Pierpont Morgan (bankers' banker), circumvented their competition. Tycoons like Andrew Carnegie (steel king), John D. Well-known is the electric light bulb in 1879. Thomas Alva Edison invented numerous devices the most This invention revolutionized the way AmericansĬommunicated. The telephone was created in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. The new laws provided a forum whereĬompeting businesses could resolve their conflicts in peaceful ways (instead of engaging in price wars). It alsoĬreated the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to administer andĮnforce the new legislation. Their rates openly, forbade unfair discrimination against shippers, and outlawedĬharging more for a short trip than for a long trip over the same line.

It prohibited rebates and pools, required the railroads to publish In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate CommerceĪct. Illinois that individual states could not regulate interstate commerce. Monopoly, but in 1886, the Supreme Court ruled in Wabash, St. Many Midwestern legislatures tried to regulate the railroad Small farmers often paid the highest railroad transportation rates, while big customers paid low rates.ĭuring the depression of the 1870s, farmers protested against railroaders who ran the farmers into bankruptcy. ' Pools' were agreements to divide the business inĪ given area and share the profits. Railroad companies colluded with each other to protect their profits. Railroad kings were manipulators of a huge natural monopolyĪnd exercised too much direct control over the lives of people. Public by bribing judges and legislatures.

Many railroad titans felt they were above the law, and they abused the Stocks and bonds in excess of the railroad's actual value (' stock watering'). Some people selling bonds for railroad companies inflated claims about the company's assets and profits, enabling them to sell Proposed, on November 18, 1883, dividing America into 4 times zones - most towns accepted the new time method. To keep schedules and avoid wrecks, the major rail lines Until the 1880s, every town in America had its own It created an enormous domestic market forĪmerican raw materials and manufactured goods. The railroad stimulated the industrialization of theĬountry in the post-Civil War years. Steel rail and a standard gauge of track width. Hill.Ĭornelius Vanderbilt made lot of money improving the Eastern railroads.Ģ advancements helped the development of the railroads: the Running from Duluth to Seattle, was completed in 1893 by James J. To San Francisco, was completed in 1884 and the Great Northern, Was completed in 1884 the Southern Pacific, stretching from New Orleans Was completed in 1883 the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, running from Topeka to California, The Northern Pacific Railroad, running from Lake Superior to Puget Sound, There were 5 transcontinental railroads built:

The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869,Īllowing for increased trade with Asia and opening up the West for expansion. The Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific RailroadĬompanies both received financial aid from the government. The 4 chief financial backers of theĬentral Pacific Railroad (the Big Four) included Leland Stanford and Collis

The Central Pacific Railroad company was responsible to laying track on the California-side of the transcontinental railroad. In 1862, Congress selected the Union Pacific Railroad company to build a transcontinental railroad starting in Congress also gave a lot of unused public land to the railroad companies. Because of the high costs and risks associated with building railroads, Congress subsidized the cost of many railroad construction projects. The country's railroad network significantly expanded in the late 1800s.

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