What Role Did The Railroad Play In Journalism During The Civil War

The Civil War is regarded by most as America's first "Modern War." It is the first war in which America has a grasp on new and inventive technologies, such as trains and steamboats. These new technologies could be the primary cause of the war all together if one thinks about the hugely diverse cultures in the North and South. The North, having copious amounts of industry and communication, largely exceeds the South through the invention of telegraphs and the utilization of the railroads. The South was mainly agricultural, cultivating and vending cotton, and other cash crops, to the North and other countries. The one matter the Confederates had that the rest of the world opposed with was slavery. Slavery was the backbone of the South - 5 million of the 9 million people in the South were slaves (HIST). The South almost refused to accept new technologies, making them vulnerable. Telegraphs, railroads, and even cameras all contributed to the massive burst of journalism during this time. Journalism resurfaced the brutality of war to people and helped them realize how traumatic it actually was. …show more content…
The conveyance of the railroads allowed servicemen and their leaders to communicate rapidly. The South did not have nearly as much industrial influence as the North did, automatically making them the underdog of the war (HIST). The railroads in the South were all heading for the North and they were not that many of them. The South ultimately suffered because of this. They had to communicate through people and horses. The North having the vast majority of the railroads enabled abolitionist journalist to get information from the war and hints of what the South was up to