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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
Why is O'Sullivan confident that a railroad will soon be built connecting the West Coast of the United States?Why is O'Sullivan confident that a railroad will soon be built connecting the west coast of the United States to the Mississippi Valley? Correct: - A railroad is necessary to bind together the eastern and western reaches of the United States.
How did the United States benefit from its overseas territories quizlet?The government invested in infrastructure to connect the nation to its new territories. How did the United States benefit from its overseas territories? Harbors in the Philippines enabled the United States to maintain a presence in Asia and compete with Japan and European powers in the region.
Which development provided a way to amass money and organize huge industrial projects?Exam 3. How did nineteenth century expressions of nationalism differ from early ideas of nationalism?How did nineteenth-century expressions of nationalism differ from early ideas of nationalism? 19th-century people disagreed about who belonged to their nations, because of the geographical separation and linguistic and religious differences.
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