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How did the transcontinental railroad affect the US commerce?

The transcontinental railroad impacted U.S. commerce in a positive manner. It made it much faster to ship raw materials from the west to factories in the east. It also made it much quicker and cheaper to ship finished goods all over the country. Products became more widely available.



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Answer and Explanation: The entire United States benefited financially from the joining of two railroads to form one transcontinental railroad. However, two industries benefited the most from the Transcontinental Railroad. Those were cotton and cattle.

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The Transcontinental Railroad reduced travel time from New York to California from as long as six months to as little as a week and the cost for the trip from $1,000 to $150. The reduced travel time and cost created new business and settlement opportunities and enabled quicker and cheaper shipping of goods.

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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 railroad also made homestead life easier.

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What are at least three ways that railroads affected the economy? Able to move supplies in and out, brought metals and produce to the East, allowed towns to be built around tracks, brought workers to the West.

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Freight rail's investments also produce high-paying industry jobs, additional industry- supported jobs, industry and consumer connection to the global market, and local community growth from sizeable funds infused into the market and government budgets.

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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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The railroad became a way for companies to ship to each other from across the country, transport raw materials to factories, and send final products to consumers. Not only did the railway system grow due to the flourishing businesses, but corporations expanded as well due to the growth of the railway system.

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But there was also a dark side to the historic national project. The railroad was completed by the sweat and muscle of exploited labor, it wiped out populations of buffalo, which had been essential to Indigenous communities, and it extended over land that had been unlawfully seized from tribal nations.

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