Chapter 20, Section 1: Railroads Spur Industry

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Chapter 20, Section 1Railroads Spur Industry

• Main Idea A boom in railroad building encouraged
  American industry to grow but gave vast amounts
  of power to a few railroad owners.

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A. Creating a Railroad Network
Track Gauge

• After the CW, RR companies built all over country
  (war showed importance of RRs.)
• Most early RRs were local (not connected) until
  1886, when a standard gauge (w) was adopted After
  this, RRs were networked (connected) cheaper
  shipping
• Trip from NY to SF went from mos to 1 wk.
• Air brakes (Geo. Westinghouse) made rail travel
  safer faster.
• Dining sleeping cars (Geo. Pullman) added for
  comfort.

Dining Car
Sleeping Car
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Growth of Railroads
- Once the gauge, or width, of tracks was
standardized, railroads formed a network, or
system of connected lines.
Railroads in 1918
Railroads in 1890
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B. Consolidation

• Companies began to combine to form larger
  companies that forced others out of business
• Cornelius Vanderbilt used ruthless tactics to
  build RR empire between NYC Chicago
• Eventually, most RR lines were run by a few very
  rich powerful men

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Cornelius Commodore Vanderbilt
Cant I do what I want with my money?
Cornelius Vanderbilt and James Fisk are shown in
a race for control of New York's rails.
Vanderbilt unsuccessfully tried to take over the
Erie R.R. by buying out its stock.
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C. Building New Lines

• 3 more transcontinental RRs were built after the
  first was completed in 1869
• James Hill built RR empire in the Northwest by
  helping farmers ranchers move there and got
  them established- Why?

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D. Abuses

• Cutthroat competition- to compete for business,
  RRs offered rebates (discounts) to their largest
  customers, which hurt small businesses RRs
  farmers
• established pools, which divided up business and
  limited competition to keep prices high
• farmers were angered by high prices- many joined
  the Populist Party, which called for government
  regulation of railroads (laws were often weak
  because officials were bribed)

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E. Railroads Industry

• RRs made growth of industry possible- steel and
  iron for tracks, lumber for ties, coal for fuel,
  etc. Many jobs created as a result.
• RRs connected the country and brought people
  businesses together. They helped settle the West
  made the US an industrial giant.

• The Railroad fueled the growing US economy
• First big business in the US.
• A magnet for financial investment.
• The key to opening the West.
• Aided the development of other industries.