What was the key invention that helped America chug ahead in the industrial race around the world? The railway system ignited many other inventions in the last third of the nineteenth century, and helped America grow into the strong industrial nation it is today. The railway system helped “the movement of settlers further and further west accompanied by technological advances led to the major growth of cities and industries across the American frontier,” (Transportation and the Expansion of America). Railroads improved how we communicated as a nation, and helped us transform our economy for a regional agrarian economy to a national industrial economic superpower. The communication in America increased immensely due to the growth of the railways.
There were many aspects that lead to the economic success that America experienced in the period after 1890, all them then becoming factors in America becoming the economic powerhouse it has. America possessed an abundant supply of land, raw materials and natural resources; coal oil and timber and with the expansion onto the newly settled Great Plains, America had the ability to develop in a variety of ways. With the newly acquired land from the Native Americans, agriculture grew and thus followed profit increase in the area. New technologies such as the invention of refrigeration on the move and communication technologies like the telegraph allowed business to grow much further afield, and not just with in the United states, along with the agricultural growth came the expansion of the railways in the west both making money from the resources readily available creating a growing cycle of supply and increasing demand in areas previously untouched furthering the economy. Mass immigration into the USA stretching from the end of the 19th century and well in to the 20th supplied an affordable and readily available source of labour willing to work cheaply in the growing industries, the new immigrants boosted the American economy in two ways; an increased demand in housing and food as well as other day to day commodities profited the economy, but also the cheap labour they provided allowed big businesses to grow.
This increase was partly due to an influx of immigrants. 2 Immigration increased the U.S. population and it also created a new source of laborers. In addition to social changes, there were dramatic changes in the labor movement which happened between the years 1877 and the 1920s. With the end of the Civil War, industries began booming and the railroad industry especially increased: in fact, the railroad industry was the second largest industry in the United States and agriculture was the first largest. The year 1877 is famous for the Great Upheaval which is also known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
Were Nineteenth-Century Entrepreneurs Robber Barons? Between 1860 and 1914 the United States was transformed from a country of farms, small towns, and modest manufacturing concerns to a modern nation dominated by large cities and factories. During those years, the population tripled, and the nation experienced astounding urban growth. A new proletariat emerged to provide the necessary labor for the country’s developing factory system. Between the Civil War and World War I, the value of manufactured goods in the United States increased twelve fold, and the capital invested in industrial pursuits multiplied 22 times.
The Trans-Siberian railway was started in 1891; this was a massive improvement to the economy because it opened up the Eastern Empire and advanced the growth of new towns and cities, whilst connecting new industrial centres which helped to stimulate the growth of iron and coal industries. In the case of foreign investment, Witte put the rouble on the gold standard which encouraged other countries to invest heavily in Russian industry. These policies had some beneficial outcomes such as heavy industry saw massive increases in production, and the economy grew 8% per year in the 1890’s, however, arguably there were also negative impacts of Witte’s policies. The Trans-Siberian railway was only partially built and therefore only the major cities were interconnected. Also in order to provide money for industrial developments, taxes were raised which squeezed the peasants and therefore made them penniless to buy consumer goods, resulting in the economy of Russia itself to stagnate.
The U.S. had the states of California, Nevada, and Oregon on the west coast. Territories were between the west coast states and the states beyond the Mississippi River. The population increased dramatically, from 2,148,100 in 1770 to 38,558,371 in 1870. The increase in population is caused by immigration of people to the US and slavery was another cause. Slavery and population had a big affect on the next 100 years of the United States history.
Sergei was a key member of the government under the rule of both Alexander III and Nicholas II. Witte’s largest project was to improve the transport across Russia; he did this by improving the Trans-Siberian Railway which was constructed between 1891 and 1902. The line stretched for over 6000 kilometres and was intended to open up the more remote parts of Russia, which would in turn make the production better all over Russia as the produce would be able to be transported quicker across the different industries. Obviously this factor improved the economy as it meant that the country would be able to produce more and quicker. This railway also opened up a range of different jobs, meaning that the unemployment of Russia plummeted.
Trade and Inventiveness * Demands for goods increased in Europe * Population growth and agricultural production increase were added to the growth and trade and technology demands * Eli Whitney and John Hall invented the machine tools that were capable of making other machines * Benjamin Franklin and others experimented with electricity iv. Britain and Continental Europe * Britain played their role in the industrial revolution * They helped with economic growth, population growth and smart people who could pitch in new ideas * Furthermore Brittan has a innovative water transportation system, known as the unified market which helped with the commercial sector
He linked industrial growth with a stronger nation politically and economically, and was inspired by the more developed nations in the west. He invited foreign experts from more industrialised countries like Britain, France and Germany to Russia to advise him on modernisation. He realised that he would have to have policies that would allow individual business people to start factories and encourage metalwork. His policies were successful, because industrial growth increased on average by 8% a year between 1890 and 1899, which was the highest growth rate of any of the world’s major economies. When Witte placed emphasis on industrialisation, it meant that jobs were created in towns and cities.
The opening of the Suez Canal allowed a faster and easier trading route with the East Indies, and German unification was a significant factor to the economy. The Amsterdam harbor was made even more accessible by sea when the North Sea Canal was opened. The economic growth increased rapid population growth as well. The increasing population growth resulted in the city walls being destroyed to allow city extensions beyond the outermost canal around the inner city. Areas such as Oud Zuid were established as luxury extensions.