The development of railroads was the single greatest change in the 19th century. In only twenty-five years, almost 70,000 miles of tracks were laid. This in itself was a great feat, because of all the people and products used in the building of the railroads. In order to build railroads, forests were cut down to lay the track. Iron was needed for pins and also to build the trains. Coal and wood were needed to run the trains, and many people were needed to build the railroads.

Railroads enabled people to see places they had never seen before. Before railroads were built, no one would venture much past their nearest town, which was often miles away. It took them days to travel to town in horse-drawn buggies. After railroads were brought to the United States, people could travel halfway across the country in the same amount of time. They were

"Journey to America." The American Experience. PBS. 1990.

Carnes, Mark, and John Garraty. The American Nation: A History of the United States

Most of the farms in the West moved to commercial agriculture. These people specialized in crops to be sold on national and world markets instead of only to feed their families. It allowed farmers to buy their household supplies instead of making everything themselves. Farming instruments became mechanized, such as the reaper, which could do many times more work than could workers.

A crucial addition to this time period was the invention of both the telephone and electricity, which today are seen as no less than necessities. Until the invention of the light bulb, factories could only be open from sunup to sundown. With extended lighted hours, factories grew because they could hire more people and stay open later.

Another major change in the late 1800's was the Industrial Revolution. After the Civil War, the people of the south realized they had virtually no industry. The textile industry was beneficial to go into, because there was a lot of cotton and it called for cheap labor. Steel was another fundamental trade because of the abundance of iron ore deposits in Alabama. After the development of a cigarette-rolling machine, tobacco became a key item for the South to sell to mass markets. America had a large, readily available work force, an abundance of raw materials, a large investment capital, and a favorable government. This all brought on the "get rich quick" mentality to much of the country. Americans could then afford to satisfy more material wants, a big change from barely being able to fulfill their needs.

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