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Historical ContextThe construction and development of American railroads during the nineteenth century had a profound effect on the development of national unity and economic growth in the United States. Prior to the construction of railroads and the subsequent development of a nationwide railroad network, the Mississippi River and other navigable waters largely controlled the flow of goods from farm to market. As the building of rail lines increased during the 1840s and 1850s, the direction of the nation’s internal commerce shifted increasingly east-west. The growing economic ties between the East and the West promoted nationalism as well as stronger cultural and political connections between these regions. In the decades after the Civil War, as the nation experienced accelerated industrialization, immigration, and urbanization, the prospects of relieving the congestion of eastern cities, finding precious minerals, and claiming free, surveyed government land created an even stronger demand for easier access to the West. Big business leadership, technological innovation, and government support led to the development of a nationwide railroad network with the construction of transcontinental railroads, which created and encouraged a national market for the production, transportation, and consumption of goods. The railroad was the "engine" for economic growth and national unity in the United States in the nineteenth century. On the negative side, the construction and development of railroads and the rapid advance of Americans westward had a devastating effect on American Indian tribes. Of the 15,000 men (largely Irish and Chinese immigrants) employed in the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, nearly 2,000 died on the job as a result of dangerous working conditions, difficult terrain, and low compensation during their six years of labor on the project. Unsavory financial schemes, ruthless competition, corrupt business practices, and outright bribery and fraud dominated the railroad industry. Moreover, as railroad moguls pursued exorbitant profits relentlessly, their dominating influence infiltrated the halls of city, state, and the federal governments against the public interest. The movement for effective regulation and reform of the railroad industry occurred subsequently during the Progressive era of the early twentieth century. Procedure
What effects did the creation of the railroad have on the US economy?Railroads became a major industry, stimulating other heavy industries such as iron and steel production. These advances in travel and transport helped drive settlement in the western regions of North America and were integral to the nation's industrialization.
How did the growth of the railway system during the 19th century affect the US economy?The railroads were the key to economic growth in the second half of the nineteenth century. Besides making it possible to ship agricultural and manufactured goods throughout the country cheaply and efficiently, they directly contributed to the development of other industries.
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