owned by whites. But earning wages instead of prospecting did not discourage Chinese from moving to America. A paycheck of up to $30 could be made working for the railroad, which was 10 times as much than could be earned in China.
Farmers began to cultivate vast areas of needed crops such as wheat, cotton, and even corn. Document D shows a picture of The Wheat Harvest in 1880, with men on earlier tractors and over 20-30 horses pulling the tractor along the long and wide fields of wheat. As farmers started to accumilate their goods, they needed to be able to transfer the goods across states, maybe from Illinios to Kansas, or Cheyenne to Ohmaha. Some farmers chose to use cattle trails to transport their goods. Document B demonstrates a good mapping of the major railroads in 1870 and 1890. Although cattle trails weren't used in 1890, this document shows the existent of several cattle trails leading into Chyenne, San Antonio, Kansas City and other towns nearby the named ones in 1870. So, farmers began to transport their goods by railroads, which were publically used in Germany by 1550 and migrated to the United States with the help of Colonel John Stevens in 1826. In 1890, railroads expanded not only from California, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada, but up along to Washington, Montana, Michigan, down to New Mexico and Arizona as well. Eastern States such as New Jersey, Tennesse, Virginia and many others were filled with existing railroads prior to 1870, as Colonel John Stevens started out his railroad revolutionzing movement in New Jersey in 1815.
This had farmers in distress, for they were losing more money than they were making. Farmers’ incomes were low, and in order to make a profit on what they produced, they began to expand the regions in which they sold their products. This was facilitated through the railroads, by which through a series of grants from the government as contracted in the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, were made possible; which latter lead to the boom of rail roads in 1868-1873.... ... middle of paper ...
Permissiveness coupled with a self-righteous entitlement is not considered very flattering on anyone, much less a developing young country. The loose handle the US government had in the 1800s on its land-hungry constituents contributed to the worst (but among the most overlooked) genocide in recorded history. The few preventative actions taken by the federation to slow the quickening roll of excessive expansion were overruled or overlooked by the citizens. Deciding that the east coast was no longer enough to satiate their appetite for possession, they looked to the west. Imagining themselves to be Moses, claiming their promised land, the settlers surged westward, citing Manifest Destiny, a concept that suggested providence had intended the
B. Summary of Evidence The transcontinental railroad was a 1,800 mile railroad linking Omaha, Missouri with Sacramento, California. This railroad was built through varying environmental conditions including grassy plains, deserts, and mountains such as the Sierra. The railroad revolutionized transportation in the nineteenth century (Galloway 4). The First Transcontinental Railroad was built in the 1860s in order to connect the Eastern and Western coasts of the United States. In the book The Railroads, statistical data describes that “In 1830, 23 miles of railroad track were being operated in the United States; by 1890 that figure had grown to 166,703 miles, as cities and villages were linked across the land....
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...
As the need of human transportation and various forms of cargo began to rise in the United States of America, a group of railroads with terminal connections along the way began to form across the land mass of this country, ending with the result of one of the most influential innovations in American history, allowing trade to flow easily from location to location, and a fast form of transportation, named the Transcontinental Railroad.
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.
How do you see progress, as a process that is beneficial or in contrast, that it´s a hurtful process that everyone at one point of their lives has to pass through it? At the time, progress was beneficial for the United States, but those benefits came with a cost, such cost that instead of advancements and developments being advantageous factors for humanity, it also became a harmful process in which numerous people were affected in many facets of life. This all means that progress is awsome to achieve, but when achieved, people have to realize the process they had to do to achieve it, which was stepping on other people to get there.
America was expanding at such a rapid pace that those who were in America before us had no time to anticipate what was happening. This change in lifestyle affected not only Americans but everyone who lived in the land. Changing traditions, the get rich quick idea and other things were the leading causes of westward expansion. But whatever happened to those who were caught in the middle, those who were here before us?
After America acquired the West, the need for efficient transportation heightened. Ideas circulated about a railroad that would spread across the continent from East to West. Republican congresses ruled for the federal funding of railroad construction, however, all actions were halted for a few years on account of a war. Following the American Civil War of 1861-1865, the race to build transcontinental railroad began in 1866. Lincoln approved Pacific Railway Act of 1862, granting two railroad companies the right to build the first American transcontinental railroad, (Clark 432).
In the 1860s, Vanderbilt shifted his focus from shipping to the railroad industry, which was entering a time of great expansion. He gained control of a number of railway lines operating between Chicago and New York.
Railroads brought the most significant contribution to transportation when it came to distances traveled. Railroads were fast, reliable, and less expensive to build. Railroads systems were able to travel no matter the weather conditions or terrain, and quickly gaining popularity with approximately 30,000 miles of track laid by 1860. Railroads were only opposed by those whose business they impeded: canal backers, turnpike investors and a few horse and
First, the westward migration during Manifest Destiny helped the U.S. to expand, along with improving transportational features. As eastern America became more crowded, the cheap land west made it easier for citizens to disperse across the country. The vast numbers of migrators called for better modes of transportation such as roads, ferries, and bridges. These allowed for a shorter trip west. Second, the building of the transcontinental railroad helped to develop America and its economy. Before the railroad was constructed, it took about one month to transport goods from New York to California; however, the trains allowed for the same distance travelled in one week.. Citizens also were given the opportunity to travel for cheaper with the new railroads; prices had dropped from $1,000 to $150. Today, the U.S. relies heavily on this as 40% of shipments come from either trains or trucks. Finally, the California Gold Rush contributed to the growth of the most populated state in America today. The discovery of gold in California was a reason for the transcontinental railroad to be built, which helped San Francisco develop, for the terminus was located there. The skyrocketing population led to a large increase in buildings such as stores, schools, and libraries. The quick development of California caused it to be granted statehood by 1850, two years after the discovery of gold there, which helped tie the west of the United States to the east. From the California Gold Rush to new forms of transportation, many new changes were made in the Unites