What was one positive and negative of the growth of railroads?

One negative effect were building and running the railroads was difficult and dangerous work. More than 2,000 workers had died. Another 20,000 workers had been injured. A positive is railroads made long-distance travel a possibility for many Americans.



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The railroad opened the way for the settlement of the West, provided new economic opportunities, stimulated the development of town and communities, and generally tied the country together.

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As a result, although rail transport has advantages such as high carrying capacity, economy, reliability and environmental impact, it also has some disadvantages such as limited flexibility, operating costs, necessity of intermodal connections and delivery time.

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The transcontinental railroad provided many benefits including progress for commerce, travel, and American identity. The railroad provided a means for transporting massive amounts of products at faster speeds and for farther distances.

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The Transcontinental Railroad dramatically altered ecosystems. For instance, it brought thousands of hunters who killed the bison Native people relied on. The Cheyenne experience was different. The railroad disrupted intertribal trade on the Plains, and thereby broke a core aspect of Cheyenne economic life.

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Railroads had a significant impact when they were introduced to the American West in the 1870s. Rail access spurred white migration and land occupation, altered the cattle industry, and affected the soil ecosystem.

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The industrialized Union possessed an enormous advantage over the Confederacy — they had 20,000 miles of railroad track, more than double the Confederacy's 9,000 miles. Troops and supplies previously dependent on a man or horsepower could now move quickly by rail, making railroads attractive military targets.

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They gave the opportunity of secure jobs to millions of Indians and enabled many of them to acquire new skills. They helped the development of the trade union movement. They laid the foundations of the large Indian middle class. They brought sophisticated technology to the sub-continent.

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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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Building the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads harmed and displaced scores of American Indian tribes, including the Cheyenne, Sioux, Arapaho, Shoshone, and Paiute, by altering natural resources or taking native lands.

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bloda One advantage of large railroad companies was that they were efficient. A disadvantage was that they drove small companies out of business. This led to less competition. Railroads Aid Economic Growth The growth of railroads changed the United States.

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As new towns sprung up along the rail line, it changed where Americans lived, spurred westward expansion and made travel more affordable. But the project also devastated forests, displaced many Native American tribes and rapidly expanded Anglo-European influence across the country.

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But the Depression, and the switch to automobiles after World War II, dealt a blow from which the railroads still have not recovered. A deadly cycle set in. As the number of passengers using the trains decreased, causing revenues to fall, the railroads tried to survive by cutting back on maintenance and service.

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