Transportation Revolution

Transportation Revolution

The First Industrial Revolution that began in England with the textile industry around the 1780s was a major turning point in history. Some years later, it spread primarily throughout the western world, including America, having replaced the labor of men to the more organized and easier work in factories for less time and better pay. The Transportation Revolution was a beneficial part in creating the real America of today as it made the US a large and independent economy with more and more jobs, while the developments of antebellum America led to increased industrialization, expansion and sectionalism.

The roots of this revolution were brought about with the Canal Age and all the other major industrial developments. People were able to travel faster to their desired work places. The invention of the railroad helped by binding the South to the North distance-wise, same as east to the west. With this, people began moving westerly in search for better-paying jobs, and overall more “luxurious” lives. This greatly helped the economic side of the equation, as the West was beginning to toughen up and become a huge economic force to be reckon with. Railroads made traveling easier , much more efficient than anything ever before and also more importantly, much safer. Canals such as the Erie Canal quickly paid for themselves by connecting the Mississippi River to the Eastern Seaboard. Eliminating the need for over ground transport, the cost of raw materials coming from the west to the east plummeted. It led to a trade system that was much better than anything seen before. It allowed Americans to trade with themselves and within their country and thus they were able to help the overall needs and economy.

The population of the United States rose by twenty million from 1820 to 1860 and the “Transportation Revolution” had a lot to do with it. Millions of immigrants burst