Sonora Gillespie
Dr. Michael Perri
History 1302
6 May 2015
Transformation of the Nation The transcontinental railroad network transformed post-Civil War America into a booming industry. The nation was finally physically bound from coast to coast. The railroad touched numerous phases of American life. It became America’s largest business. It employed thousands of people and made many things possible that could not be done before and of course it made things that could be done before a lot faster. The transcontinental railroad played a huge part in the different factors of American life. To build the railroads, of course thousands of people were needed. It emerged as the nation’s biggest business. It employed more people than any other industry. …show more content…
Trains traveling coast to coast hauled goods to factories and raced them back as finished goods for sale across the country. The industry expanded tremendously because of this huge market. Businesses were no longer required to sell their products in a certain area. The trains also carried food to enormous groups of people. The transcontinental railroad basically tied together the East and West’s economies. The West had materials that factories needed in the East such as minerals, and trains were able to carry those materials so that factories in the East could make their manufactured goods.
Railroad companies also stimulated immigration. They sought settlers to whom they might sell their land to at a great profit. The companies advertised in Europe and sometimes offered to transplant the new coming immigrants for free to their farms. After the first railroad was complete, immigrants started pouring into the United States. They used the train system to migrate west. This, of course, made railroad companies happy because it meant more business for them. Many of the immigrants that did this were from Europe and were looking for a way to live the new American lifestyle …show more content…
Of course the railroad was not the beginning of white colonists' encounters with Native Americans. Nor was it the last one. It was a permanent indicator of interfering white civilization, and persisting force that also required Indians onto reservations within decades. This was so whites could increasingly fork outward from the railroads (American).
The animal herds which Indians lived off had been closely exhausted. There were many relaxed hunters transported to the grasslands. The railroad then presented the masses of animals to American manufacturing production companies, which they developed one more resource to be mined. Masses of animals fell to unselective slaughter. They sold their skins to the marketplaces in the east. Later on, even the wealthy hunting ground so hard won by Oglala Sioux was taken away because of the building of the railroads
Dr. Michael Perri
History 1302
6 May 2015
Transformation of the Nation The transcontinental railroad network transformed post-Civil War America into a booming industry. The nation was finally physically bound from coast to coast. The railroad touched numerous phases of American life. It became America’s largest business. It employed thousands of people and made many things possible that could not be done before and of course it made things that could be done before a lot faster. The transcontinental railroad played a huge part in the different factors of American life. To build the railroads, of course thousands of people were needed. It emerged as the nation’s biggest business. It employed more people than any other industry. …show more content…
Trains traveling coast to coast hauled goods to factories and raced them back as finished goods for sale across the country. The industry expanded tremendously because of this huge market. Businesses were no longer required to sell their products in a certain area. The trains also carried food to enormous groups of people. The transcontinental railroad basically tied together the East and West’s economies. The West had materials that factories needed in the East such as minerals, and trains were able to carry those materials so that factories in the East could make their manufactured goods.
Railroad companies also stimulated immigration. They sought settlers to whom they might sell their land to at a great profit. The companies advertised in Europe and sometimes offered to transplant the new coming immigrants for free to their farms. After the first railroad was complete, immigrants started pouring into the United States. They used the train system to migrate west. This, of course, made railroad companies happy because it meant more business for them. Many of the immigrants that did this were from Europe and were looking for a way to live the new American lifestyle …show more content…
Of course the railroad was not the beginning of white colonists' encounters with Native Americans. Nor was it the last one. It was a permanent indicator of interfering white civilization, and persisting force that also required Indians onto reservations within decades. This was so whites could increasingly fork outward from the railroads (American).
The animal herds which Indians lived off had been closely exhausted. There were many relaxed hunters transported to the grasslands. The railroad then presented the masses of animals to American manufacturing production companies, which they developed one more resource to be mined. Masses of animals fell to unselective slaughter. They sold their skins to the marketplaces in the east. Later on, even the wealthy hunting ground so hard won by Oglala Sioux was taken away because of the building of the railroads