The Development of the Railroads in North Atlantic Countries, Especially the USA
by North Atlantic countries potentially had a great deal to gain from the successful construction of an extensive railroad system in terms of economic development and the expansion of basic infrastructures, factors that will be evaluated below. The invention of steam locomotives and railroad systems was one of the most important technological advances of the 19th century, an advance that arguably had several economic and social consequences not only in North Atlantic countries such as the USA and Canada, but in other regions as well.
The railroad helped to accelerate the USA rapid industrialisation between the end of the American Civil War and the start of the 20th century. In the space of 35 years, the country’s annual production rates increased by 800 %, whilst the USA had been less productive than Britain at the start of the 1880s it was as productive as Britain, France, and Germany put together by 1914. That gap would widen even further as a result of the First World War (Seavoy, 2006 p. 213).
It was not only the industrial sector of the USA economy that the railroads managed to stimulate; they also contributed to the way in which capital and financial investments operated. Individual railroad projects were financed by shareholders ranging from people that lived in the area to be served by the railroad, to workers on the project, through to local businesses and as the railroads became more successful by banks and the leading entrepreneurs. The federal and state governments also contributed to the financing of railroad projects in anticipation of the benefits that successfully completed railroads would bring in terms of increased trade, and greater levels of wealth generation. Many of the railroad projects would benefit from foreign investors, most of who were British financial institutions, businesses, and entrepreneurs (Seavoy, 2006 p. 135).
Other North Atlantic countries did not have their economies so radically altered by the construction of railroad systems, or indeed seem to receive such as stimulating boost to their industries or their financial as the USA managed to achieve. For various reasons Canada was not able to expand as rapidly as its neighbour was (Hobsbawm, 1975 p. 58). As a British dominion Canada did receive substantial financial investment from Britain although the Canadians were unable to raise the same internal levels of investments as the USA. Canada was bigger than the USA yet its climate is less conducive to supporting a population as large as that of the USA or allowing the Canadians to make as much use of their equally bountiful natural resources (Hobsbawm, 1975 p. 53).
Taking the USA as an example the construction of railroad systems had a strong influence upon the economic patterns of North Atlantic countries, and certainly contributed to an expansion of industrialisation and trade. Britain had of course started to industrialise and also began to construct railroads before any other country had done so. However, Britain did not have enough resources or capacity to remain the world’s most productive and wealthiest county over the long-term. The USA had not developed as quickly as could have been expected for a country that had so many natural resources at its disposal. Prior to the development of the railroad systems transport had been via river, sea, canal, or slowly over land by stagecoaches. The building of railroad systems although starting slowly eventually gained momentum and proved to be a potent catalyst for the expansion of American industrialisation and financial strength. The successful construction of railroads was reliant upon the production of iron, coal, and steel, as well as the recruitment of workers and the obtaining of substantial amounts of capital investment. Railroad construction allowed for substantial increases in industrial production as well as similar rises in internal and external trade.
Bibliography
Brogan H, (1999) The Penguin History of the USA, new edition, Penguin, London
Hobsbawm E, (1962) The Age of Revolution 1789-1848, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London
Hobsbawm E, (1975) The Age of Capital 1848 – 1875, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London
Seavoy R E, (2006) An Economic History of the United States, Routledge, New York & Abingdon
Ward G, (2003) The Rough Guide History of the USA, Rough Guides Ltd, London
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