Positive effects of railroads in the 1800s
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The Tremendous Impact of Railroads on America In the late 19th century, railroads propelled America into an era of unprecedented growth, prosperity, and convenient transportation. Prior to the building of the railroads, America lacked the proper and rapid transportation to make traveling across the country economical or practical. Lengthy travel was often cumbersome, costly, and dangerous. With the advent of the railroad, many of these issues disappeared. Railroads had a major
impact on advancing the American economy, transforming America into a modern society, and improving an antiquated transportation system. The building of railroads created rapid economic growth in America. Railroad companies employed more than one million workers to build and maintain railroads. At the same time, coal, timber, and steel industries employed thousands of workers to provide the supplies necessary to build railroads (Chapter 12 Industrialization). In turn, railroad companies spent
large sums of money purchasing railroad supplies. The cycle of employing large numbers of workers, building the railroads, and spending large sums of money stimulated extraordinary growth in the economy. In addition, railroads caused the remarkable growth of nationwide marketing in America in the late 19th century. Railroads allowed mail-order…show more content… Show
Content Standards NCSS.D2.His.1.3-5. Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments that happened at the same time. NCSS.D2.His.2.3-5. Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today. NCSS.D2.His.3.3-5. Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities. NCSS.D2.His.4.3-5. Explain why individuals and groups during the same historical period differed in their perspectives. NCSS.D2. His.5.3-5. Explain connections among historical contexts and people’s perspectives at the time. Preparation
Lesson Activities Activity 1. There's a Train a-Comin'To heighten student anticipation for learning about the railroads, share railroad-related poems and songs, or read a book aloud to the class. Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Page offers many terrific suggestions on its Trains Page, including "Death of the Iron Horse," by Paul Goble, which tells of the arrival of the rails from the point of view of the Native Americans. Activity 2. When Is That Train a-Comin'? Where Is It Going?Share with the class an image of an 1881 Through Train Schedule. Give students the chance to review the schedule and make observations. Which cities were connected by the railroad? What information can be ascertained from the schedule? Which cities are served? Give the students a map of the U.S. on which they can indicate the cities being served and the connections between them. A printable map of the 50 states is available through the EDSITEment resource National Geographic Xpeditions. To emphasize the entry of new states into the Union after the growth of the railroads, students could use instead—or additionally, for comparison purposes—a map of the United States in 1880, available through a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed New Perspectives on The West. If desired, compare the 1880 map to a map from 1900 to demonstrate how many states were admitted to the Union in the interim. If desired, have students compare contemporary train routes with those of 1880:
Activity 3. Because of the Train a-Comin'?The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad led to an era of change for the U.S. Read and discuss with the class the following background on railroads and the West from the EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory:
It is the student's or group's responsibility to describe the image or document. After it is described, each document should be displayed. When all the images have been revealed, challenge your students to create cause-and-effect connections based on the documents. Explain that railroads brought many changes and that significant change in one aspect of our society often has a "ripple" effect that changes other aspects. Give each group the opportunity to use photos and documents to create cause-and-effect ladders. The connections the students make are hypotheses based on the evidence at hand. An Example of a Cause and Effect Ladder:
Students can show cause and effect using as few as two photos or documents, or as many as they can justify through their explanations. Proceed from one group to the next, as each makes a different cause-and-effect connection. Activity 4. Because of the Train a-Comin'!After the students have created their cause-and-effect ladders, they will work with the Timeline of Events in the West, on the EDSITEment resource New Perspectives on the West, for the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s to look for events that validate student cause-and-effect hypotheses suggested in Activity 3. Divide the class into six groups, each assigned events as shown on the timelines provided. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view timelines.) Make sure each group has at least one strong reader. Give the students time to look over the list. Proceed chronologically as each group names one or more events that relate to the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Students should explain the connection based on the discussion in Activity 3. Further research on any of these events would make a good extension of the lesson. Lesson Extensions
Recommended Resources
Additional ResourcesRecommended reading from American Memory
Recommended reading from Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Page
Recommended reading from Women of the West Museum
What were the benefits of the railroads?Every year, railroads save consumers billions of dollars while reducing energy consumption and pollution, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, cutting highway gridlock and reducing the high costs to taxpayers of highway construction and maintenance.
What were 3 positives of railroad expansion?It had a positive effect of the economy as it helped facilitate trade between the east and west of the USA, and between the USA and Asia. Likewise, it encouraged the growth of the cattle industry. The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 had a huge impact on the West.
What was one positive effect of the growth of railroads?Railroads made it easier for people to travel long distances. They also helped many industries grow. The iron, steel, coal, lumber, and glass industries all grew partly because the railroads needed their products. Railroads also increased trade among cities, towns, and settlements.
How did railroads affect the economy in the 1800s?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.
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